my nourished vibes

oh the christmas season....sigh....it comes and goes so fast.  and what is there left to do once all the hustle and bustle have died down, the presents have been opened and the egg nog has been drank?  make delicious broth of course!  our christmas morning was rather quiet this year.  we only had ourselves, and our plans included nothing more than watching dimitri tear through his presents, and eat my homemade gluten free cinnamon rolls while lounging in our pajamas all day.  it was a very successful christmas!  so my number one priority once all the fun was had, was to get the bones from my beautiful christmas eve turkey boiling away on the stove top.  our christmas smelled delicious:) so what's so great about making your own broth?  why not just buy broth from the grocery store?  if you ever ask me these questions, ill slap you across the face and tell you to snap out of it!  not only is homemade broth filled with much more complex...

christmas day will never be complete until i have my glass (or too many to count) of egg nog .  end of story.  i am lucky enough to have never had the misfortune of drinking store bought egg nog from those scary cartons that show up every year after thanksgiving.  i dont even want to know what kind of chemical mess these companies are trying to pass off as a traditional holiday drink.  so, i apologize to any of you reading this who have ever had the unpleasant experience of drinking said concoction and coming to the terrible conclusion that you dont like egg nog.  but not me...i have lived a life filled with hope , because every year on christmas eve my aunt would serve us homemade egg nog.  you can often find me on my knees thanking god that this tradition was always a part of my life;)  as we would walk into her house every year on christmas eve around 7 pm, paradise beckoned from the kitchen.  a crystal punch bowl filled with that oh so creamy...

well hello there old friend:) its been quite some time hasnt it? a lot of things have changed since we last sat down to chat.  lets start with the big stuff! as of now i am 28 weeks pregnant with our second child!  if it werent for the circumstances i would not have received an ultrasound with this pregnancy either, but since the doctors needed it for their peace of mind i gave in.  and found out that our next angel will be a GIRL !!! we are so thrilled that she will be joining our family in february:) i no longer live among my people.... yes, i am now a foreiner ;)  my husband and i, along with our two year old son packed up and said good by to the good ole' U.S. of A. two months ago to move to germany for his job. we were so excited to move on and see what was in store for us in this big adventure. heck i was just excited to move to a place where they still understood the greatness of bakeries, butchers and markets! my dream came true when we found our house a...

apparently i only blog well in the dreary winter months...  i hope that you have been enjoying your summer as much as i have:)  im so sorry for keeping this diamond from you for so long words cannot even describe how incredible this pie is! its hard to believe that this pie is raw, or even to believe that its not from a famous bakery.  the crust is deep and chocolatey, reminiscent of brownies with an added crunch that has you searching for oreos in the recipe. the filling is smooth with a little tang to offset its dreamy sweetness.  i promise you, this pie will not last long in your house! ALMOND BUTTER PIE crust: 1 1/2 c walnuts 1 1/2 c pecans 1/2 c dates 1/2 c cocoa 2 tsp honey 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp sea salt 1 tbs cacao nibs *grind walnuts and pecans in food processor until fine and crumbly. add in all other ingredients except cacao nibs. process until a dough starts to form. *press crust in the bottom and u...

here she is and here is her sacred recipe i promised you BLACKBERRY MOUSSE PIE crust: 1 1/2 c almonds 1 1/2 c walnuts 1 c dates 3 tbs lucuma 2 tsp honey dash sea salt * crumble nuts in food processor until they are fine. add in the rest of ingredients and process until a dough forms. *rub the bottom of a pie plate with 1 tbs of coconut oil. press crust into pie plate and place in freezer. filling: 2 c fresh blackberries 1 1/2 c cashews, soaked 1 c honey 1/2 c cacao butter juice of two oranges 1/2-3/4 tsp almond extract  1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract dash sea salt *blend cashews with honey, orange juice and enough water to keep it moving. when the mixture is completely smooth and in the rest of ingredients and blend until incorporated. *pour filling into crust and set in the freezer for an hour. * decorate top with orange slices, orange zest, goji berries and whatever else floats your boat;) store in the fridge or f...

dear florida, thanks for being so good to me :)     :)     :) love,  eleni theres nothing like a little vacation to get you renewed, refreshed and ready to face everything life has to offer. florida is always the answer! laying on the sand, listening to the waves of the gulf crash on the shore and feeling the sun warm my skin (and my soul) never fails to reignite my connection with mother earth and her desire for us to live simply. my sister  has the same effects on me:) when i am with my sister, the world makes sense again.  someone to talk to about real spring water, raw pies, fermented foods, and enemas with, is PRICELESS. when she lived 15 minutes away from me, i had weekly inspiration every time i left her house, still mulling over all the hippie things we talked about and all the hippie foods we created. now that shes a two day drive away, months of inspiration and catching up washed over me in just a few days spent at h...

there's nothing i love more than traveling. as crazy as you know i am, it shouldn't surprise you that the first thing i plan for a trip is all the food i will be bringing with me. i usually spend a few days day-dreaming and preparing the food i make for a trip, and less than an hour packing my suitcase with personal belongings. the only person who takes this task more seriously than i do is my sister. she even packed fermented vegetables in her suitcase while traveling to another continent! read her blog , see how she did it and learn about some of her healthy tips and adventures in greece. i'm currently sitting in the airport waiting to board a plane that will take me to paradise....navarre beach, florida! as one of "florida's best kept secrets," it has emerald coast lines with white sand that soothes your feet as you frolick across it. my family has been traveling to this same destination for the last twenty years, and i love it more and more every year we...

the simple things in life excite me. a sunny day, a call from a friend....and raw recipe books! whenever im out running errands, i always strategically squeeze in time for a visit to a book store to flip through the newest raw books. looking at gorgeous pictures and drooling over incredible recipe combinations, at the very least amp me up for the rest of my to do list and leave me with ideas to fuel my body with tasty nourishment. but on special occasions, i tell the budget to shut up and buy the book thats calling my name! Raw Food For Everyone by: Alissa Cohen was calling my name for quite some time. oh glorious day when i determined to walk into the store and leave with that book in my hand! i first heard of Alissa's new book this past fall while listening to an interview with her on "Raw Mom Cooked Dad." i was really interested in her book and what she was saying and couldnt wait to flip through the pages of her new creation. i finally brought the book home about...

for some reason i feel renewed excitement when my refrigerator is full. and not just stocked, i mean like stuffed to the gills. i even look forward to my day of grocery shopping. packing up my little man and trekking out to our local market, where we get lost in endless aisles of natural organic goodness....what could be better!? i come home and feel completely accomplished as i organize my groceries to perfection while they get nessled in the refrigerator. as the door closes, i sigh in relief that i now have endless possibilities for my family and me to deliciously stay nourished through out the week. yes, these are my favorite shopping trips. on the weeks when i have the extra money to spare, i stock up on everything my heart desires. all this, for just two adults and a baby! i usually have one to two trips to the store like this a month. on the other trips, i just buy the essentials and try to use up the other ingredients i have hiding in my cupboards. this is what my grandma...

st. patrick's day is such a fun holiday, but i just never understood the excitement behind eating corned beef sandwiches. or drinking green beer. so today my husband and i are going to celebrate with a rawesome meal of purple sauerkraut and "mashed potatoes". ive been making a lot of sauerkraut lately, and thoroughly enjoying all of its probiotic properties. not to mention the way it just catapolts you to "having a screw loose" kind of crazy when you have weird jars of things fermenting around the house. my usual spots are in the coat closet, my bedroom closet and under the kitchen sink. and when chaz sees those jars, he usually determines to avoid them at all cost cuz they weird him out. more fermented food for me! SAUERKRAUT AND MASHED POTATOES the tang of sauerkraut has become irresistible to me. it works as a fantastic condiment and ive found ways to incorporate it into some of the most unlikely meals. my latest craze has been eating it alongside cr...

my husband really knows the way to my heart...he ordered me five books from amazon for valentine's day! and he knows me really well, because they are all books on nutrition and raw food:) out of all five books, i was happiest to see this one in the bunch: Raw Spirit by: Matt Monarch  because i had been wanting to read it for more than a year now. it was very short and i was able to read it in just two days. i was really intrigued as to what this book would have to offer, because i knew it was less about the physical changes that matt went through when he became raw, and more about the spiritual changes he encountered.  i'm glad i read this book, but i think i would choose wisely who i recommended it to. i really don't think it's a book for beginners into a healthy lifestyle. he has a way of saying that he want "raw overnight and that was it."...and it's just almost unbelievable. for others, the transformation to living a vibrant life can take yea...

i admit it...sometimes the moment i wake up in the morning, i get excited about all the delicious food i'm going to eat that day. like literally, right when my eyes open and i'm still laying in bed trying to figure out where i am, what day it is, who i am... but all of those thoughts are quieted as soon as i remember what food i have planned to prepare for the day. then excitement runs over me that i can barely contain! this especially happens on days that i make mexican cauliflower. this is one of those dishes that really helps to keep me on the vibrant health path. after marinating and then dehydrating for a few hours, the cauliflower takes on a nice "wilted" texture. the spicy cheddar cheeze that drapes over this dish really keeps me in check when i'm craving something smooth, creamy, melty, cheesey and just well, cheddary. MEXICAN CAULIFLOWER my husband and i got really into spicy foods this past year after our indian neighbor introduced us to their a...

sometimes i amaze myself. this is one of those times. CHOCOLATE CHIP CANNOLIS this recipe has quite a few steps along with some soaking and dehydrating times. so make note that before you breathe this beauty to life, you'll have to daydream about it for a day or two. CHOCOLATE CHIP CANNOLIS cannoli shell: 1/2 c flax seed 1/2 c water 1/4 c cocoa powder 1/4 c honey 2 tbs coconut oil 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract dash sea salt *stir together the flax seeds and the water. let them sit for four hours until it becomes gel like. *in a separate bowl, mix together all the other ingredients. stir them thoroughly into the gelled flax mixture. *spread the mixture onto a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate on 110 degrees for 12 hours. *when you remove it from the dehydrator sheet, it should be pliable like a fruit roll up. cut it into 4x4 inch squares. cream cheese filling: part 1 1 c dates, soaked 2 tbs honey 2 tbs coconut oil 1 t...