Fun Findings in July

This month was the first time I participated in Foodie PenPals! A program put together by Lindsay, over at TheLeanGreenBean, for foodies around the country such as myself! At the beginning of the month you're assigned someone to send a package of $15 worth of fun foodie items to that you think they'll enjoy. You receive from one person and send to a different person, and then post a blog about what you received at the end of the month. This month I received my package from Summer, over at EatReal.LiveWell, who lives over in sunny Florida!

I was SO excited when I saw all these delicious goodies she picked out for me!!! :)

I have never had freeze dried fruit before but it was so good! Literally melts in your mouth.

These carrot cake cookies were also super yummy. I love how they incorporated coconut into them as well. Great for snacking when I'm out and about and they're raw!

Yummm, chocolate! Need I say more?? Who doesn't like chocolate! The coconut raw bar was such a treat! Sweet and chewy for a perfect snack, while the chili chocolate was spicy and sweet! I've never had chili chocolate before and have always wanted to try it, and it was definitely tasty! The perfect blend of sweet chocolate with a kick ;)

Ah, the spirulina bar! I munched on this beauty while roaming around Universal Park up in Hollywood for the day! It was a great energy boost and tastes just like bananas!



And finally the strawberry preserves she picked up from her local produce stand! She says this is the absolute best strawberry preserves and I cannot wait to try it! I need to use up what's in my fridge first, but I'm excited to dig in soon. She even included a cute postcard from the same farm with a note! :)

What a great box of goodies Summer picked out for me!!! She really hit it right on with everything I love to snack on. Thank you so much for putting this together for me Summer! I loved it all :)

Check out what I sent to Madison over at PilatesMakesYouHappy!

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals. In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for August, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by August 4th as pairings will be emailed on August 5th!

*If you're from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I'll see if we get enough interest this month!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The next fun thing I discovered this month was when I was roaming around the Orange County Fair and saw a booth for 'Farm Fresh To You'. It's about ten local organic farms in the area coming together and putting difference boxes of produce together and delivering right to your doorstep every week or as little or often as you want that month. I was originally looking into the co-ops where you become a member and go pick up your box of produce every week from whatever retailer they drop it off at, but this is way better! Not only is there no membership and it's pay as you go, you can add or change items you might not like or want. You can see what's coming the following week and log in to your account and make any necessary changes, including the type of produce box you want to receive! There are mixed boxes, all fruit, all veggies, and ready to eat ones with less cooking required produce. I thought this was such a great idea not only to support local organic farms, but they literally pick the produce and bring it to you by the next day or so. MUCH fresher than even the organic markets I regularly go to and everything was SOOO tasty!

I decided to get the regular size box to start out with and adjust it from there depending on how much we'd eat in a week. I got the mixed box which is a combination of fruits and veggies. That particular week it came with grapes, nectarines (faveee), plums, cherry tomatoes, assorted tomatoes, a lemon, an onion, a cucumber, a bunch of carrots, and a head of lettuce. The fruit was sooo amazingly juicy and fresh, and the tomatoes and other veggies just as good! I will definitely continue to get a box from FFTY every week! Oh, and if you live in the LA,or Orange County areas you can save $10 on your first order with referral code 6164 and giving them my name, Gabbie Raymond ;) Enjoy!

A friend of mine from back in New York was visiting this past week so things have been a little crazy, but I'll post some recipes I made in a day or two ;)

Summertimeee

So the past few weeks I've been busy enjoying the summer and slacking on writing posts. I know, terrible new blogger! ;) Well my brother got his birthday package and said he enjoyed it. Although he threw in that the granola tasted like 'hippies' bahaha. He's always called me a hippie/tree hugger for being health conscious and not eating meat! Oh well, he still enjoyed it even if it wasn't full of garbage and chemicals. I was all pumped to go listen to a live band and watch the boat parade on Newport Harbor for the 4th of July until mother nature decided to give me the worst cramps in the world. Needless to say I hung out with Ollie, and listened to the terrible music the neighbors were blasting lol. I did however make an awesome recipe the night before. Another winner from Happy Herbivore's cookbook!

 

Apple Crisp Muffins

 

 

You can also find the recipe here on her website! They came out sooo moist with chunks of apple, and have less than a half gram of fat in each. As you can see I took advantage of one of the million kitchen accessories I own and made some patriotic star muffins! Definetly make these if you love apples and low fat muffins! Reminded me of fall back in New York when we'd go pick apples, yum :)

 

So with summer here, our yacht club has been having races every Wednesday. Somehow I ended up being on the race committee pretty much every week now, but it's fun and gets you out on the water. We're in charge of getting all the race equipment together, setting up marks, and anchoring out in the middle of the harbor. Then we check all the sailboats in and do the flags, horns, and timing for the starts of the races. We always pick up dinner and I usually make something to bring for dessert and we relax and eat while we wait for the boats to come in to the finish line. It's a few hours of fun every week and I like to go and get some of that warm Cali sun!

 

 

 

Matt calling their finish time.

 

 

Heidi using the bicycle horn and the air horn lol.

 

 

Random shot of the sailboats during another race.

 

 

Miss Heidi and myself enjoying the wine ;)

 

 

 

 

On the way back while the sun was setting on the harbor.

 

 

On another note, the health market I absolutely love called Mother's Market has been having a 10 for $10 sale on organic mangoes lately. Who doesn't love mangoes!?! Omg they're delish especially here in Cali where everything is fresh and local.Obviously I bought a bunch and made a few things. I made a tropical smoothie that was to die for. SO GOOD! I didn't snap a pic in time since I scarfed it down, but it's super simple to make!

 

Sweet Tropical Smoothie

  

 

 

• 2 small bananas, peeled
• 1 mango, chopped
• 1/2 a small pineapple, chopped
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• Ice, if desired

Serves 2

 

Throw all of the ingredients in a blender and that's it! Add as much ice as you want, or more almond milk if your heart desires. So sweet and tropical, loved it! You could even add a tablespoon of coconut oil, some fresh coconut meat, or maybe garnish it with some shredded coconut for a pina colada feel. Yummm! Also, I had some watermelon leftover that I didn't want to waste so I blended it up with some raspberries for a twist ;)

 

 

Raspberry Watermelon Slushy

 

 

 

Just throw in however much of each you want and blend it up. Refreshing and hydrating! With my remaining mangoes I decided to try Chef Heathy Pace's raw mango cake recipe from Sweetly Raw! Best decision I had made all week. Not only was I blown away, but even the somewhat picky eaters in my house loved it ;)

 

 

Raw Mango Cake with Raspberry Sauce

 

I topped it with a general raspberry sauce made from pureed & sieved raspberries, lemon juice, and your choice of a liquid sweetener. Delish! You can get the recipe for her cake in her 'Just Desserts' ebook over at her blog. I highly recommend all of her ebooks. They're full of amazing recipes and I've made quite a few. I had to buy all of the books since I just couldn't choose! Well I think that's enough catchup, I have to get back into the kitchen and makes some goodies for the Crew of Two races tomorrow. Goodnight world :)

Green Juice & Granola

Green Juice, yum!

I started off this morning with a nice quart of juice full of antioxidants. So good and it's very simple which I love.

• 2-4 stalks of kale
• 1/2 a cucumber
• 3-4 stalks of celery
• 1/2" fresh ginger
• 1 apple
• 1/2 lemon, peeled
• 1 cup coconut water(optional, but soo yummy)

Juice all of the above and then stir in fresh coconut water. Enjoy! ;)

 

 I then decided I wanted to send my brother something in his birthday box, but knew cookies and candies would melt with the ridiculous heat New York has been having. So since he loves oatmeal, I thought homemade granola! Different than the usual sweet treat I send, but great for shipping and holds up in the heat as well. I found a recipe on one of my favorite blogs ever. Angela from OhSheGlows! She always has the best creations. I changed a few things around to suit what I hand on hand, but you can substitute any nut, seed, or dried fruit that you like!

 

OMG, it came out sooo good! Crunchy clusters of sweet and salty nuts, seeds, and fruit amongst the oats. Amazing! I will definetly be making this again and again. Plus it was so easy!

 

 

 

Homemade Healthy Granola

Adapted from OhSheGlows original recipe here

 

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats, regular
• 1 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries or raisins
• 2 tbsp ground flax seed
• 2 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes or shreds
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 4 tbsp agave nectar or other sweetener
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp applesauce, unsweetened
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 300F. In a small saucepan, add the last six ingredients stirring over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 5-10 minutes stirring till slightly thickened.

In a large mixing bowl, stir all the dry ingredients together.

Add the warm wet mixture over top the dry mixture and stir well until evenly combined.

Spread onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Cool the mixture for 20-25 minutes on the pan before serving, as it will start to clump up. Store in an air tight container and enjoy!

 

Golden brown perfection!

First post & raw truffles!

So I've been on a huge raw kick lately. I've always loved fresh produce and healthy foods, but I've been following so many blogs about the raw food diet and I love it! I definetly do eat a lot of vegan food already just because I rarely have dairy or eggs, besides the whey protein in my shakes. My sister bought me Happy Herbivore's two cookbooks for my recent birthday and I can't seem to put them down! I make at least two to three meals a week from those books. SO GOOD! Not to mention her recipes are pretty quick and easy too! Since I moved to California I'm loving all the fresh farmer's markets and health food stores that are available to us. Growing up a vegetarian in upstate New York was brutal. We had maybe one health food store in the area and as for organic produce? Occasionally but it was never really fresh or that commonly bought. Learning about good nutrition in the northeast was way too textbook. No one ever taught me about juicing or raw foods, it was all the SAD diet and what they use as a food pyramid. Being a 14 year old vegetarian starting out, I unfortunately didn't know any better and was eating frozen veggie burgers and fake chikin nuggets every night for dinner. Talk about unhealthy! I'm sooo glad I made the move and have discovered a whole new side to healthy vegetarian, vegan, and raw cuisine!

Tonight I made some raw truffles, yum!

I tweaked a recipe I had found earlier and divided the dough up into three seperate portions to make three yummy flavors :)

 

 

 

 Raw Truffles 

 

 

 

• 10 organic medjool dates, pitted
• 2/3 cup purified water
• 1/3 cup raw coconut oil, softened
• 1 cup raw cacao powder
• 2 cups raw almonds, ground to a meal or flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
• pinch of celtic sea salt/himalayan salt
• 5-6 drops organic liquid stevia, optional if you want them sweeter
• zest of one organic orange, orange extract, peppermint extract, and coffee extract

Raw cacao powder, cacao nibs, orange zest, shredded coconut, or any superfood powder would be great for rolling the truffles in!

Blend the dates, water, and coconut oil in a food processor/blender until a paste is formed. Add the cacao powder, vanilla bean, salt, and liquid stevia if desired and blend together. Add the chocolate mixture into a bowl with the ground almond meal/flour and mix completely together. Divide the dough equally into however many flavors you wish to make, I did three.

In the first bowl, add half the orange zest, and two teaspoons orange extract and mix. Roll into truffle sized balls and place on a nonstick silicone mat or parchment paper. Sprinkle with remaining orange zest.

In the second bowl, add two teaspoons peppermint extract and mix. Form into balls and roll in your desired topping, I chose shredded coconut for something different, yum!

Lastly do the same with the third portion, adding in two teaspoons coffee extract or desired flavor. Mix and form into balls. I topped with cacao nibs for an all over mocha taste.

Chill the truffles in the fridge or freezer for about a half an hour to firm them up and enjoy!!!

Well cheers to my first blog post ever! With many more to come ;)