Notice the oxygen bubbling up in this smoothie! Ready to shake you up and make you come alive!

Sometimes you think you are brewing the greatest smoothie ever and when you take your first highly expecting sip, it turns out you can hardly swallow it down. It happens to everybody. So what can you do then with that rich smoothie, full of nutrients and expensive superfoods and greens and fruit? Drink it up with two fingers shutting your nose? Because the last thing you want to do is throw it out!

I discovered how to save those “failures” and have a wonderful drink after all. Just pour that smoothie in your nut milk bag and sssquuueeeze out the juice. The pulp is a great fertilizer for your wheatgrass (mingle it under your soil, all those minerals will be soaked by the grass and provide you strong shots!) and the juice… the juice is just great! The taste changes and you can pour all the glorious nutrients down to your body.

But now more about my Alive Smoothie. I always use what I have laying around and was lucky with the combination and the great tastes of the greens and fruits. My mustard greens were soft, the banana sweet, the spinach soothing, and then… my secret weapon: rejuvelac! You know how much I am into this elixir of life. I always use it to make my smoothies the best, both taste and content.

When you use rejuvelac instead of water, you add an extra dimension; life. And that is what you will feel in your body; life. You can make a whole lot of rejuvelac and store it easily for two weeks in your refrigerator or in your basement so you don’t have anything else to do but grab and smooth away.

Alive Smoothie

TOOLS YOU NEED

A blender

INGREDIENTS

• One sweet banana
• A handful of mustard greens
• Two leaves of kale
• A grab of parsley
• Fill up the rest with spinach
• A handful of Goiji Berries
• A TBS Maca
• A TBS bee pollen
• Fill up the blender until halfway with rejuvelac

THE MAKING OF…

• Blend and taste. Not sweet enough to your taste? Add a juicy pear…

Drink, chew and be alive!

Mustard Green

]]> http://ravishingraw.com/wordpress/2010/11/26/alive-smoothie/feed/ 6 http://ravishingraw.com/wordpress/2010/10/20/david-wolfe-in-belgium-2-a-trilogy/ http://ravishingraw.com/wordpress/2010/10/20/david-wolfe-in-belgium-2-a-trilogy/#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:22:36 +0000 Marie-Claire http://ravishingraw.com/wordpress/?p=834 Calcification… a disease of civilization that hits all of us sooner or later. How come? Too much calcium, the wrong kind of calcium and calcium supplements. Consequence; cataract, arteriosclerosis, kidney stones, heart attack, Alzheimer, arthritis and so on and so on. In the past they were called old age sicknesses, now you can get them at young age already. That’s when I hear young people say sneering; “We are forty, we are on the decline!” A typical expression when one doesn’t know better and it is such nonsense to settle with it, no matter what age.

David Wolfe

David Wolfe confirmed my own suspicions; that a standard diet is accelerating these reactions. That raw food can turn your life around, react with strength and let your body revive. He wrote a program to reverse the process of calcification, to resolve calcium and to get rid of it. Intriguing. Why don’t we know about this? That’s also his question. I am wondering each time again why essential information isn’t shared with the population. Simple; industry, money, power. It makes me so angry!

So we need solvents to resolve all the calcium which is building up slowly, Wolfe claims. And he is right. Whenever a problem, there is a solution. The higher our intake of calcium, the more issues will manifest. He investigated the whole area, made a schedule and wrote a book about it.

But what are the alternatives? is what I often am asked. Magnesium, Phosphorus and Silica. Those three minerals are strong enough to build and reinforce our bones. By consuming more valuable minerals in a natural way we can prevent so much suffering. How? Green, green, green. How? Just start simple; with a fresh wheat grass juice and a green smoothie every morning; it contains more vegetables and fruits you can eat in a day.

So Wolfe created a plan and takes the problem by its horns step by step. No cheap steps, but so aren’t doctors once you start ailing. Always worth trying because doctors don’t know many answers either. Instead of admitting, they rather write an extra subscription for more calcium. Sigh.

The most important issue always is your body. It is like no other body and this is how you have to treat it, as a unicum on earth, with its specific wishes, moods and needs. What is good for one person can be a disaster for another one. So stay tuned with your body and listen what it has to tell you. Only you can understand its language.

Beautiful Nature

A short note about the Superherbs, as Wolfe is naming them. They are more powerful than any other herb and what more, they are out there for free, they grow in your garden, in the wild and waiting for you to pick them and use. What are you waiting for? Your immunity system will blossom, your nerve system will relive.

Shi Take

Some “bodybuilders” to grab in nature are:

• Absolute top 1 of superherbs are wild mushrooms; Chaga and Reishi are the most powerful ones and you can find them all around in the woods to make strong tea. One small piece is enough to provide you of 340 oz. of tea. They also heal Candida.
• Maytaki, Shitake (we all know that one) en Coriolis cure the nerve system. Coriolis is also an anti-cancer medicine.
• Malva or Mallow ( marshmellows!)  – All parts are edible and deliver you 20 times more minerals than any other plant.
• Chamomille
• Artemisia (the name is coming from the protector Artemis)
• Neem – the most powerful detox herb

And did you have any idea that asparagus is a medicinal vegetable?

We can do so much ourselves! Knowing where and how to start is essential and seminars like these can help you with this. tomorrow we will make a walk!

Resting

Stinging Nettles

Last week when I working on my website while drinking a lovely smoothie, my father came in. His first question with frowned  eyebrows and a disapproving expression around his mouth: “Why are you drinking mud?” I am still laughing when I think of this. I must admit, the color was dark but only because it was a very wild composition.

One of the great things about smoothies is that you can throw in them whatever you have. Open your refrigerator, check out your deep freezer for frozen fruits, get some fresh wild edibles out of your garden (or  your neighbor’s if it isn’t sprayed:  they won’t be angry with you for weeding their yard), get your favorite superfoods out of the cupboard and start creating.

This is what I do every morning and wow, does it feel good to pick your weeds and looking forward to the energy they will recharge you with! All these greens filled with chlorophyll mean that you will be drinking direct sunlight. What else can fuel your body more than sunlight?!

What did I have in my frig? Kale and Rejuvelac and some fruit on my counter. I have to go get new supplies today! But no worry, nature offers enough to complete your smoothie when your refrigerator is almost empty: wild edibles! I came back with a basket filled with the arousing scents of mint, dandelion with roots and the soft tops of stinging nettles. Put together they make a wild thing!

Dandelion

Oh, almost forgot to give you my great tips.

• When you have a blender with horsepower, throw in a half (organic) avocado pit. It is a very powerful ingredient in the prevention of cancer, a booster of your immune system. It also thickens your smoothie a bit when you like it more creamy.
• When you have a large can on your blender, you can make two different tastes when you get bored easily. I often pour one liter in a bottle as a green smoothie, then add blueberries to the rest of it and blend again. You will now have two different smoothies to consume according to the mood you are in that morning.

You will see, you can’t impossibly eat all these greens from a plate in one day. Liquefied it provides you more vitamins, minerals, enzymes and proteins than you would probably get in a normal week. What am I saying… in a few weeks for the S.A.D eater. You can now understand where your new energy is coming from. Moreover because when you drink a smoothie, the digestion process is halfway, your body can keep its energy for itself and you can go wild!

TOOLS YOU NEED

• A blender
• A sharp knife

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for Wild Kale Smoothie

THE GREENS

• 3 leaves of kale without stem
• 2 big dandelion plants (leaves and roots)
• About 6 tops of stinging nettle
• 2 or 3 sprigs of mint
• 1 pear
• 1 banana
• 1 kiwi (with skin if organic)
• Pure water, Rejuvelac (which is the best in your smoothie! It makes it come even more alive with enzymes and pro biotics) or coconut water. You can also make a combination of liquids.
• Ice (made from pure water, not tap water)  if you want it cool right away.

Superfoods!

• SUPERFOODS of your choice. (I wanted some superpower today so added 2 tsp. Maca for energy,  a handful of chocolate nibs for concentration, 1 TBS Beepollen for immunity before winter, a handful of Goji Berries for testosterone, 1 tsp. kelp granules to maintain healthy thyroid functions, 1 TBS. Green Superfood powder for more chlorophyll,  2TBS. Hemp seeds for proteins.
• A dash of cayenne to spice it up, get the antibacterial benefits and get a deep body glow (it is cold today and my throat hurts a bit)
• If you want it sweeter, add a medjool date (pitted)

THE MAKING OF…

Superfoods on top

• Wash and throw your fruits and greens in your blender
• Add the superfoods of your choice

Filled with abundance!

• Add pure water or rejuvelac till about halfway the content

Up and Running

• Blend, taste and adjust to your own taste if necessary

Two Tastes in One Effort

That’s it! The most nutritious breakfast you can think of and enough valuable content to live on all day long if you have to. Buy a well sealed bottle and take the rest with you to work for a pause. You can drink your smoothie out of a large tea cup if you want to avoid questions or comments from your colleagues.

By the way, don’t pour smoothie away if you can’t drink it all. You can freeze it in ice cubes and use later. Or give it to your pets; they love smoothies and will thrive on them just as much as you do.

Ravishing Breakfast!

]]> http://ravishingraw.com/wordpress/2010/10/01/drink-it-wild/feed/ 20 http://ravishingraw.com/wordpress/2010/06/26/smooth-health/ http://ravishingraw.com/wordpress/2010/06/26/smooth-health/#comments Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:35:05 +0000 Marie-Claire http://ravishingrawblog.wordpress.com/?p=46

Your Green Breakfast

The best way to start your day is make some fresh vegetable juice or a smooth smoothie. Your body has to wake up in the morning and is taking its time until about noon to process your meals of the day before. During morning you are releasing eventual toxins and waste. So if you are not feeling great, look back for a second and think of what you ate yesterday. Try to avoid these energy blocks next time.

All these lovely greens are the best way to do this. Moreover you will have ‘eaten’ more vegetables and fruit than you would on a normal day. You can make this most nutritious breakfast in no time. With a large blender -about 1,5 to 2 quarts of volume- you still have a few glasses to take with you to work, or to feed whoever is around and give them the best start for their day as well.

Dishes are done as quickly; just rinse under running water and you can close the door behind you without leaving any mess.

Green smoothies make miracles happen for your general health, both physically and mentally. I will write more about the benefits soon. But first I want to seduce you with this very simple and easy recipe. It’s the ideal smoothie that makes beginners ask for more and well, you can have more because this is enough for a whole bottle extra. If you have a small blender, just fill it up completely. Making another one is done in a minute.

Your first smoothies are usual very sweet. You need a bit time to adjust to new tastes and your body to the large amount of greens it is receiving all of a sudden. If you have some trouble with the green taste, then add more sweet fruit until you really like it. The only rule in this game is: make your smoothies real yummy, totally to your very own taste. Gradually add more vegetables than fruit until you are used to the pureness of greens. Your body will very quickly start asking for more, a feeling that will surprise you. This means you are on the right track to health and ready for new, stronger combinations with wild edibles.

A good tip is: always have frozen fruit in your freezer. Don’t throw out overripe bananas, but break them into pieces and freeze them in a zip bag, same with mango, pineapple, berries… Using frozen fruit in summer is just lovely and you don’t have to add ice anymore. Also you can make the most delicious ice sorbet in a minute when you are craving sweet. But this is for a next post.

You will find this recipe in my FREE eBook “Raw For 3 Days!”

To receive this eBook, join my email list and I will send you the link where you can download it.

Your daily health in a bottle. Bon appetite!