Raw Food

Melons and summer harvest

Farming and Gardening Life in Nuvali Philippines Food Sustainable Living,

Such sweet melons from Robinson’s Supermarket Nuvali!

We did a quick stop last night to restock on fruits at home and were surprised to find the fruit pile almost emptied out, but for melons and papayas (even bananas were sold out). Seems everyone had fruit salads over the Holy Week. Was glad for it though– I tend to skip the melon corner on a regular day because I can\’t blend them in my green smoothies (melons are best eaten alone). This batch was so sweet and delicious, I finished the whole thing in one sitting! Wasn\’t able to take a pic of the uncut melon, but it was of the yellow skin variety. Still have two white cantaloupes waiting on the kitchen counter, along with other summer fruits:

I had to go back for the bananas and mangoes this afternoon, but am happy to share that the squash above is from our own garden. 🙂 The plant grew out of our compost pit last year, so we moved it to a nice sunny spot, and voila– three months after, we harvested our first homegrown kalabasa!

Here\’s another happy leafy green that sprouted from a fallen seed:

Very thankful for the fertile Nuvali soil.

🙂

Harvest time!

Farming and Gardening Food Sustainable Living,

GIANT Langka from our Tagaytay garden:

Don’t they just make you smile? 🙂

Harvested 3 huge ones just last week, and another one over the weekend.

When it came to cutting them open, didn\’t want to stain my fingers with the smell, so took a knife and fork and sliced away methodically.  Was surprisingly therapeutic, felt as if I was carving meat.

Also very happy to harvest so many bananas and papayas:

Great for breakfast smoothies.  They\’re all very delicious, and taste ever the sweetest because they\’re homegrown.

🙂

Will need to decide on what to plant in my Nuvali garden soon.  Space is small so need to plan properly.   Care to share what you\’ve planted in yours?

Curious to try raw food?

Food

Here are two upcoming raw food gatherings, great opportunities for you to meet, greet, and mingle with raw foodists and enthusiasts:

RAW EVENT#1:  FLOW:SurfYogaSamba Goes Raw
a surf yoga samba and raw food weekend retreat in La Union
August 27-29, 2011


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Here\’s the raw menu for the weekend. Just reading it makes me want to head over to La Union on Friday!

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From organizer Monica Manzano, herself a raw foodist:

We\’re going the extra mile for health conscious people! This special Flow retreat is complemented with delicious and healthy raw vegan gourmet foods catered by Bali-certified raw food chef, Asha Peri of Dahon Kusina to help nourish your unique journey to self-discovery.

Package Rate: 10,350 php

Inclusions:

  • 1 Vinyasa and 1 Yin Yoga session with Monica E. Manzano
  • 2 Surf lessons at the San Juan Surf School of Luke landrigan
  • 2 Samba lessons with Escola de Samba de Manila
  • Roundtrip transfers
  • 3D/2N aircon accommodation
  • Raw Food meals and snacks by Asha Peri
  • Tote bag with freebies from our sponsors: ParaKito, Mamo Yoga and travel, Yoga+ at the Fort, I Go Beyond Yoga, Strip Manila, Browhaus Manila, Moringana & Rudy Project Philippines

PLUS! Introduction to ACRO YOGA for all participants in a yoga fusion class with Yoga+ and Beyond Yoga 🙂

Online registration form: http://bit.ly/msQJgP
www.flowsurfyogasamba.mult​iply.com
www.twitter/surfyogasamba

 

RAW EVENT#2:  The Lighter Side of Raw: Chi & Qi Energy Foods 
Dahon Kusina\’s Raw Food Workshops in Pasig (Part 3 of 10)
September 3-4, 2011
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I\’ve written about Asha\’s raw advocacy many times, and if you\’re moving beyond \”just curious\”, joining an actual workshop is the best way to proceed.

Greetings from Dahon Kusina!
We\’re having our 3rd weekend workshop on September 3-4. Please call Yen at 9160391 to register. Feel free to pass on to those who you think may be interested in raw food preparation:)

Do you seek lightness of spirit?

Plant a seed in your heart now.
Love raw and live raw.

Asha Anahata Peri

My intro to Superfoods

Food

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Asha Peri was literally glowing with positive energy at last weekend\’s raw food workshop –her first since she got back from a life transforming trip to Bali, and undoubtedly her best workshop so far.

First up were superfoods: spirulina, hemp seeds, chia seeds, cacao, goji berries, maca, bee pollen.  I love the idea of naturally-occurring superheroes in the plant world. These come up without fail in any conversation about natural health, but this was the first time I approached raw recipes from the mindset of having a superfood as the primary ingredient (imagine a super champorado!).

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She gave us a recipe for a super yumm superfood drink (lasang peppermint candy canes!)–apart from the green smoothie, it is the best no-hassle way to get all the nutrients in your body everyday.

I remember my first time in a raw kitchen back in 2004. Visited a self-taught raw chef in Madrid and saw jars and jars of spices and seeds of all sorts– it felt like I was in a sorcerer\’s lab full of magic potions! Sharing pics of some of Asha\’s magic potions:

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(Clockwise from upper left) Extra Virgin olive oil, tamari, nutritional yeast, psyllium husk, miso, himalayan salt, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar.

Below: spices spices spices!

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Another point that Asha raised was the importance of focusing on low glycemic index foods even if we\’re eating raw already.  It didn\’t occur to me that we have to regulate even healthy foods, especially those high in sugar, such as bananas (boo, I love bananas!).  Honey is the most obvious alternative to sugar for me, but here are others:

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Visit The Lighter Side of Raw album to find out more about what we learned last weekend.

Fresh from 5 weeks of a raw chef certification course in Bali, Asha Peri is holding a series of raw weekend workshops that are not to be missed!

After a month-long transformative rest from my Bali trip, I am now ready to share my new knowledge and experience through a series of 10 weekend workshops called THE LIGHTER SIDE OF RAW starting July 16-17. There\’s so much to share (and still learn) about raw food and conscious eating and this series is meant to wake you up to your own possibilities as a being of pure light through the food that you eat and the consciousness that you bring into your raw preparations, which you can also share with your family and friends.

 

A light-filled life to all,
Asha

Up next on July 30-31 is a raw response to the SAD (Standard Amercian Diet), with talks on what one should eat based on his Dosha Constitution.

For more information, visit Dahon Kusina on facebook or contact Asha Peri via leaf.kitchen@yahoo.com or 916-0391 / 0917-8611212.

More raw food workshops!

Food

Asha Peri the raw food fairy is back from her Bali certification course–and she\’s ready to share her new insights and recipes!

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I\’ve attended at least two raw food workshops by Asha, on top of the raw dinners and many visits to Bahay Kalipay in Palawan, and highly recommend them to anyone with even an inkling for a healthy shift.

Raw for GO, GROW, and GLOW! Yay.

have you ever seen a fresh sunflower head?

Farming and Gardening Food Sustainable Living

Was so amazed by this, had to buy it to show friends and family!
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Gigantic sunflower head from Melendres farm, P500

So pretty, I just wanted to keep it on the table as a conversation piece. Even my titos and titas were gushing over it.

Seeds are ready to be eaten–They\’re blander than packaged raw sunflower seeds, and softer too. They supposedly keep for 6 months.

My dad took some seeds to try to plant– don\’t even know if that\’s the way to grow them, but wow, would be great to have these giant sunflowers (imagine how big the petals would be!) greeting you every morning… 🙂

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

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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