Foods Long Life

Enjoy Chia Seed Pudding on your raw food cleanse. Follow Foods For Long Life on Pinterest or Facebook . Raw Food Cleanse It's been almost a hundred degrees here all week and I've naturally been craving raw foods. So I thought it might be a perfect time to do a raw food cleanse.  I've been writing about raw food cleanses for at least 7 years now. For me, it's a much easier way to detox than doing a juice fast or other liquid fasts. Eating raw food is satisfying, doesn't trigger a severe detox reaction and it doesn't require taking a bunch of herbal supplements (although B12 supplementation is always necessary when on a raw vegan diet.) How Long? What I like about doing a raw food cleanse is that any amount of time gets results. You can do it for a day, a weekend, a week, 21 days, or a month. It depends on your goals. Are you trying to lose weight, lower your cholesterol, break some bad eating habits, jumpstart a healthier lifestyle program, or just do a general ...

Fresh corn makes a great salad topping. Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest . Preview my eBook, Health Begins in the Kitchen ! Corn I love corn. I love everything about it. I love to eat it raw, right off the cob. I love throwing it into soups , salads , muffins , well - you name it. But the thing I love the most is growing it. This year was our second crop and we actually harvested it on time at the peak of its tenderness (lessons learned from last year!) Having grown up in apartments in New York City, where one is lucky to have a flower pot of parsley on the fire escape, the very thought of having enough land to grow such an enormous vegetable still blows my mind. My corn stands proudly in the entry to our little farm - a monument to a more sane life.  Me and my daughter, Linda, playing in the corn. Last year we planted 35 seeds and got about 48 ears of corn. This year I planted 65 seeds which yielded about 85 ears (hard to keep track as I kept eating them ...

Use a mandoline to thinly slice cucumbers. Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest. How Slicing Makes a Difference How a vegetable or fruit is sliced can make a big difference on its texture and even its flavor. My daughter was here this week and when I asked her to make a side dish with the garden cucumbers I just picked, she made this beautiful salad. Although this recipe has few ingredients, the thinly shaved cucumber slices give it an elegant presentation. Its tangy lemon dill dressing coats every little slice and makes a great low-calorie summer side dish. If you are a fish eater, this lemon dill salad pairs perfectly with grilled wild salmon. A mandoline is used to slice the cucumbers  To cut the cucumbers this thin, you will need a  mandoline slicer. Please be careful when using this tool and ALWAYS use the guard, although it's tough to do when cutting these thin cucumbers. This is what happened to me last year when I didn't take my own advice wh...

Raw Cucumber and Radish Salad with Lemon Dill Dressing. Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest  Preparing for my Cucumber Harvest Yesterday I picked the first cucumber from my garden. I'm actually surprised that I got to eat it since my friend and neighbor, Pam, has been carefully monitoring and hovering over the plant for the last few weeks! But this is a very prolific plant so there will be lots more to come and  soon I'll be begging people to come get them. Cucumbers are my "go to" diet food in the summer. When I need a snack, I just peel a cucumber and munch away. A small cucumber is only 16 calories and is a very good source of vitamin C and K and a good source of B vitamins such as B6, folate, and pantothenic acid as well as some important minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese. It's also a good source of dietary fiber. Here are 10 Things to do with Cucumbers #1 Salad The most common way to use a raw cucumber is ...

This rich and delicious smoothie blends green veggies and fruits with healthy fats. Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest . Green Smoothie This is one of the tastiest green smoothies I've ever made. It was inspired by the Green Machine that I had at VegeNation in Las Vegas last month. I started with their main ingredients of kale, parsley, cucumber, avocado and grapes, and added some healthy fats to provide omega-3 and omega-6, monosaturated fats, as well as medium chain triglycerides. Do Not Fear Fat! Fats are critical to your diet. For one, they help you absorb fat-soluble vitamins. A recent  study showed that "the presence of fat in a meal with which a vitamin D-3 supplement is taken significantly enhances absorption of the supplement." That study showed an average increase of 32% absorption. Other fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, K and E, also benefit from the presence of fat in the diet. Fat also improves carotenoid absorption and improves the conver...

Even in winter, we should consume some amount of raw food. Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest . Raw Food in the Winter In the winter we crave hot soup, warm muffins, and cooked meals in general. I admit I have been favoring steel cut oatmeal over cold smoothies in the morning and soups over salads lately. But it's very important to include some raw foods in your diet no matter what season we are in. In my book, Health Begins in the Kitchen: Delicious and Easy Vegan Recipes and Seasonal Food Plan , I discuss how those amounts vary with each season. And what better way to add a little raw food in your winter diet than to eat a lovely raw kale salad with seasonal fruit such as satsuma oranges. My Seasonal Food Plan discusses how the amount of raw food consumed should vary throughout the year.  *                           *                   ...

This simple and colorful side dish is vegan and gluten free. Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest . Getting the Menu Together Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away so I'm finalizing my menu. I've got a full house this year so I'm trying to pick recipes that are delicious, simple, and that can either be prepped or made ahead.  Since my persimmon tree finally blessed me with over 4 dozen fuyu persimmons, I will definitely serve them in at least one dish. They pair beautifully with pomegranates, so I'm thinking of making this simple raw vegan relish.  Persimmons and pomegranates pair beautifully and reflect the colors of fall. A lot of people avoid pomegranates because they think they are difficult to clean. I know I avoided them for years until I figured out how to clean them. It's really pretty simple with the trick being that you have to do it with the fruit submerged in a bowl of water. Check out my post on How To Clean a Pomegranate ....

Make pesto with kale and your favorite herbs, freeze for winter. Follow Foods For Long Life on Pinterest and Facebook . It's Time to Harvest Kale and Herbs Last weekend we made and canned Tomato Salsa with Blistered Padron Peppers. Here's another great weekend project to preserve your summer harvest. To look at it, my garden kale is absolutely gorgeous but it's also that time of the season that the aphids start to attack the bottom of the leaves. They seem to be bathing in the organic insecticidal soap that we spray that's supposed to deter them but at some point I just have to accept that it's time to harvest it all and get ready for the fall crop.  Late summer kale in northern California My herbs are beginning to flower and bolt so they need to be harvested as well. Here's a great way to save your kale and herbs while, at the same time, having a versatile go-to seasoning for quick winter meals .              *         ...

Living, probiotic-rich pickles. Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest. Preview my eBook, Health Begins in the Kitchen ! My New Crock I received a beautiful fermentation crock from Ogusky Ceramics for my birthday (thanks Matthew, Alina and Sammy!) and I couldn't wait to try it. I know I mention this ever chance I get but consuming lots of probiotic-rich fermented foods is one of the most important things you can do for your health. One of the many ways to do that is to make your own pickles. I don't mean the kind that you find on the store shelves pickled in vinegar. Those pickles do not have any probiotic value. I mean the kind that are made from the simple process of fermenting your veggies in brine and spices. You won't believe how easy it is! And you don't need a fancy crock like this to ferment foods. You can use a big glass jar like I did when I shared the Curtido Kraut recipe in June. But I must say, I've been really enjoying this crock. Ferm...