My wonderful readers and friends!

I am still here, I just needed a huge break from blogging my dear friends :) I felt a little burnt out on ideas, recipes, etc... I was starting to feel like I wasn't having as much fun blogging as I had in the past, less inspired and motivated. After a nice break I am feeling so much better and I'm actually going to be putting my efforts towards this blog and another! Here is my other blog, which is dedicated to my fitness goals. At the moment I'm trying out Jillian Michael's 90 day Body revolution. I'm on day 6, so feel free to follow me as I work my butt off to try to get into better shape :) Even though I lost 44-50lbs eating clean, whole foods I still have a bit of weight I want to lose to get into a healthy, happy range. I really like structured workouts, where I know I have to set aside 30mins-1 hour to workout a day :)




We went to Saltspring Island recently where we met some wonderful organic farmers, and veggie lovers at the farmer's market. The market had only been open for it's 2nd Saturday and it was packed! For such a small island they really give local markets a run for their money! The talent, the products, the food and entertainers are amazing!!!


See for yourself, thought I'd share a few photos :)

Awesome entertainer! He did a lot of balancing with spinning bowls, at one point I think he had 8 of them going and he was hanging on to each of them. He balanced one on a tip of an umbrella! Very cool entertainer :)

Here are some sprouted peanuts that I bought from a lovely young couple. They also sold mushrooms, sprouts and rice paper sprout wraps. Their products were amazing and decently priced. The peanuts were such a different texture to regular store bought nuts that we are all used too. Moist, soft, yet crunchy with a much milder flavour. We shared this with friends :)

MMMM my lunch and goodies to take home. I had that really yummy rice paper sprout wrap with a fresh squeezed orange dip vinegrette :) My spicy sprouts are also shown in this pic! I gobbled those up when I got home mostly on salads :)

*sighs* Isn't the harbor gorgeous...loved eating lunch there. Live music playing in the background, the sun's warmth on my skin and the ocean...beautiful day!

Mommy Blogger E-Book

I am really proud to share with you an e-book project I was part of....

"Mommy Menus-A compilation of kid menus submitted by health conscious moms", is a beautiful book brought together by blogger mom's from all different walks of life. I've had the chance to read through this entire book, read each of the mom's bios, review and tried some of their recipes and it really is a wonderful addition to my raw and health conscious collection of recipe books.

This book was created by Rawkinmom from Color Wheel Meals and Rawkinmom's Blog. She contacted me a few months ago to see if I wanted to be one of the mom's part of the project and I of course said yes!

Here are more details from Rawkinmom herself...
"Each mom submitted their blog/website information, a detailed Bio about themselves, and a recipe for a Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Dessert, and Drink. They also provided pictures of some of their creations. The result is an amazing and inspirational E-book.

I would love for you to receive this valuable E-book so I have priced it at only $12-this is less than a fast food meal for a family of four-these recipes may change your families life and health forever!"

Here is the paypal link if you are interested in checking out this fabulous e-book!

Enjoy all you wonderful parents!

Snack Time and Lunch Time

Had a snack before we went out to do some errands with a good friend :) Glad I did because it was so humid outside and even worse in our car that I probably would have been dehydrated. MMmmm gotta love me some melon!

I bought some black beans, kidney beans, and nectarines...that kinda rhymed! Thought about eating a nectarine at lunch, but was sidetracked by super salad guy!
Can you make out his smile, nose, eyes, eyebrows and hair? Salad is just more fun when you decorate it, although I do like tossed salad too! I guess it's the mom in me making faces out of things I eat.

Lunch Time Salad included...Cherry tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, cucumber, a couple of cherries, raisins, and avocado. I also had some dinner leftovers a mixture of sweet corn off the cob, roasted zucchini and green peppers. It was yummy!
My HUGE mason jar of water. It may not look huge in this picture, but trust me. This is a trick I play on myself, so that I know at the end of the day I've drank enough water. With regular size glasses I could easily drink a whole glass during a meal and then I'll forget to fill it up again or a little later. This way I have a couple glasses of water all poured into one. Plus this jar is so huge that I can't try to ignore it.

Off to do something fun before the day is over...see you around dinner :)
~Maggie

Vegan Baking Recipes

Well it's finally happened...the weather has turned itself into the summer season. I like to keep the temp down in our place if I can and since we don't have air conditioning it makes it a bit more work. I have to place fans in specific areas, open a close windows depending on the air flow to try to optimize. It's actually kinda silly and fun! Summer sure is busy, busy! I have a couple things on the go, plus life gets involved in there and before you know it I have no time for things I'd like to be doing. *coughs* blog posts *coughs* Anyways, I'm sure your all in the same boat or in a boat since it's summer time!

I'm going to be posting some lovely vegan baking recipes today that are not raw. You might want to try these out when it's not as hot out, so your house doesn't heat up, unless you have AC! Feel free to totally change and manipulate the ingredients in these recipes, that's the fun part of it all, yes?!

I warn you, these are the best pancakes I've ever tasted in my entire 28 years!!! So delicious that I did not add any toppings to them at all, no raw syrups, fruit, nut butter..nothing! They are so flavorful, and my lil guy LOVES them :)

Blueberry Chia Flax Pancakes by Maggie(livingfoodjunkie)

1/2 cup of applesauce
1 cup of nut milk

2 tbsp of lemon juice

1 cup of Whole Wheat flour (or whatever flour you would prefer)

1/4 cup of ground flax
1/4 cup of chia seed

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 of baking soda

1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2-1 cup of blueberries

Combine nut milk and lemon juice and let it sit for 5 minutes, to make like a "fake" buttermilk. In mixing bowl, combine applesauce, and the buttermilk mixture. Add in brown sugar, salt, baking soda, flax and mix well. Add in flour, mix well. Fold in blueberries. Pour onto a non stick pan or griddle by 1/4-1/3 cup fulls. Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Makes about 12 servings. Roughly 130-140 calories per cake :)

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Foccacia Flat Bread by maggie(livingfoodjunkie) No pictures sorry! :(

4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp raw cane sugar (or whatever sweetener you prefer)

1 1/4 tbsp baking powder
1 cup warm water

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp dill (dried, if using fresh just add more to your liking)

1.5 tbsp Italian seasoning

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Knead to a dough consistency for 5 minutes. Roll out dough till its about an inch thick. Lay flat on a large cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until brown, roughly 15 minutes

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Rustic Bread by Maggie(livingfoodjunkie)

5 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp baking powder

4.5 tbsp of quick active yeast

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp chia seeds

2 tbsp poppy seeds

3 tbsp sunflower seeds

2 tbsp flax seeds

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

3.5 tbsp of raw cane sugar

2.5 tbsp of coconut oil
2 cups warm water

Combine 3 cups of flour and remaining ingredients (except the warm water) in a mixing bowl. Once all ingredients are combine then add the warm water and mix. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix until it forms a doughy ball. Knead dough for 5-10 minutes. Place back in mixing bowl, cover and let rise 30 minutes. Once 30 minutes has elapsed, pound the dough with your fists and knead again for 5-10 minutes. Shape into whatever bread form you desire (braid, french style, etc...) Cover again and let rise for another 30 minutes. Then bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

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So there ya have 3 vegan baking recipes I've used a few times for breakfast, lunch, dinner and have brought to potlucks.

Hope you enjoy!
~Maggie

Weekend Soups

This weekend I made a couple soups I thought I would share. The first soup I've posted before, which of course is one of my favs! Ani Phyo's "Raw Sweet Corn and Cashew Chowder," you can check my previous post on it here. I thought I would share the recipe, but I actually found it on Food & Wine. It also gives you the nutritional information, which is always nice.

It really is a never fail soup recipe and the best part is how fast I can make it. Plus cilantro as the garnish of this soup is so refreshing, so if you have it on hand, use it! I didn't have any on hand this time around, but I did add some cayenne powder and a splash of olive oil. It's a nice option if you want a little heat.

The other soup I made was "Kreme of Mushroom Soup" by Rod Rotondi. I will admit I'm not a huge mushroom soup fan. I usually find that mushrooms can make a meal very rich and my stomach cannot handle it. This recipe, although mushroom rich, I was able to digest and handle without the stomach ache. It was nice, since I do enjoy mushrooms.

Serves 8-10 (I cut this recipe in half)
Ingredients
1/2 cup soaked cashews
2 cups soaked almonds
2 cups water
2/3 cup nama shoyu(substitute tamari or 1/2 cup miso past to make gluten free)
4 cups of fresh button mushrooms
2 medium cloves of garlic
Hot water for heating

Put the nuts and 2 cups of water in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the nama shoyu, mushrooms, garlic and blend. Before serving, heat the soup by stirring in very hot water in a 1 to 1 ratio of hot water to soup. The soup should be thick and creamy.

For the garnish I made my homemade marinated mushrooms recipe. This is a versatile recipe, just think about adding it to soups, pastas or on burgers. YUM!

Maggie's Marinated Mushrooms

4-6 Crimini Mushrooms (sliced thinly)
1 small clove of garlic (cut into small pieces)
1 tsp Namu Shoyu
Sprinkle of pepper

Place everything into a bowl and mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer depending on your taste. Then place in the dehydrator on low for 30mins or so. They will still be soft, but able to hold onto the garlic and seasonings. I found this step works well especially if your using the mushrooms for soup garnish :)

Enjoy!
~Maggie

Sunny days

Past few days we've been enjoying the sunny, warm weather by exploring our little town of a city. We live in a pretty small city compared to most, so it's easy to forget that there are little gems that we haven't discovered yet. On our list so far have been murals, gardens..lots of gardens, thrift stores, and parks. I think in the past two days we've spent 7 dollars and that's because we shared some lunch at a cafe. It's can be so simple to find inexpensive or free activities, especially in the summer. We just have to go for a walk around town, visit a park/trail, bring some essentials with you and suddenly you have a day full of free fun.

We discovered these fun summery murals down an alleyway. It wasn't really a discovery in the sense that I have seen them quite a few times, but for some reason when murals are painted down alleyways it just always seems new or different every time I see them. We also found a herb garden someone had planted down an alley, so we walked down a narrow little path and enjoyed every minute. Then we did some thrift store window shopping, and I say window shopping because no one ended up buying anything. I guess it wasn't our lucky day to find a small treasure or two.

(My lil one at the community garden)

We've also been going to a local park the last couple days, where they have a nice playground and waterpark for my lil guy to play on. There are also beautiful totems, community gardens and ponds. Needless to say I've been getting a great big dose of vitamin D, minus a sunburn, thankfully :)
On to our foodies...It seems that salads have been on the menu lately and why not!? They are easy to make, always taste different and you can basically use any vegetable you have in the fridge.

"Hale Kale Salad" (Recipe by Rod Rotondi)

1 bunch of Kale leaves
1 medium Avocado
1 Lemon (juiced)
1/2 tsp of salt
Dash of cayenne peppe (I omitted)
Handful of raisins (my own addition)

Put everything together in a bowl and begin mixing. Squeeze the avocado with you fingers and work it into the kale. Once everything is coated enjoy!

We took this on our picnic and it kept quite well. The salt breaks the kale down making it softer, so the longer you wait to eat it the softer the kale seems to be.

"A Sunny Fiesta Salad" (Recipe by Maggie, livingfoodjunkie)

We made this one up ourselves and basically it's dice up what you have in the fridge. No measurements here, since you can estimate what you might need or have :)

(The salad)
Corn
Red pepper
Cucumber
Zucchini
Pineapple
Avocado
Green onion
Carrot

(Seasoning/dressing)
Dash of Chili powder
Zest and juice of a Lime

As I was eating a bowl of this I started craving some raw crackers or chips, we didn't have any on hand though :( Then I thought how great would this be as filling for vegan or raw burritos! It has a "meaty" enough texture with some crunch, plus all the different flavor components makes it perfect. Next time I think I'll try it out :)

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Next post is going to be raw kid-friendly recipe that my lil one and I made last night! It's dessert, snack or anytime you want a treat item..yum!

Happy sunny days to you!
~Maggie

Juice Feast Day 2

(Ani's Corn Chowder)

It's day two of the three day juice feast and I'm feeling a bit under the weather. I've had a few sinus problems, a sore throat, and fatigue. I'm thinking that it's detox symptoms, so I'm taking today for rest and relaxation. It worked out well because my guy is home from work today to help me out with our lil one. I decided that since my juice feast was going well (not hungering for food), but I was experiencing some pretty heavy detox symptoms I would eat some raw food.

I made this delicious corn chowder from Ani Phyo's book "Raw Food Kitchen" and it is one of the yummiest chowders I've ever had! We are going to be making this chowder again, especially when fresh corn is in season. The other bonus was that it only took about 5 minutes to make!

Like I said it was rest and relaxation day, so I had my guy instruct me in some yoga moves this afternoon. It felt good to stretch certain muscles that were sore. Once I start feeling better I really want to get outdoors for another hiking trip. This picture is inspiring me to spend more time outside :)

~Maggie

Energy!

Last night I felt like I could have run around the block at my own warp speed at least twice. I had so much energy and happiness flowing through my body. My guy on the other hand was feeling the exact opposite: lethargic, tired and moody. Our moods didn't mesh all to well, so I decided to just go with being present, positive and supportive. I finally fell asleep sometime after mid-night and woke up feeling not as energetic.

I made myself a carrot sunrise, which usually tastes sweet and refreshing!

Ingredients:

5 Carrots

2 Celery stalks

1 Orange

1/2 a Green Cabbage

Juice it up!

This time I added some ginger, but I added too much! Ohhh what a mistake :( It made it spicy and I was only able to drink half of my juice. The rest went down the drain, what a learning experience!

Lunch was a much happier meal! I craved nori again, and this time I had avocado!

Ingredients:

1 raw Nori sheet (untoasted)

4 thin strips of Carrot

4 thin strips of Red Pepper

Broccoli sprouts

1/2 an Avocado, thinly sliced

Line all the veggies on the edge of the nori sheet. Fold the nori sheet over veggies, by rolling the sheet away from you as tightly as possible. Dab edge of nori sheet with water to seal it. Then cut into 6 pieces!

Everyone has to try this, it's fun and so cheap to make compared to buying it from a store or restaurant.

Other than eating really colorful food today, I've been purchasing some upbeat music for workouts :) I've also been chatting to one of my very best friends, which makes this day even better!

Enjoy yours!

~Maggie

Lunch time smoothie

Today is date day! My guy and I are going to go for a hike at one of our favorite spots. I took this picture of the falls a few summers ago, it's one of my favorites. We really enjoy hiking together and are slowly improving our endurance on the massive mountains we climb. Okay so they seem like mountains, there more like large hills on the mountain.

Pre-hiking hunger striked, so I decided to put my smoothie skills to work. I call this Strawberry Mountain, it seemed appropriate.

Ingredients:

1 cup of water
1 cup of strawberries (frozen or fresh)
1/8 of cashews

1/4 pitted dates
1/4 vanilla bean
1/2 a Banana
1 tbsp cacao powder
Blend it up!

This tasted so good, it's now my favorite smoothie recipe! It did not sit heavy like some smoothies can :)

~Maggie

Soup for lunch

It's a rainy day and I always crave something warm on a rainy day. I decided it was best to try out a raw soup recipe. I figure since summer is just around the corner, I'm not to sure how long soup cravings are going to around. I scouted some recipes and found this one by Alissa Cohen, the recipe is online so you can check it out here :)






The soup turned out creamy, with little bits of broccoli and a bit of heat from the cumin. I wasn't able to eat the whole bowl of soup as shown in the picture, it was very filling and after awhile quite rich in flavor. I added a some broccoli sprouts as a topping and ended up adding more because it gave the soup a bit of a crunch..yum!






Here are my "seed pizza crackers" I posted about yesterday without all those toppings in the way. I dipped the crackers in the soup and it made lunch all the better :)

~Maggie

Pizza Crackers

Went for a two hour walk with my lil guy this morning. We tried to keep most of walk out of the city and mostly through the park trails. Eventually we made our way to a local store and picked out some delicious looking apples and Swiss chard. Once we were home around 12:30ish, we were so hungry! Luckily my dehydrator had finished drying my "Seed Pizza Crackers", a recipe I was trying out from Mary Rydman's book "Raw Food Quick & Easy." I wasn't quite sure how these were going to turn out because last night when I tasted the spread it didn't seem to flavorful, but as it turns out it had a really nice flavor.

Lunch today consisted of three small pieces of seed pizza cracker,
topped with Swiss chard, tomato, red pepper, cucumber and broccoli sprouts, with pineapple on the side :) I also used some of the dressing I made yesterday to top it off.

I'm also making "Pineapple Coconut Cookies" in my dehydrator. I made them last night along with the crackers. They look like they are going to ready tonight, so maybe a post later!

~Maggie

Lunch Time!

Late this morning we went to the farmer's market and grocery store to purchase a few veggies, fruits and nuts we were low on. Now I can make some more raw crackers and breads in my dehydrator. I've made a few different types of crackers and they all had great taste and texture. I have also made a three different types of veggie burgers, by far my favorite was by Rod Rotondi, in his book Raw Food Real People. What I loved about this burger was that it was more vegetable based rather than nut. I found the other recipes I tried although decent relied heavily on nuts and the flavor just wasn't for me...Anyways, both raw crackers and raw veggie burgers are so great to add to salads and that is just what I did today!


Today's lunch was a BIG salad! I love big salads pretty much anytime of the day. This one included:

Green Leaf Lettuce
1/2 a Tomato
1 Avocado
Broccoli Sprouts
Shredded carrots and purple cabbage
Goji Berries
Rod's veggie sun burger
To top it off I quickly put together a dressing...but that is a whole other post, long story!

Yum! Now i'm off to make some crackers!
~Maggie