Springtime Premier!

I created this dessert to bring to a premier party of the film , "Hungry For Change," at my good friend Christina's house. The film was amazing and it is available to view for free for the next week, so check it out! It is life changing!!

This was the perfect dessert for the first day of spring! It is so colorful and cheery and absolutely bursting with fresh flavors. You. Will. Love. It!

Crust

1 cup raw pecans

5 pitted dates

Combine pecans and dates in food processor and press into bottom of glass 8x13 baking dish.

Filling

3 cups soaked cashews

3/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup raw honey

Juice from two lemons

I organic vanilla bean, scraped

1/2 fresh pineapple

1/2 tsp. turmeric 

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 Tbl. raw agave

Mix cashews, coconut oil, honey, lemon juice and vanilla bean until combined. I use the Vitamix tamper to help combine well by pushing down on the ingredients in the blender. You may need to add a little water if it isn't blending well. 

Pour half of the filling over the crust in the glass baking dish. Place in the freezer to set for about an hour. In the meantime, add pineapple and turmeric. Combine well with remaining filling. Pour over vanilla layer. 

Don't rinse the blender and add the raspberries and agave. Blend well. Using a spoon plop (nice technical term, huh) raspberry sauce over pineapple layer. Take a knife and swirl is through top layer. Place in freezer to set for a couple of hours. You can keep this in the fridge once it is set. To serve, garnish with raw, organic coconut shavings. 

Enjoy this spring delight for Easter, a birthday party, or to simply celebrate TODAY! 

Rawk your bad-ass self!

Raw Responsibility

Blueberry, Coconut smoothie

This raw journey has been a trip. Seriously... I never would have guessed that I'd be a vegan, raw foodist if you would have told me a year ago! It has been nine months now and I feel like such a different person! I am so inspired to help others on this path, that I can't help but share with everyone I meet about our new lifestyle. Living foods are like no other. Their live energy infuses your body with a connection to everything and everyone. It is surreal when you experience it.

My shift to living foods has indirectly affected everything in my life in such a positive way. I was happy prior to my shift, but now, I am unstoppable. I manifest my dreams and create new ideas everyday. I have followed through with things that have been sitting on the back-burner for years now. I am like "Dayna-ultra" now. It is truly incredible. I feel that because of the way I feel, both physically and emotionally, that this is the most natural, healthy and organic way for me to live. I know there are always exceptions, but for the average person, they will thrive with raw foods.

My children have made such incredible changes in their food choices since my husband and I became raw. They have complete and total freedom of what to eat and bring into our home. They have been on their own path with food since our choices have changed. Tiff, my 10 year old daughter, has become vegan. The other kids are pretty much vegetarian. All labels aside, we have just immersed ourselves in this new world and the way that they feel from doing so has inspired them in such positive ways. The partnership that we live together has been enhanced because of the inspiration and follow-through being kicked up a notch.

Tiff started her own business, Devin is building and creating more and Ivy and Orion are loving my new passion as a way for us to connect in the kitchen. Ivy *loves* raw foods and tries everything I make. Orion and Devin still love their breads and cheeses, and I am supportive of their choices, but now, I am more in tune with organic and wholesome sources of these items, so my shift has affected them too. Going raw has trickled down to everyone in my family in new ways and I want to sing it from the mountain tops!

The kicker is... it all started with me. I don't think we realize sometimes as mothers, what a powerful influence we have in our family. I know for years I kind of "blamed" Joe for us not eating healthier, claiming he wasn't supportive of making a change. The truth is, I just wasn't educated about it, or ready. Once I began reading more and more about raw foods, the more inspired I became to try it for a while. Once I felt the difference, I knew that this was something bigger than I ever knew. It was about much more than food. It was a powerful level of awareness and connection to the earth and myself that I had never experienced before. When I became passionately inspired, my family did too. Joe was instantly on board as soon as I was clear about our new direction.

I know that I am the guiding energy of our home. My choices and attitude about life leads everyone in various ways. It is such an important responsibility to accept and understand. You never have to force or coerce your family to eat what your eating. You just have to be grounded in the realization that living foods are more than just "good for you," they are an extension of you. Period. They contribute to your well-being and happiness in ways you can't even imagine! Food creates your life, in a sense and my new-found love for what I am eating is infused with love as I take it into my body. Every cell feels this love and in turn, I am brought to higher levels of consciousness and awareness.

My family has benefited from my shifting to a living foods lifestyle on so many levels. I am profoundly grateful for coming to this life when I did. I never would have guessed that this would be me, but it is and I love myself in a way that I never have before. My passions in life have expanded, yet they are all connected. I love helping others on their own personal journey in life walking the road less traveled . I have begun a weekly teleseries about the radical life choices that I have made and how others can come to higher levels of joy in birth, parenting, eating and loving. Check out my series, "Rock Your Life! to learn more.

Thanks for reading and Rawk On!!

Mintalicious!

Raw Cacao Mint Bars!

When I posted this photo on Facebook, I had more comments and "likes" than another other raw food photo that I had ever posted before! I couldn't wait to share the recipe that I have created with all of my friends who want to experience these luscious, refreshing mint bars! These are packed with nutrition and living enzymes that will give you so much energy! I ate these for breakfast along with my usual green smoothie and I was buzzing my way through the day! I love these and I hope you do too!

Brownie layer

1 cup pecans

1 cup dates

1/4 cup cacao powder

Food process the brownie ingredients until blended and dry chunky. press into a small pan or pie plate.

Vanilla Layer

2 cups raw cashews soaked for three hours

juice from one lemon

3/4 cup raw honey 

3/4 cup raw coconut oil 

1 vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped, pod discarded

1/2 tsp pink himylayan salt

1/4 cup water

Blend all ingredients until smooth 

Pour mixture on top of the brownie crust and spread evenly. Place in freezer to set for about 90 minutes. Make the mint layer after this sets.

Mint Layer

1 small avocado, peeled and pitted

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1/3 cup raw agave nectar

1/2 tsp pure organic mint extract (or more to taste)

1/4 cup coconut oil

In your Vitamix, blend the avocado, mint leaves, agave, coconut oil and mint extract until smooth. The mixture should be thick and creamy. (If your blender doesn't move the mixture very well, add a few tablespoons of water.

Spread the mint layer over the brownie/vanilla cream layer. Place back in freezer to set for another 90 minutes. Remove from freezer, but into squares and sprinkle with raw, shredded coconut. I also sprinked some hemp hearts over mine.

Enjoy this beautiful, abundantly healthy dessert!

Raw Zza!

Ahh, pizza, It's been one of my favorite foods since I was a little girl. Movie nights, sleep-overs, parties...pizza has been at the center of so many memories for me. When I was making the shift to a raw food diet, I mourned the loss of some of my old favorite foods, pizza was one of them. It was like I was letting go a certain part of myself and with that went the future memories. 

The further I go down this raw path, the more I learn that I can have everything I ate before on the standard American diet, and experience all of the same feelings that went along with decadent, delicious foods that were the nucleus of so many memories. It can be a heightened experience when I feel great about everything I am eating!

This Raw Pizza, is something I created out of the need for bringing back those old feelings that went along with some of my old favorites. It does the job, and my children loved this and Tiff even said, "Mom! It tastes like 'real' pizza!" I hope your family enjoys it too!

Raw Pizza Crust

2 cups ground buckwheat crispies or raw buckwheat flour

1 cup ground flax seeds

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 Tbl. oregano

1 Tbl. parsley

1 Tbl. Basil

1/2 Tbl. Himalayan pink salt

2 garlic cloves

2 stalks celery

1 carrot 

1 yellow pepper

1 zucchini
1 Tbl raw agave

Place garlic, celery, carrot, pepper and zucchini in the food processor until liquidy. Add to a bowl and then add remaining ingredients. Mix until well combined. Divide dough into two balls. Place each ball on Excallibur dehydrator tray. using your hands make a large circle by pressing and flattening and shaping. (My kids loved helping me with this part!) Dehydrate for 8 hour, flip and then dehydrate for 8-12 more hours on 104 degrees. (If you want a thin crust pizza, it will take less time to dehydrate.)

Raw Pizza Sauce

1 1/2 Cup sun dried tomatoes

1 1/2 Cup fresh tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1 clove garlic

2 small slices of jalapeno pepper

1 cup cilantro

1 avocado, 1/2 cup sweet onion

1/2 cup celery

1/4 cup red pepper

2 Tbl. liquid aminos

1 1/2 Tbl. olive oil, raw agave, & Bragg's apple cider vinegar

1 tsp oregano, paprika, pepper, pink salt cumin and basil
1 Tbl. raw agave

Soak sun-dried tomatoes for two hours. Add tomatoes with soaking water and all other ingredients to the Vitamix. Mix until well combined.

Raw Cheese Sauce

1 cup soaked cashews (soak overnight)

juice from one lemon

1 Tbl. nutritional yeast

1 tsp. pink salt

1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbl. raw agave

Blend in Vitamix (you may need to add a little water)

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Orion and Ivy helping me shape the pizza dough

Assembly

Add sauce to crust and then pour and spread cheese sauce over tomato sauce. Add your favorite toppings, like tomato, mushroom, onion, red pepper or whatever else you love.

Place in dehydrator for 3-5 hours.

I hope you enjoy this pizza as much as my family did! 

Rawk Your Life!