my nourished vibes

my husband loves to load up on gluten free grains like brown rice and quinoa. so to feel better about it, i always cook vegetables in with the grains and then serve the finished product with marinated vegetables or marinated greens. this is a super easy, non-confrontational, non-threatening and absolutely delicious way to "force" veggies on your loved ones;) so here's a great recipe to give veggies a good reputation at your house. LOADED BROWN RICE i first got the idea for making this rice from my  sister , when i was cooking at her house about two years ago. she went on a cloves "kick" and put cloves in everything! and everything always tasted amazing! so i made brown rice the way she instructed me to, with a "pinch of cloves." well i didn't realize that she meant ground cloves, so i put in a heaping pinch of whole cloves. cloves aren't too forgiving little creatures...and let's just say their intensity was "interesting."

around here we love our green juices. it's our breakfast of champions...babies and adults alike. actually we love raw drinks of all kinds. this picture doesn't even come close to experiencing it's full on decadence. this raw carmel apricot latte is really creamy and smooth with a thick layer of coconut cream on top. this is why i love making raw drinks so much! any flavor you want, any nutrition your seeking, and any texture you desire, all in one tasty place! here's why and how you should incorporate more raw drinks into your life. my typical day starts out with fresh raw green juice (usually carrots, cucumber, garlic, spinach, and whatever other greens i have). any where from a half hour to an hour later ill make a raw latte. i don't actually eat solid food until i've been awake for two or three hours. i have made this a lasting habit because, when our bodies are sleeping at night, they are working hard to recharge us while at the sa

a few years ago i watched this short youtube video of the lovely  Brigitte Mars  called  "seven minutes to raw"  and her tips have continued to guide me through the kitchen all this time later. i think the biggest impact she had on me was her statement challenging the viewers to "cook without using heat." it really is a genius statement for the raw foodist to be inspired by. the other day, my friend wasn't too sure what i meant when i said this. to me, cooking without using heat really means to manipulate taste, texture and structure of raw whole foods with out using the element of fire to destroy the integrity of the food itself. let me explain...a way to manipulate the taste of cucumber without harming it's molecular structure would be to season it with sea salt, fresh dill and olive oil. a way to manipulate the texture of hard, crunchy (and inevitably boring to the westerner) broccoli is to let it marinade in olive oil, sea salt and balsamic vinegar for

with the experience that i've had over the last five-ish years sticking to a whole foods diet, i thought why not just throw some things i've learned on to a nice and neat little blog post for your inspiration. enjoy:) 1. READ, READ, READ!! the moment i found out that there were some serious issues going on with my health at age 18, i was mortified and had a desperation to find answers. the herbalist i was working with at the time suggested two books to read to help me understand the concept of healing the body. i can't even remember the name of either of the books, but for the first time in my life, i enjoyed reading! after that i decided to plow through every book i could find on health and nutrition. i had to immerse myself in the work of these authors, to remind myself that i wasn't in fact insane like everyone else around me perceived...i was regaining control of my body and mind by leaving the status quo of western eating. if you are interested in your health, r

it's only january 15th and i've already finished reading my second book of 2011!...once you have a baby you'll realize how great of a feat this actually is;) Unlocking Heaven by, Kevin Dedmon is incredible!! i looked forward to the moments i got to spend curled up on the couch devouring the inspirational  words of this book. Dedmon rights in such a personal way, that you feel like you are having a one on one conversation with him. His real life accounts of witnessing miraculous healings....and even being the one releasing the healing to others...left my mouth hanging open in amazement, filled me with a deeper desire to help others and sometimes just made me laugh with the joy of heaven! to say the least, he has a way of nudging you to the higher life that god has called you to live. with real life experiences, and examples from the bible, he literally gives you the "keys" to unlocking heaven and being able to release God's power to those around you i

ok so you really have to get in the raw mindset....or just lose your mind...before you start thinking of putting together a dish like this. loaf? c'mon. but it has a deep meaty and earthy flavor and i just can't think of a better way to get all these raw vegetables in my mouth...or in my meat craving husband's mouth. so break free from the norm and feel empowered when you make this super hippie "raw super loaf" as my husband so lovingly named it. MUSHROOM LOAF                                                 yeah, that's right, it looks like meatloaf.  MUSHROOM LOAF part 1 ingredients: 3/4 c ground flax 1 stalk celery 1/2 yellow pepper  3 tbs fresh oregano 1 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp ground sage *finely chop the celery, pepper and oregano. stir this with the other ingredients in a large bowl. set aside. part 2 ingredients: 2 portobello mushrooms 1/2 onion 3 cloves garlic 1/4 c dried cranberries, soaked juice of half a lemo

as you may have noticed, i like to dream about my food a lot before i actually get in the kitchen and put together a new recipe. with this cauliflower rice, there was no exception. i was really longing for a creamy parmesan flavor and had to think 24/7 for a few days before i knew exactly how to execute this life saver of a sauce....which can help save you from those oh so strong creamy parmesan cravings too! CAULIFLOWER RICE WITH ALFREDO SAUCE i love making interesting twists with cauliflower...because, well...it's usually kinda boring. this has a soft texture and really hits the spot when your dreaming of something warm and creamy.  CAULIFLOWER RICE WITH ALFREDO SAUCE cauliflower rice: 1 head cauliflower 1/4 olive oil juice of 1 lemon 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper *cut the cauliflower in chunks and then pulse it in the food processor until you have tiny rice size chunks. toss it in a bowl with all the other ingredients and give it the royal treatment with

with the left over filling that i had from my  raw vegan cheezey zucchini roll ups  i knew i had another exciting dish waiting to be made. in fact, i was day dreaming about it for a few days before i had the chance to make it....and my day dreaming paid off, cuz it was delish! i had frozen my cheeze filling from the roll ups until i was ready to use it, and a week or so later i thawed it for use in this recipe with incredible results. SPICY "MACARONI AND CHEEZE" when the flavors of this full bodied spicy macaroni and cheeze hits your mouth, you'll be pleasantly surprised by this unusual team of raw ingredients. you'll be even more happy as you realize that your nourishing your body with a whole raw zucchini and thoroughly enjoying it ;) SPICY "MACARONI AND CHEEZE" macaroni: 2 zucchinis 1/2 yellow pepper 2 tbs olive oil juice of half a lemon 1 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper *using a vegetable peel

with the new year i'm sure many people have made goals for weight loss, healthier eating, or starting off with a detox. with all the heavy food i ate around the holidays, and improperly combined meals, you dont have to tell me twice that my body needs a little break and an easy detox. sometimes the word detox gets a bad wrap because the most common one people know of consists of drinking maple syrup and cayenne pepper water for seven days....?? no, this is not a real detox. i'm sure it would give the human body a much needed break from processed foods in which it could heal from a few things, but overall effectiveness in a holistic view would be minimal. the real point of a detox is to clean your body out on a cellular level. the body is constantly moving waste products out of its system. when we continue to put a heavy burden on our digestive system, things get a little backed up, and our body directs the "waste products" to be stored away until it can deal with

i have a feeling that i'm going to read more books in 2011 than i have in any other year. for starters, my husband and i decided to give up tv for the month of january...welll except for the real houswives. hahaha! but we couldn't quite the tube cold turkey. so anyways, i already finished my first book of the new year! i started reading it the day after new years and i finished it in a week and a half. with that, i would like to give you a review of all the books i read. my two favorite subjects to read about are nutrition and christian spirituality. so take what resounds with you....and leave the rest for someone else;) Heaven Is So Real by Choo Thomas was the perfect way to start my new year! I was captivated by her detailed story of being face to face with Jesus on numerous occasions. She detailed the accounts of the visions He showed her, the words He spoke to her and the places He showed her in heaven. anything about Jesus truly excites me, but through reading this boo

believe it! it's possible to make sweet treats that are actually beneficial to your health! annnd welcome to my world. i hate it when people assume that just because something is sweet means that its bad for you. although these are the same people that don't even know what "bad" for you means and what "good" for you means. either way, i love the look on their face when i present them with a sweet dessert like a  chocolate pie comprised of raw avocados (which is beyond amazing) or a cheesecake made of raw cashews (which is beyond human description). so i had an itch for something chocolatey and carmely and decided to create this. now don't be too impressed...i look like a total amature compared to some other sites that are dedicated to making raw desserts. my favorites to drool over include  http://www.sweetlyraw.com/  and  http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com .  these ladies will give you the much needed hope that when you ditch the "pro

well after all the holidays have come and passed, i finally have time to sit down and write these recipes. and i have to tell you, its been a week and a half since i made this, and i havent stopped thinking about it! sometimes your greatest successes can be found in your mistakes...and that's exactly what happened on this night for dinner. i knew i was making roasted squash with steamed asparagus and carrots. the squash has an incredible flavor, but i needed to boost the steamed vegetables just a bit. so my greek mind decided on tzatziki (pronounced: tat-zee-kee). for those of you who don't know what that is, wake up and get yourself to the closest greek festival and you'll discover it's the most delicious condiment in the form of a yogurt cucumber sauce. but i remember being intimidated watching my older sister make this when i was a kid, because with every greek recipe you have to cook like a superhero...or grecian goddess...and multitask for at least six hours stra