Raw banana passionfruit and fig cake with coconut sugar lemon frosting

Gee whizz, I haven't been here for a long time. I have some new recipes I am going to add over the next couple of weeks. Still love my raw food, it just makes you feel so good!!! 

I know this doesn't look gorgeous but it taste it!!! I just used a pyrex dish. If you use a spring form pan you can get it to look much better. I was in a hurry to get something nice done for morning tea..this is quick and easy.

 Raw banana passionfruit & fig cake with 

coconut sugar lemon frosting

Makes 1 med cake – serves 8-10

Ingredients

2 cups ground sprouted and dehydrated nuts and seeds - grind in either a food precossor or a blender.

¾ cup dehydrated coconut sugar

¾ cup low temp dried coconut or fresh grated coconut

½ tsp mixed spice

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 lge tsp ground vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla powder

3 extra ripe lady finger bananas

2 passionfruit

5 dried figs – chopped

Preparation

1. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl
2. Blend bananas then add to the mix with the passionfruit and figs.
3. Mix until thoroughly combined then press into a cling film lined pan, dish or bowl – the shape and size is up to you and your imagination
4. Refrigerate or freeze while you make the frosting

Frosting

• 1 cup cashew
• ½ cup dehydrated coconut sugar
• Zest of one lemon

Preparation:

1. Soak cashew in filtered water for a couple of hours
2. Rinse cashews then add just enough water to nearly reach the top of them in the small cup of a magic bullet or Tribest personal blender
3. Add coconut sugar and zest and blend with the flat blade until smooth and creamy
4. Pour over cake and gently spread

Option: add a little zest and coconut to decorate

Enjoy!

Banana on toast - only much better for you!

Snacks are something that a lot of people wanting to be healthy struggle with. Everyone needs a little enjoyment between meals that will keep you sustained and energised as well as mentally satisfied. Here is a quick easy treat that you can have anywhere in no time at all.

This recipe is what inspired me to make the 4 seeds crackers. There are so many savoury raw crackers but none are neutral! Like bread, do what you want with it!! Whatever you can do with bread you can do with our 4-seed crackers – except roll them up!!  I wanted something that would satisfy those quick sweet snacks like honey and jam on bread. This is also great because it is gluten free, grain free, dairy free with no additives or flavours at all, not even salt! 

Here are some other things you can do with a 4-seed cracker

• ·         Sandwich
• ·         Toast
• ·         Crackers for dips, spread or pate
• ·         Pizza base – little ones!!

Ground up and used as

• ·         Crumbs
• ·         Fillings for nutmeat and stuffing
• ·         Flour in cakes and muffins
• ·         Used in raw bliss balls
• ·         Raw cheesecake base (just process with dried fruit)
• ·         Sprinkle on a salad
• ·         Sprinkles on fruit salad
• ·         Thicken recipes

And that’s just of the top of my head while I type this up.

Then there is the nutrition they contain

Pepitas – for zinc, iron, magnesium, protein and tryptophan.. to help you stay happy! Good for combating prostate cancer and they are anti-inflammatory which is good for everything including arthritis? 

Sunflower seeds – Vitamin E, selenium and folate.. all great for female health including hormones and gorgeous skin. Also heart health, hot flushes and they are anti-inflammatory.

Flaxseeds – Omega 3!! Need I say anymore. Plus lignans for digestive and heart health and fiber.

Chia seeds – another omega-3 hit, antioxidants, fiber, calcium and protein.

Source: http://www.whfoods.com/

Simple, just add sliced banana, raw honey and a sprinkle of fresh or organic dried coconut to a Kitz 4-seed cracker. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Apricot Jam Donuts – Raw!

I still love making raw treats for the Kitz Angels. I know it's been a while since I've been here but I do miss it. I've been busy at my other blog were I post healthy food I make for my loved ones who are not interested in being completely raw but they do love a high raw diet and that which is not raw to be as healthy as I can make it. Yep it keeps me busy but I wouldn't have it any other way. This is a little treat I did up last week. The new mould I used made then look super cool. 

You will need a mould for baking donuts or something with a similar shape. The one I have just leaves a dent in the center which made it easy to put the jam into. If you don't have one or can't get one just press them into the bottom of a muffin pan. 

Cinnamon Apricot Jam Donuts

Makes 6

Ingredients:

½ cup buckies

½ cup active almonds

½ cup good quality unsweetened coconut

½ tsp ground vanilla bean

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp lemon zest

Juice of half a lemon

2 tbs coconut oil

1/3 to ¼ cup agave

Preparation:

 Add buckies and almonds to a food processor and grind until fine

Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it sticks together when you press it into a ball

Sprinkle water over your donut mould then place a large piece of cling film over the top.

Note: the water helps the cling film slide into the mould and you need more than you think because once it goes into the mould you don’t have much left

Place about 2 tbs into each mould and press down firmly with the back of the spoon

Gently pull the cling film up to remove the donuts and place onto a plate so that you can refrigerate them while you make the jam

Jam

Ingredients:

¼ cup chopped organic apricots

1/3 cup of chopped pitted dates

¼ tsp vanilla

Filtered water to cover

Preparation:

Add ingredients to a small personal blender and add warm filtered water to just cover

Leave for about an hour or two so that the fruit is soft

Blend until thick and smooth just like jam!

Place a spoonful into the middle of the donuts

Enjoy!

Pears and Strawberries.. what shall I do?

Make a Pear and Strawberry Flan!! that's what I did.

I had to make something nice today, the morning tea I  had served them the last couple of days was dismal!! It was one of those things I had to resurrect by making a nice chocolate sauce and cashew cream to pour over it. It looked divine but the cake was  bit dry. O'well, you win some you lose some!!

This was a spur of the moment cake. I had strawberries that needed to be used and I couldn't bring myself to put them in the morning smoothie. I also had some nice big pears that lend themselves to that delicious sweetness needed in a good flan!! So of the the pantry I went looking for more inspiration and this is what I came up with. I wasn't going to write down what I put in it but when I finished it I just though id better. Nothing worse that when I throw something together that they love and then I can't remember what was in it.

Yep it was a hit and yep I going to blog it!! so here is the recipes.

Pear & Strawberry Flan

Base

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Kitz Active almonds

1/2 cup Kitz Active walnuts

3/4 cup dates

1/2 cup coconut (dried)

1 tsp freshly ground vanilla bean

Preparation:

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until sticky but still chunky. Press into the base of a paper lined cheesecake pan.

Filling

ingredients:

1/2 cup cashews

1/3 cup goji berries

cover with water and soak for about 1/2 hr.

add

1 large peeled and cored pear

1 punnet of strawberries

2 tbs chia seeds

1 tbs coconut oil

Agave to taste

Guar gum, - optional and if needed!

Preparation:

Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy. If it is too runny add 1/2 tsp guar gum while the motor is running until incorporated and thickened - I had to do this as I had left too much water with the nuts and goji's!!

enjoy!



Current fav - Orange Goji Berry smoothies..

Not only do oranges taste amazing but they are also cheap at the moment. With the amount of I have to peel each morning i'm also loving that they don't have seeds. Navels are my freind. Because everyone should know.. Orange seeds are the natural enemy of a food smoothy!!

I have I told you about Goji berries!! whoa, they are a powerhouse of nutrition!! They have 500 times more vitamin c than oranges and they are a rich source of caratanoids. They contain 19 types of amino acids which include all 8 essential amino acids plus 21 trace minerals. 11mg of iron per 100g plus an array of phytochemicals. Some say they are one of the most nutritonally dense foods around. Plus they taste awesome!!

All you need is about 7 oranges - peeled
Small hanful of goji berries
Ice or water - about 1/2 cup

Blend until smooth and creamy!! devour.

This serves about 2-4 depending on size of oranges and glasses!!

Miso yummy fat free Kale chips and stixs

Kale chips

Kale Stix



All of the Kale chip recipes i've seen are made with either nuts, seeds or oil. Now sometimes that's great but sometimes I just want a light snack. I also make these and crush them up like the celery sprinkles to use in salads. Kale is such a nutrutious green as it is extremely high in vitamins, A, C and K as well as a being a good source of usuable calcium and magnesium. It even has ALA omega 3 in it. Research has shown that Kale consumption is linked to so many improvements in your health and energy that you could write a book on it.
Kale chips are a really easy way to get lots of in!! The truth is I have to stop myself from eating it all before I get it out of the dehydrator.
Most people throw the stalks out but I just can't do that so I had a go at these stix and they are amazing. Yeh, nothing is waisted.
Just like everything I make, nothing is measured so these are just estimates.

Kale chips & stix

Ingredients:
2 bunches of fresh organic kale
3/4 cup freshly sprouted mung beans
1 tsp unpasturised barley miso
1/2 glove of fresh garlic
1 cm peice of fresh ginger
1 tsp fresh tumeric
Splash of low sodium tamari
good healthy splash of homemade saurkraut juice

Preparation:

Wash kale then strip the leaves off the stalks. Chop the leaves into medium sized chunks and place into a large bowl. Chop the stalks into sticks about 5cm long and place into a separate bowl.

Blend all the remaining ingredients in a personal blender, pour onto the chopped kale and gently massage it in.

For the Stixs I added a little bit of stevia to give it a more teriyaki type flavour, you could also use a few sultanas, raisins, agave or a date. the combination of sweet, savoury is always nice, especially with ginger and garlic. I did a separate batch of the wet ingredients for the stix and the chips, so you will need to do the about recipe twice.

Before going into the dehydrator

Bush lemons are abundant at the moment and they are divine. Precious Katie has been bringing them in for me regularly as well as a few limes .. now they are really special!! She gets them from a tree growing wild in the hinterland. Perfect, no sprays, no polution!

I also had some freeze dried blueberry powder I needed to use up. The result of that is this cheezecake type swirl.

The ingredients make this a perfect after training snack.. gotta be happy with that!

Bush lemon blueberry swirl

Ingredients

Approximate only!

Base

1 cup of active mix or equal amount of any other nut or seed. (Preferably sprouted and dehydrated)

½ cup sultanas (raisins)

½ t each of cinnamon and vanilla bean

Squirt of agave or enough to bring it together or to taste!

Preparation:

· Process active mix or nuts in a food processor with the S blade until fine. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until it sticks together when pressed into a ball.

· Press into a baking paper lined cheesecake tin. Place in the fridge or freezer while you prepare the filling.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups cashews – soaked in filtered water for a least 2hrs

Juice and zest of 2 bush lemons. (Normal lemons would be fine)

½ - 2/4 cup dark raw agave

2 large scoops of Sunworrier vanilla protein powder

1 tbs freeze dried blueberry powder (or fresh/frozen, about ½ cup)

½ tsp guar gum

Preparation:

· Rinse and drain cashews then add enough filtered water to just cover them in a high speed blender. I use the Sunbeam Café series 1100 watt and it is fine. If you have a vitamix!! Lucky you. J

· Add the lemon juice, zest and agave and blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more water or agave depending on your taste.

· Add the protein powder and blend it in. then with the motor still running slowly rain the guar gum into the blender through the little hole at the top until it is nice and thick with no lumps. It is important to keep the motor running as it can clump.

· Dollop about 5 big spoons full or a little over half of the mix onto the base. Leave it until you add the blueberry mix

· Add the blueberries to the rest of the mix and blend until it is back to the smooth creamy consistency again. Dollop the rest into the base around the lemon cream.

· Note: if you used fresh or frozen blueberries and it made the mix too runny you can add more guar gum and agave or just freeze it that will help it stabilize.

· Carefully with the handle of a spoon swirl the two mixes until you get a lovely combination of colours, don’t overdo it or it will turn to mud!! Tap it gently on the bench the settle the mix and smooth the top as much as you can then place it back into the fridge or freeze until it is set.

Enjoy!

Still loving raw even though i've been absent from my blog

 Smashed Lemon Casheeze Cake

 Citrus Coconut cakes with Fig Jam and Cashew Cream

 Coconut cake, banana passionfruit salad with Super charged sprinkles and warm macadamia cream

 Pear flan with apricot jam - Nut and seed free

New me, new blogspot..

I think it's time I put the link to my new blog here..

As off last June I have been eating cooked vegetables, fish, seafood and oats, so I am not 100% raw anymore. It's been a great move for my health, socialization, family and Karma..  adored being raw and found it very easy to do but it was really making me an outsider and the fact was that my health was actually starting to deteriorate.

I'd had an itch for the last 3yrs on my torso that was driving me crazy. My hair was thinning, I was losing muscle tone and strength. The quality of my lean tissue I later found out had become quite poor. Not a good thing when it is so vital to retain it as we age. My hypothyroid had  not corrected itself, my adrenals where drained, my teeth where chipping and cracking, my skin was starting to lose elasticity and I was finding myself completely drained and exhausted by about 3pm each afternoon. I also found myself craving things like a nice piece of salmon. I had never craved any cooked food, meat, seafood or for that matter anything that was not included in a raw vegan diet, but all of a sudden my body was telling me it needed more, so I listened to it and with apprehension make some changes.

The excitement of my husband and children at my decision to change my diet was amazing, they where just so happy and relieved. It really saddened me, I didn't realise how much my restricted eating habits had affected them. Right there and then I felt that was an even better reason to do it.

So here is a link to the new me.. Karenluvslife

I look forward to seeing you at the new location

xx

More fun for Christmas!

Can we get enough good healthy sweet into us at Christmas? This wicked looking  cake/tart/slice call or shape it what you want is made with only the best ingredients that for a Christmas treat you could have it for breakfast and still not feel guilty!! Go on try it.. lol

check out the post's below with the Christmas puddings too.. 

KITZ CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SLICE

My favourite slice has always been the sugary, fatty version of this healthy one I created using raw natural ingredients. I haven't had the sugary one since I was a kid but with this delicious alternative I can now enjoy knowing that all of the ingredients are actually nutritious!!

 

Ingredients:

Base:

1 cup Kitz active almonds

1 cup Kitz Choci-jo

½ cup dates

1 T coconut oil

Middle:

1 cup soaked cashews

1 cup soaked date plus soak water

2 T dark agave

½ t each cinnamon & vanilla

¾ guar gum (optional)

Top:

1 ½ cup soaked cashews/mac’s

½ cup soaked dates

100ml dark agave

Pinch vanilla

75ml water

1 heaped t cacao

Preparation:

Base:

Place almonds into a food processor and process until a smooth meal. Add the choci-jo and blend for about 15secs then add dates slowly down the chute while motor is still running adding coconut oil straight after so that it incorporates with the dates, once they are evenly chopped and the mix stays together when pressed into a ball pour into a nice slice pan or round tart dish and press down firmly to make a base. You can use the back of a spoon or the bottom of a flat glass to smooth the bottom. Make sure it is pressed well so that it does not fall apart when cut!!

Filling:

Rinse the cashews then place in a good quality blender with the dates and date soak water, agave, vanilla & cinnamon. Blend until smooth. This can take a while, to test put some mix between you thumb and index finger and if there are no grains, it is smooth like cream it is ready. It may not get as smooth as cream but get it as smooth as you can. IF using guar gum slowly while the motor is running tilt the teaspoon of guar gum into the blender so that it does not clump. Blend until it combines and thickens. Spread evenly over the base then place into the freezer to cool.

Topping:

Place all ingredients except the cacao powder into the blender and blend until smooth and creamy, then add cacao powder and blend until it is mixed in thoroughly. Spread evenly over the filling. You can wait until the filling has cooled a bit then add the topping. Place into the fridge or freezer to cool for at least 5hrs.. then ENJOY!!

 

Christmas Puddings

Christmas is nearly here. One of the most enjoyable things about Christmas for me is making up all the wonderful treats we seem to just enjoy at Christmas!! why's that  wonder? Maybe that's what makes them so good, the fact that we save them for this special time or sharing.
Here is a recipe I came up with last week in a moment of inspiration.

Christmas Pudding Balls 

Ingredients & Preparation:
Equal portions of

• Dates
• Figs
• Organic apricots
• Organic sultanas

Chop all fruits to about the same size as the sultanas, place into a large bowl that has a lid.
Add

• 1t cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp mixed spice
• 2-3 tbs organic dehydrated coconut palm sugar
• 1 cup of warm ginger digest tea or similar.

Soak for at least 24hrs stirring occasionally.
Then, in a blender grind until fine,

• Kitz Active mix

Or equal amounts of

• Buckies
• Active walnuts – natural
• Active almonds – natural
• Pepitas (pumpkin kernels)
• Sunflower seeds
• Dried coconut – organic

Buckies, active walnuts and active almonds are all available in the Kitz online shop or at a good wholefoods shop near you.. :)

 Add grounds nuts and seeds to soaked fruits and mix. Add enough to make firm dough. With damp hand roll into fist sized balls then roll in dried coconut. Place on a plate or a container and store in the fridge until firm. They will keep for quite a few days. If you wish you could freeze them to make them last longer.

Macadamia cream 
Soak about ½ to 1 cup of macadamias, depending on how many pudding balls you made. They only need to be soaked for a couple of hours. Rinse a couple of times then just cover with good fresh or filtered water and blend until smooth and creamy. Macadamias do not get the ultra smooth gloss that you can get with cashews but some people find cashews a bit hard to digest, you could use cashews if you are fine with them. They do make a beautiful cream that’s for sure.

Coconut cream 
I blended good quality low temp dried coconut until it went smooth and creamy and we had that with it as well, the combinations worked really well. If you have time and the ingredients give it a go.

Chocolate Inspired Christmas Puddings

These are for all the chocoholics! A healthy combination of 2 Christmas favourites.. Chocolate and fruit puddings!! I really wanted to melt some raw chocolate and drizzle it over the cream but I ran out of time and had to get them ready quickly for my Kitz Angels.. it was morning tea time!!

 

Chocolate Christmas Pudding with Macadamia Cream

Ingredients & Preparation:

Equal portions of (about 1/2 -3/4 cup of each)

• Dates
• Figs
• Organic apricots
• Organic sultanas

then add half as much of the nuts as you did of each of the fruits (say 1/4 - 1/2 cup each)

• raw almonds
• raw walnuts

Chop all fruits to about the same size as the sultanas, place into a large bowl that has a lid.
Add

• 1t cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp mixed spice
• 2-3 tbs organic dehydrated coconut palm sugar
• 1 cup of warm ginger digest tea or similar. 

Soak for at least 24hrs stirring occasionally.
Then, in a blender grind until fine,

• Kitz Active mix

Or equal amounts of

• Buckies
• Active walnuts – natural
• Active almonds – natural
• Pepitas (pumpkin kernels)
• Sunflower seeds
• Dried coconut – organic

Plus

• 1/2 cup Raw cacao nibs
• 1/2 cup Raw cacao powder (test to check your level of chocolatiness!!) - I know that's not a word but it explains what I mean! 

Add grounds nuts and seeds to soaked fruits along with the raw cacao nibs and cacao powder. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add enough to make firm dough. With damp hand roll into fist sized balls then roll in dried coconut. You could also roll these in cacao powder to give them that really nice chocolate look and extra richness. Place on a plate or a container and store in the fridge until firm. They will keep for quite a few days. If you wish you could freeze them to make them last longer.

NOTE: Buckies, active walnuts and active almonds are all available in the Kitz online shop or at a good wholefoods shop near you.. :) 

Macadamia cream 

Soak about ½ to 1 cup of macadamias, depending on how many pudding balls you made. They only need to be soaked for a couple of hours. Rinse a couple of times then just cover with good fresh or filtered water and blend until smooth and creamy. Macadamias do not get the ultra smooth gloss that you can get with cashews but some people find cashews a bit hard to digest, you could use cashews if you are fine with them. They do make a beautiful cream that’s for sure.
To serve
Dollop macadamia cream top, sprinkle with raw cacao nibs a little vanilla powder and some raw cacao powder.. add goji berries for a Christmas affect.
Enjoy! :)

Choci-Logs

I don't know why I called these Choci-logs because in the end they are not logs are all but I like the name, and anyway half way through the process they are a big log!!
I made the first batch of these for my daughter who was the inspiration behind the Choci-Jo, that's how it got it's name... her name is Sami-Jo!! She is a triathelete so always need healthy nutritious snack to keep up with all the training she does. These are a a great source of Carbohydrates for energy, good fats for metablism and processing nutrients as well as protein for growth and repair that is so essential when you train hard.

With a food processor these only take 5mins to make, they are so quick and easy!

Choci-logs

Ingredients:

100g Kitz Active Almonds
130g Kitz Choci-Jo granola
60g sultanas
60 dates
40g goji berries
40g raw cacao nibs
60g brown rice protein powder
1 large ripe banana – with black spots on it!!

Preparation:
Place almonds into a food processor and ground to a meal, then add Choci-Jo and process until broken up.
Add sultanas and dates a process until they resemble bread crumbs
Then add remaining ingredients and blend until it sticks together, you don’t want to overdo it as it will just turn into fudge with no crunchy bits from the buckwheat or chewy bits from the fruit!!
Turn out onto a piece of baking paper, cling wrap or a layed out clean plastic bag and shape into a big log.
Roll it up tightly then place in the fridge or freezer to cool for about 4hrs.
When the goji berries are soft you can roll it in desiccated coconut, almonds meal or ground cacao nibs then slice into little rounds.
Store in a container in the fridge or freezer depending on your preference
Enjoy!

Tea time for the Kitz Girls

KITZ CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SLICE

My favourite slice has always been the sugary, fatty version of this healthy one I created using raw natural ingredients. I haven't had the sugary one since I was a kid but with this delicious alternative I can now enjoy knowing that all of the ingredients are actually nutritious!! The Choci-Jo and the Active Almonds are available at Kitz Living Foods, theres a link at the right of the page. http://www.kitzlivingfoods.com.au/

INGREDIENTS

Base:
1 cup active almonds
1 cup Choci-jo
½ cup dates
1 T coconut oil

Middle:
1 cup soaked cashews
1 cup soaked date plus soak water
2 T dark agave
½ t each cinnamon & vanilla
¾ guar gum (optional)

Top:
1 ½ cup soaked cashews/mac’s
½ cup soaked dates
100ml dark agave
Pinch vanilla
75ml water
1 heaped t cacao

Preparation:

Base:
Place almonds into a food processor and process until a smooth meal. Add the choci-jo and blend for about 15secs then add dates slowly down the chute while motor is still running adding coconut oil straight after so that it incorporates with the dates, once they are evenly chopped and the mix stays together when pressed into a ball pour into a nice slice pan or round tart dish and press down firmly to make a base. You can use the back of a spoon or the bottom of a flat glass to smooth the bottom. Make sure it is pressed well so that it does not fall apart when cut!!

Filling:
Rinse the cashews then place in a good quality blender with the dates and date soak water, agave, vanilla & cinnamon. Blend until smooth. This can take a while, to test put some mix between you thumb and index finger and if there are no grains, it is smooth like cream it is ready. It may not get as smooth as cream but get it as smooth as you can. IF using guar gum slowly while the motor is running tilt the teaspoon of guar gum into the blender so that it does not clump. Blend until it combines and thickens. Spread evenly over the base then place into the freezer to cool.

Topping:
Place all ingredients except the cacao powder into the blender and blend until smooth and creamy, then add cacao powder and blend until it is mixed in thoroughly. Spread evenly over the filling. You can wait until the filling has cooled a bit then add the topping. Place into the fridge or freezer to cool for at least 5hrs.. then ENJOY!!

My real world

I've haven't been here for quite a while.. it get kind of hard because I feel that everything I put into this blog should be about Raw!.. I am raw, I love raw, I can't think of any better way to eat. I don't have the think about it. I don't crave anything but fruit, greens and some raw veg. Occasionally I think about seaweed or spirulina. Both are foods that I can eat in a salad and thoroughly enjoy if I am in the mood. Lately that seems to be .. well now that I think of it, kind of never really. When I get it in front of me it just feels like it's going to ruin what I am about to eat. I now love to mono eat my fruits. I never have more that one fruit at a time just because I like it that way and for no other reason. Many will do this for better digestion. My salads are usually no more that 2-4 ingredients and on special occasions I will have more variety. I think mainly so that friends and family don't think I've completly lost it!. ;)
I can remeber when I was a teenager  we would sit around snacking, I would have a bag of red apples or some dates while everyone else wanted chips, chocolate and sweetened drinks, either bought juice or flavoured milk. Even back then they weren't real food to me. My big splurge would be rolled oats, bran buds and wheatgerm mixed with water.. I would make it really mushy and just pig out on it. I loved it!
But that's me, I have a family and they love cooked food. They have no desire to be raw, vegatarian or vegan. Except for my husband who I think could easilly be vegatarian.

Fruitfull Bali

It's been a while since I've been here... but we have been on a long awaited trip to Bali! and it was wonderful.

Honeydew Melon Smoothy

I feasted on fruit grown in the lush volanic soils of the island, all grown naturally without chemicals. It was amazing, the mangoes, papaya and bananas are as ripe as can be, full of sweetness and the skins are still green! what is that telling us?
Along with the massive amounts of papaya, mango and watermelon I consumed I also enjoyed snake fruit, rambutans, manogsteen, bananas and the most favoured of all.. the Durian! fresh from the farmer and never seen a fridge let alone a freezer! so cheep and so sweet and creamy!

Ubud Markets.. durian everywhere!

I am already planning a return, this time going to hire mopeds and take a small backpack so that we can just travel the Island and stay where we find great little gems. We did hire them this time while we where in Ubud and it was a lot of fun. Rode mountain bikes from the Volcano back to Ubud, the boys white water rafted.. I did the whole massage/spa thing.. :) very nice!! and we did lots of walking, talking - we where trying to learn Indonesian, exploring and mmm shopping!

Jordi in the Hot Tub at the Spa!

Raw Almond Shortbread House

With Christmas only 5 days away I had to get together our traditional "Gingerbread House". I haven't done one for a couple of years as the kids don't really like gingerbread but they did always love the lollies on it and it looks so nice at Christmas time. To be honest it never really worried me that they didn't eat it as it's not the kind of food I want them to enjoy! But this year I decided to have a go at a raw version and chose the recipe for the Kitz Almond Shortbread cookies for the walls and roof. All healthy with no ginger! The cement is a Cashew Cacao butter cream with agave. The rest is just good ole raw superfoods.. almonds, goji berries, pepitas, apricots, spirulina and coconut with some orange and lemon zest for sparkle. I would have liked the cream to be a bit smoother but didn't feel like having another go at it.
Here it is in all it's glory!! A bit wonky but ok for a rushed rainy Sunday.. :)

Simplicity

I am really enjoying the warm weather, Summer is a great time to enjoy the simple things in life. Fresh air, sunshine, clean beaches, clear water, great running and walking, relaxing, family, friends, pets, gardening.. all of these things are free and bring so much joy. There not complicated, agressive or negative if we handle them properly. Enthusiasm, encouragement and positiveness with friends, family and pets and the sheer joy of our natural environment with the remainder. We are so lucky.

And one of my favourite for summer.. (actually all year!) is the FRUIT.. wonderful, glorious fruit! I am devouring rockmelons, watermelon, mango's, papaya, pineapple, apricots, peaches, kiwi's and more..... it's all just so sweet and hydrating. I am thoroughly enjoying the simpliciy of Fruit! It tastes great, it digests well, it satisfies my sweet tooth and it's easy to get and prepackaged.

Enthusiasm

I can remember where I got this story from but I love. I didn't meet the lady but this is the story as I saw it.
"I met a woman who looks very young for her age. When I asked she told me simply that her secret was enthusiasm. I believe it. That is why people can find falling in love so rejuvenating, - the excitement actually makes the cells more alive. (which is a testament to the power of emotions to affect our health). I think enthusiasm is a little lower key but therefore also more sustainable for the long term. So find the things you love to do and do them with enthusiasm!
I love to do all that I can with enthusiasm.. I love what I do. Work doesn't feel like work. My husband who has been struggling for some time with what his line of 'work' asked me..
If you had all the money you needed, what would you be doing..
I thought about it seriously for a couple of minutes and my answer was,
I would be doing exactly what I am doing now!
I love making and creating genuinely healthy food for everyone in my attempt to help people get away from the destruction being caused by over consumption of highly processed food and what it is doing to our world. It is my passion to help them realise that fresh, natural food tastes so much better, makes you feel so much happier and takes away the drudgery of having to worry about your weight, with good clean food and a little movement your body will naturally be at the correct weight it is supposed to be. You will not feel deprived, to me it is a 'life of Abundance'.. I really want everyone to see and feel that too!
So tomorrow morning.. which will be Monday. I will enthusiastically wake up, make a fresh healthy breakfast for my family.. smoothies, fruit salads and Kitz Granola, lunch and morning tea.. then go for a good run, then get into my Kitz Kitchen to make a large batch of Fresh Herb Crackers.. What a great start to the week.
:)