Food

I\’m turning raw (trying, trying!)

Food

What\’s the first thing every aspiring raw foodist should do? Find an organic vegetable supplier.

Because we eat our vegetables in an almost unaltered state, we need to make sure they are as clean and chemical-free as possible.   I\’ve been buying produce from the organic section of the supermarket for a while now, but sometimes I wonder how authentic their organic claims are… Some say that the only way you can be sure you\’re getting chemical-free vegetables is by finding a farmer/supplier that you trust.

During Asha Peri\’s raw workshop last Saturday, Kristine Garcia of Emporium Antipolo was ready to meet-and-greet with us, armed with her basket of veggies and a wide smile. Been in touch with her since then and two days ago, I got my first organic goodie bag delivered to my doorstep, yay!

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Ordered just the night before and delivered the day after– such impressive service from Emporium Antipolo. Not to mention the follow up text and online messages on recipe and storage tips… a BIG thank you Kristine!
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With the trusty spiralizer I ordered from my raw teachers, Daniw and Asha, I got ready to make my first raw cucumber pasta at home…
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It was actually very easy, and even my ever-so-excited niece (who\’s 6) took a turn in spiralizing the cucumber (getting her to eat it after was another matter!).  Didn\’t have time to make the sauce, so was very happy Kristine included some Raw Pesto in my Emporium Antipolo goodie bag:

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Yumyumyum… 🙂

More raw recipes soon!

SIMPLY RAW (a raw food workshop) on Feb5

Food

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Looking for a healthier diet? Here\’s a workshop to help you get started, from raw food advocate, Asha Peri:

Join me at SIMPLY RAW – a raw food preparation workshop at Dahon Kusina on February 5 from 3-6:30 p.m. Special participation of Emporium Antipolo, supplier of local organic produce. For inquiries, contact Asha at 09178611212 or Sheila at 9160391.:)

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Together with Daniw of Bahay Kalipay, Asha is truly one of my raw food idols.  These two women are tireless in pushing for a healthy, raw food diet that uses local and accessible ingredients.   I attended one of their yummy raw food dinner buffets last November, and was just blown away by the different ways they prepared healthy raw food!

It\’s said that everyone who is introduced to the raw food alternative knows it is good for him; the hard part is HOW to start it.  Most internet recipes call for ingredients that are not available in the Philippines, so it is especially encouraging that we now have Filipino raw recipes to recreate at home. 🙂

Upcoming RAW FOOD workshops in Dahon Kusina:
February 5 – SIMPLY RAW (Pasig)
February 13 – yIN LOVE LOVE WITH RAW (yin yoga & raw food-Makati)
February 26 – Dance or DESSERT (part 2-Pasig)
Call 09178611212 (Asha) or 9160391 (Sheila) to inquire.

Visit the Dahon Kusina facebook page for details.

Also check out the pics of the first Dance or Dessert workshop–Isn\’t it amazing that these banana-tahini sandwiches dipped in choco-coco-orange fudge are actually good for you? And they\’re so simple to make!

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Yummy raw food feast and demo in the South

Food

What a way to get back to healthy eating–a fantastic raw food dinner buffet with friends and new friends!

Last Saturday was the sequel to Platter Penny, a Raw Dinner-Demo-Fundraiser for Bahay Kalipay scholars, and I decidedly drove all the way to Paranaque to start eating healthily again.
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The week before, Daniw, one of the Platter Penny \”non-cooks\”, sent us the detailed menu for the night, and I got hungry just from reading it!

Menu for Platter Penny Goes South

DRINK: Cooling ginger lemonade

APPETIZER/S: Turnip rice vegetable nori rolls with teriyaki-miso sauce, Baba Ganoush

SOUP: miso soup

SALAD: oriental salad with sweet tahini sauce

MAIN:
tabouli
raw pasta marinara with non-meatballs

DESSERT: banana citrus parfait with coconut-chia cream topped with raw chocolate mousse and nuts

Daniw of Bahay Kalipay and Asha of Dahon Kusina are two lovely advocates of raw food in the Philippines, and last Saturday, they took turns giving us a demo on how to make raw veggie nori rolls and raw miso soup (it\’s just assembly!).
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…

Yummy raw food feast and demo in the SouthRead More »

Do you know what a coconut apple is?

Farming and Gardening Food Sustainable Living

My friend Cris told me she opened up a coconut at home today and along with extremely rich coco oil, it had a soft whitish mass inside.  A quick search told her it was actually a coconut apple:

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(Image from Fresh Greenery)

I\’ve never seen anything like this before, but turns out it\’s widely eaten in Latin America and India.

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(Image from Niya\’s World)

Angel Nunez from Belize writes:

When a coconut falls to the ground, it is already mature and partly green and brown. This coconut has the potentials of growing into a new plant. Shortly, in the presence of moisture, air and sunlight, this nut will break a small shoot with miniature leaves. Soon it will break roots which will feed water to the developing plant.

However, before the roots shoot, the plant uses the coconut water inside the nut. It is at this early stage that a white spongy material grows inside the nut to provide nutrients to the plant before the roots sprout. This white spongy material is the coconut apple. To enjoy a juicy sweet apple you need to cut open the nut at the right stage just before the roots are too long or the apple will be dry and tough and will no longer be sweet.

Anyone knows what this is called in Tagalog?

Never pictured a coconut sprouting, even if my friend Cris always tells me they make good indoor plants and are everywhere in Ponderosa (sa tabi-tabi lang daw)….!

Here\’s a good visual of a coconut sprout from Niya\’s World:
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Interesting stuff!! Will be planting coconut sprouts in Nuvali for sure, or at the very least in Tagaytay!

More on coconut apples and coconut sprouts here:
Niya\’s World
Fresh Greenery
Ever Heard of Coconut Apples? by Angel Nunez

Vegetable juicing (research)

Food

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Read today that carrot juice is the best vegetable juice for daily consumption.  We swayed against juicing carrots a long time ago because they stained our juicer, but I guess we\’ll have to love those orange stains from now on!

More info on juicing from TheMedicineHut.com:

Juicing – short intro to juicing
Vegetable juices – lists different pros and cons of each vegetable in relation to juicing
Fruit juices – lists pros and cons for fruits
10 Biggest Rules of Juicing from DrinkRawJuice.com – good basic tips, like using a hand juicer for citrus (an auto juicer will also juice the seeds–a big no no!)

raw food menu planning (research)

Food

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Some sites for future study, summary, and testing!  Excited to see which ones will work best using Philippine ingredients:

WeLikeItRaw.com – repost of David Wolfe\’s All-Raw Diet Weekly for Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons
Daily menu from RawFoodExplained.com – comprehensive raw menu good for 4 weeks
The Ultimate Raw Diet by Dr. Stanley S. Bass – strict step-by-step meal plan for one week
GiveItToMeRaw.com – short discussion on top daily raw menus
e-how.com – short essay with tips on planning your raw food menu