Tag Archives: vegetables

Walking Lightly Soup

It’s that time of year, when I love to eat tons of soup! There is absolutely nothing like soup! By nature its eccentric, in the fact that no two are ever alike!
Make this soup as part of your 3-Day Cleanse!

This is the soup I used to make most often out at the ranch I occasionally cater retreats at. It is derived from the basic soup recipe (see below). Create something new every time!
Walking Lightly Soup:
 
  • 1 whole apple
  • 1 whole avocado
  • 1 bunch greens (mustard, arugula, collards, broccoli, spinach, baby lettuces, or other favorite greens)
  • 1 bunch herbs, (basil, parsley, cilantro, or other favorite herb)
  • 1 whole zucchini
  • 3 tablespoons miso
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 inch ginger
  • dash cayenne pepper
  • 2 to 3 cups blessed water or more if needed
Place all ingredients in a blender, blend and serve!

Basic Soup Recipe:
  • 2 cups non-sweet fruit
Choose between cucumber, tomato, zucchini, pepper, or tomatillo. You may choose to use one or more of these.
  • 1 to 2 cups liquid
Use one cup first. Then if needed, add more liquid at the end. Choose between blessed water, coconut water, or vegetable juice.
  • 1 to 2 cups greens
Vegetables or herbs. Choose between kale, parsley, spinach, arugula (also a spice), celery, and your favorite herbs and veggies!
  • 1/2 to 1 whole avocado, meat of one young coconut, or 2-4 Tablespoons of tahini.
  • 4 Tablespoons olive oil, or other cold pressed oil like flax or hemp.
  • 2 Tablespoons Miso
  • 1/2 to 1 whole apple
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or 2 tablespoons nama shoyu (or Bragg’s for gluten sensitive)
  • 1 inch ginger (optional)
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
Blend all ingredients. You may choose to create a chunky soup by dicing some of the vegetables, or adding some. Warm it up till it feels warm to the touch! But not over 120 degrees so that you may preserve the enzymes and keep the soup ALIVE!
Some other great additions are kelp noodles or zucchini noodles, marinated or grated vegetables, chopped avocado, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, olives, or sprouts.
 
Be creative, have fun and enjoy!
“Good Soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite then any other one dish.”
~Louis P. De Gouy, The Soup Book (1949)
 
Many Blessings!
~ Michelle

Zucchini Rolls

This recipe is one of our family favorites, packed with delicious flavors and exciting textures. Many people tell me that they cannot eat raw food because its so cooling. It can be if you are eating it right out of the fridge! Pine nuts, basil, nutmeg and garlic are all warming foods, couple that with placing your dish in the dehydrator for a couple of hours or in the oven on a low temperature for 20 minutes, and you still have a raw dish that is warm!
This recipe might be a little labor intensive because it has many different parts and steps but its well worth the time and effort! Let me know how yours turns out!
Zucchini Rolls:
4 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into very thin slices.  Its easiest to use a mandolin slicer.
Ricotta:
2 cups pine nuts or raw cashews or walnuts
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (gives ricotta a more “cheesy” flavor)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons of water (or coconut water or rejuvelac)
Blend until smooth and fluffy.

Pesto:
2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (soaked one hour)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
2-3 cloves of garlic (or as much as you want to taste)
pepper to taste
Blend in blender until you reach desired
 consistency.
Marinara:
1 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoons garlic
1 teaspoon jalapeno
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
2 green olives
1/4 cup shallots or red onion
1/3 cup basil leaves
1/3 cup red bell pepper
1/4 cup oregano leaves
1/2 cup strawberries
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup nama shoyu (or tamari for gluten sensitive people)
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
blend together so that it is still slightly chunky.
To make rolls:
*Pour half of marinara into a 9 by 13 baking dish.
*Lay out zucchini place dallops of ricotta and pesto on zucchini and roll up.
*Place rolls into baking dish and pour other half of marinara on top of rolls.
*Serve at room temperature.
**If you like them slightly warm, place in dehydrator for a couple of hours before you are ready to serve.  If you do not have a dehydrator you may put them in oven on low for about 20-30 minutes.  Enjoy!
This delicious dish has it all in one power packed meal! I absolutely love the pesto, cheese and the marinara in this recipe!
Basil is rich in antioxidants, which help boost immunity.  It’s also an antimicrobial, which fights the germs that can cause colds.
Nutmeg is a “warming spice” that can bring blood from the center of the body to the skin.  This helps disperse the blood more evenly throughout the body, reducing overall pressure.
Since the 1950’s there have been more than 2,700 articles that have been published about the health benefits of garlic, this would include, digestive and respiratory problems, fatigue, bacterial infections, toothache, arthritis, and heart disease.  Wow!  It’s a good thing I enjoy garlic!
Lycopene, although not an essential nutrient for humans, research has shown an inverse correlation between consumption of tomatoes and cancer risk, lycopene has been considered a potential agent for the prevention of some types of cancers, particularly prostate cancer.
xoxoxxo
Michelle

Pre-Workout Juice

Beet juice is amazing! Its often referred to as natures viagra because it increases blood flow through the small capillaries, and because erectile dysfunction is often caused by poor circulation…. well you get the picture.

Beet juice will improve your performance in the gym. This is because this magical juice dilates blood vessels to improve blood flow and lower blood pressure, as well as reducing the amount of oxygen needed by the muscles during physical activity. Researchers from the Sport and Health Sciences department of UofE found that people who drank beetroot juice required 12 percent less effort to perform even low intensity exercise like walking than those who did not drink beet juice.

Health Benefits of Beets:

  • Boosts Energy
  • Rich in nutrients
  • Blood purifier
  • Immune system booster
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Stimulates liver function
  • Natural colon cleanser
  • Supports capillaries
  • Prevents macular degeneration
  • Prevents cataracts
  • Natures viagra
  • Creates a sense of well being
  • Used as a stomach acid tester
  • Contains pectin polysaccharides for digestive tract health
  • Lessens tumor cell growth & contains betacyanins which counteract cancer
  • Source of anthycyanins, carotenoids & lutein/zeazanthin which helps prevent or even cure macular degeneration and other eye related issues.
  • Reduces cholesterol & triglycerides
  • Lowers homocysteine

Beets are natures viagra? Seriously? Yes, seriously! Beets were used by both the ancient Greeks and Romans both medicinally as an aphrodisiac and as a culinary herb. Medicinally, beets contain high amounts of boron, which is directly related to the production of human sex hormones. In addition the natural nitrates that would improve overall performance.

Go ahead! Give it a try! Here are some great recipes to get you started!

Pre-workout Juice:

3 Beets

2 Grapefruit

1 Tablepoon Cherry Juice Concentrate

Enjoy!

Michelle’s Morning Sunshine:
1 orange
1 grapefruit
1 lime
1 beet
1 apple
Enzyme Boost (optional): 1 cup pineapple

The Great Eliminator
1  beet
1 cucumber
1/2 to 1 head romaine lettuce
10 medium carrots
1 inch fresh ginger

If you want a great boost in energy, your answer is simple. Drink beet juice! It does a body good!

Juice, love and bliss,

Michelle Berry-Shaffer

Sources:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-12/uoe-bjc121710.php

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49