Raw on a Budget

New Blog

2009-09-04T14:48:00.001-07:00

I now have a new blog, the raw garden, that I have been uppdating more regularly. Here is the link if you want to have a look. http://therawgarden.blogspot.com/
The blog includes recipes, raw food info and gardening tips and ideas. Hope you enjoy!

Cacao pudding

2009-01-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

I know that there has been a lot of scares recently regarding cacao. Is it a stimulant? Is it safe? Is it really raw?
My view is that I would rather have raw cacao powder and make my own treat than buy a chemical filled packaged "treat,".
Living in a cold climate I think it works as a wonderful comfort food, and people forget, everything in moderation.

Cacao Pudding

2 bananas
2-6 pre-soaked dates (depending on taste,)
1-2 teaspoons cacao powder
1 cup water.

Add water and dates to a blender until you have achieved a thick paste. Add the bananas and cacao powder until you have a think and smooth consistency.
Eat as is or gently heat.

I think this makes a wonderful dessert as a treat or even as breakfast on a cold morning.

Wake up Smoothie

2008-12-08T04:05:00.000-08:00

In the morning I really crave a smoothie that will wake me up and that can be made in less than five minutes.

Wake up Smoothie

Bag watercress
Banana
Mango
1 teaspooon Spirulina
Water

Mix all of the ingredients in a blender and you have a refreshing bright green smothie. Put in the ingredients in any quantity you fancy apart from the spirulina. I always put spirulina in my morning smoothies as I find it helps me to wake up.

Tip 1; Pre peel and chop mangoes when you buy them and store in a plastic box in your fridge until needed. It really takes the hasle out of peeling it before work. I tend to freeze some mango as well so I have something ready for any emergencies where I am out of anything fresh.

Tip 2; Shop around for superfoods. I find most superfoods really overpriced. Always compare prices. This is the cheapest I have found in my local town. I did find another company selling Spirulina for over twice the amount!

Tip 3; Allways start the day with a cup of warm water with a slice of lemon. It has to be the most cheap detox drink around. Your digestion will thank you for it.
http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=422

See here for more Smoothie ideas.

Quick Cauliflower rice

2008-10-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick simple and inexspensive recipe I love to make. What's great is that it reminds me of a cooked food and the only equipment you need is a grater.

Quick Cauliflower rice

1 cauliflower
raisins
turmeric powder
olive oil
any spicy dried fresh herbs to taste

-Wash and grate the cauliflower to make a rice texture.
-Drizzle with a bit of oil and mix.
-Add enough turmeric to give a yellow colour.
-Season with herbs to taste (try curry powder, chilli powder, lemon juice,)
-Add a handful of raisins and mix.

I haven't given quantity guidelines as this is such a simple recipe and it's more fun to experiment and use your own judgement.

Serving suggestions,
Serve with marinated veg,
Make a raw curry sauce and serve with mushrooms,
Make a sweet and sour dressing and serve with cashews,
Spoon a bit of the mixture in lettuce leaves and eat like an open sandwich.

Will keep for a few days in the fridge so you can make lot's.

Enjoy x

Rawkathon!

2008-10-01T14:15:00.001-07:00

I just recieved a very exciting e-mail, telling me about a seven day FREE living food event. The rawkathon will run from October 19th and is the chance to watch a free webcast or online video everyday by inspiring raw and living food experts.

This includes advice from Dr Gabriel Cousens, David Wolfe and Dr Doug Graham.

Sign up to take part....

http://www.rawkathon.com/index-main.html

Leftover Food Ideas

2008-09-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

By using your leftovers wisely, you have the basis for your next raw meal. You can save a lot of money by making sure you don't throw anything out.

Veg and Salad leftovers
Keep a bag or tup in the freezer at all times. Whenever you have left over salad or vegetable items or scraps scrape them into your tub. When you have got enough (or have no fresh food in stock), defrost and blend with a little water or vegetable juice until you have the required consistancy. Add herbs, spices and other flavourings.

Pasta Sauce
As above but add less water. Stir into some raw pasta and top with pine nuts and sprouts.

Apples
Leftover apples? Peel, blend and add sweetner (argave, honey etc) and a bit of lemon oil. This sauce can be stored in the fridge for a few days. Try it warmed gently and served over chopped pears and topped with a few seeds.

Bananas
As soon as bananas start to get speckled, if you know you aren't going to have a chance to eat them, take action. Peel, slice and freeze in freezer bags until required. You can then add to smoothies or blend to make ice cream.

Nut Milk leftovers
The processed nuts you have remaining from making you nut milks can be mixed with come herbs, grated carrot or other veg. Shape into small burger shapes and and dehydrate or sun dry untill you have burgers.

If anyone has any favourite leftover recipes, please share!

Ten ways to cut your food bill

2008-09-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

With the price of food going up every day, heres some tips to save some cash.

1. Grow your own.

If you have the space gardening is a wonderful past time. It will improve your fitness, help you prevent SAD, get you closer to nature and save you money.
One of the easiest things to grow is tomatoes. You can save some seeds at the end of the year to plant the next.
Lettuse and herbs are easy for beginners. Buy a second hand gardening book to get you started. Gardening magazines are cheap and normally have a free packet of seasonly appropriate seeds.

Stuck for space?
If you have a window box try herbs, strawberries, tomatoes.
If you only have a windowsill you can sprout seeds and grow small amounts of fresh herbs.

2. Go Wild

Buy a book or go on a foraging workshop. You will be suprised how much free food is around. Once you have opened your eyes to the idea of free food you will find nettles, beech, dandelion, mushrooms, chickweed.
Be careful not to eat anything without knowing what it is. Remember some mushrooms and plants are poisonous. If in doubt don't touch it.

3. Shop at Farners Markets

By cutting out the middle man you can make an enormous saving. You also can see where your products come from. This is a great way of supporting your local community and enjoying fresh produce.

4. Eat Seasonal

Seasonal produce is cheap, fresh and very good for you. Eating in season is what nature intended.

5. Join a food co-op

Again you are cutting out the middleman and by buying in bulk you can make a great saving.

6. Make a list...

... and stick to it. If you do a big shop at the supermarket make sure you plan ahead so you don't get seduced by offers.

7. Cook from Scratch

The raw gourmet ready meals are very tempting but if you make your food from scratch it will work out as much cheaper. You can buy raw ingredients such as superfoods in bulk online which usually works out a lot cheaper than your local health food shop.

8. Look out for discounts

In supermarkets find the discount section. It is usualy hidden away in a corner. Find out what time they mark down their stock and plan your shop around it. I can always find some very cheap bagged salad leaves.

Some health food shops may have a small section designated to old stock, if they don't just ask. They may be happy for you to take it off thier hands.

Before you order any raw food online, give them a call. It is worthwhile asking if they have any old or damaged stock that they would like to get rid of. I know some websites encourage it in the small print.

9. Look after your leftovers

Be inventive. If you can't finich your juice or smoothie freeze the remains in ice cube trays. Pop out and store in a freezer bag when frozen. You can then pop a few in your next smoothie or use in a soup or other recipe.

Look for juicer pulp recipes. I know a lot of people plan ahead, i.e make a tomato juice and use the pulp for making a raw pasts sauce. The pulp can also be made into burgers if mixed with minced nuts, herbs and dehydrated. Look at free recipes online for inspiration.

Use your freezer to your advantage.

10. Shop Alone

Finally shop alone and when your not hungry. Simple but effective.

If anyone has any favourite tips please share......

X

Top 10 Raw Sites

2008-09-24T04:49:00.000-07:00

I spend a lot of time learning from others about raw food. Online you can have access to lot's of free recipes and advice.

I avoid buying raw recipe books as there is so many to choose from online.

Here is a list of my ten favourite resources;

Top Ten
1. Gone Raw

Gone raw is a brilliant, active forum. There is also a very large section of free recipes which is perfect for inspiration.

http://goneraw.com/

2. Give it to me Raw

Again a very active forum. Less recipes but lot's of good tips.

http://www.giveittomeraw.com/

3. Raw Forum UK

Being raw is very popular in America, though it is a growing trend in the UK. This forum is good as it is for the UK.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfooduk/

4. Happy Juicer

Lot's of free juicer and smoothie ideas.
http://www.happyjuicer.com/

5.You Tube

I'm sure that everyone has been on you tube now, but I was shocked at the quality and quantity of the raw recipes demonstrations available.

http://youtube.com/

6. From SAD to Raw

Lot's of recipes, tips and journals. A wealth of inspiration.

http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/

7. Karen Knowler- The Raw Food Coach

The website that got me into raw food. Lot's of free information for beginners, recipes, instructional videos and online resources.

Want To Go Raw? Start Here!

8. We like it Raw

Lot's of free, high quality recipes with good pictures.

http://www.welikeitraw.com/

9. Raw Food Network

A kind of focal point for the raw food movement.

http://www.rawfoodnetwork.com/}

10. Total Raw Food

Information and Recipes
http://www.totalrawfood.com/

And one for luck...........

http://rawfoodrightnow.blogspot.com

Written with flair and passion, raw food right now is full of news of what's happening in the raw world. Plus links to pretty much every raw blog on the net!

These are my favourite sites, and the ones that I find the most inspirational. I'm sure most rawists would have seen these websites before but if you are new to raw food these sites provide valuable information.

There are also 100's of wonderful raw blogs online full of inspirational stories and journals.

Raw Equipment for Beginners

2008-09-24T01:28:00.001-07:00

Starting Out

When I started to think more about going raw I was almost put off by the thought of all the equipment I was going to have to buy. Everyone talks about dehydrators, vita-mixers, food processors, ice cream makers, blenders, juicers. If changing my eating habits wasn’t enough of a daunting change, thinking about the cost of all the equipment was!

Before you do what I did and panic, use your imagination for raw recipes.
Experiment, for example by marinating your food in different spices and sauces you can completely change the taste and texture of the ingredients.

Check out free online resources such as

http://goneraw.com/

for lots of recipes which don’t require specialised equipment.

Karen Knowler has a great e-book "The Raw Food Coach’s 50 Quick, Easy, Healthy & Delicious Raw Food Recipes (That Anyone Can Make in Less Than 10 Minutes)," which contains 50 recipes which are machine free.

Want To Go Raw? Start Here!

Have a search online for other raw websites. There are hundreds of recipes out there which don’t need equipment. Use your imagination and initiative and you will be surprised how many wonderful recipes you can create.

Use what you have

Sharp Knife
With a sharp knife as your tool you can make wonderful salads, and chop up vegetables to marinate.

Grater
A grater offers good variety. Try grating cauliflower then adding in raisins and spicy herbs and you have got delicious raw rice. Grate salad items to put a variety of textures on your plate.

Freezer
Freeze banana chunks, grapes and other small pieces of fruit for a nice cold dessert.

Products you might want to invest in

Blender
The first piece of equipment I suggest you buy is a small blender. I got mine from a supermarket for £20 and has lasted me over nine months of being used at least once a day. That works out as costing me 7p per use! Shop around, compare prices on the internet and see what deal you can get. Remember you can use a cheap piece of equipment while you save up to get yourself a stronger and better built machine. You can then sell your old blender or give it to a friend to get them thinking about going raw. Blenders are great for making fruit or vegetable smoothies, soups and sauces. This will bring a lot more variety into your raw diet.

Saladacco/ Spiraliser
A spiral slicer is a hand operated vegetable cutter. It has two settings and can be used to make hard vegetables into noodle shapes, thin slices, cubes and waves. This piece of equipment is good to buy if you are on a budget as it is inexpensive and can be used to make filling dishes such as vegetable pasta. Also try garnishes, salads and noodles. As it is hand operated you won’t run up an electricity bill using it.

Dehydrator
The first thing most people think about when going raw is how to make warm food and crunchy snacks such as crakers. A dehydrator is a machine which blows warm air, not hot onto the food to dry and heat it, rather than cook. A dehydrator will be one of the most expensive items in a raw kitchen so think carefully before you invest in one. Some alternatives to buying a dehydrator include drying food in an airing cupboard, in the sunshine, near a radiator or in the oven on it’s lowest setting with the door open. There are many websites on the internet that give instructions on how to make your own dehydrator as well.If you want to buy one than think carefully what size you want. If you have it on are you likely to try and put lots of different food in there at once? Is it worthwhile you buying a dehydrator with a large capacity? How often are you going to use it?

Buying Equipment

Always shop around to try to get the cheapest deal
Consider buying a piece of equipment second hand.
Try eBay and join up to raw forums, they usually have a section where people can advertise items for sale.
Check out deals on websites such as “spend over x and get x off,” if you are spending a large amount.
Try and buy expensive items on a cash back credit card so you will get some of the money back.

Remember a raw food diet is about detoxing body and mind. Sometimes the greatest pleasure is in the simplest foods. A few apples, a plate of mixed leaves or a banana are nature’s fast foods. Enjoy simplicity and the rest will follow.

Buy organic

2008-09-23T00:34:00.000-07:00

I read in the telegraph today an article about how people are turning away from organic produce due to the credit crunch. Have a read...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/09/05/easoil105.xml

I always make the effort to buy organic but understand that it is more exspensive than non and some people just can not afford it.
Organic is much better for the evironment with it taking 27% less energy than convential crops to produce*. 70% of organic produce is made in the UK so you are also supporting British farmers*.
It is also much better for your health with 50% more vitamins, minerals and nutrients in it. Conventionally grown apples have 20-30 chemicals sprayed on them, traces can be found even after washing**. The taste and quality is also much better.

Below are some tips on buying organic food, cheaper.

Tip 1; Shop around. Try Farmers markets, Farm shops, organic delis etc. If you have allotments close by go there at harvest time and chat to the farmers, some may have surplus product they may want to sell for a cheap price. Don't just try your supermarket.

Tip 2; Buy in season local produce. Not only will it be the freshest with the most vitimins in, it has a smaller carbon footprint. Eating produce grown in local soil is the best food there is as it is the best for your immune system.

Tip 3; Prioritise. Some foods are more beneficial than others to eat organically. According to studies the top most polluted fruit and veg are apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries***. If you have to buy non organic than wash thouroughly and peel if possible. Food such as banannas and avocadoes come in their own "packaging" so are not my priority when it comes to organic produce.

Tip 4; Grow your own. Even growing a few herbs on your windowsill will save you money. You wil be provided with a constant source of organic produce and save money you can spend elsewhere.

Remember even buying a couple of organic items a week will be beneficial to your health, the environment and the british farming industry. If everyone bought a bit more organic produce, it will become more mainstream and the prices will get more competitive.

If anyone has any more useful information and tips please say.

Please feel free to leave comments, I would love to know others views on Organic produce.

X

*http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matters/organicfood.shtml#is_organic_food_'better'?
**http://www.organicfoodee.com/topten.html
***http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateA&navID=ScienceandLaboratories&leftNav=ScienceandLaboratories&page=AMSScienceandTechnologyProgramsHomepage&description=Science%20and%20Technology%20Programs&acct=scntech This information is form an American site, if anyone has the stats form a British source, I would be grateful.

Composting on a budget

2008-09-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

I sometimes worry that I'm a bit odd. That is because strange as it seems I love composting. I think of it as a hobby as much as a way of recycling and giving life back to the soil. I love finding new things to compost such as human hair, cotton wool face pads, old clothes, nail clippings, the possibilities are endless. It gets me out in the fresh air all year round even if its raining. I also save money on buying compost for my garden. Composting is so useful for a raw foodist as I find that the majority of my waste is now fruit and veg scraps and juicer pulp. This can be recycled so easily to make a nutritious meal for your garden.

Starting up
With composting all you need is a bin. Situate it on a level ground and not on concrete. You don't want it too close to your house but near your plants and somewhere easily accesable is ideal. It needs to be in a position where it will get partial sun so that it can heat up. Mine is far away from my house but next to my veg patch. I can easily access it from a path.

Ready to Fill
Once you have got a compost bin and found a suitable site it is now ready to fill. The possibilities of what you can compost is endless. Just be careful to get a good mixture of greens and browns. If your compost mixture is too dry add greens (juicer pulp, fruit and veg peelings, tea bags, plant cuttings, etc) if it is too wet and smelly add more browns (cardboard, leaves, sawdust, twigs etc).
Do not ever add cooked food*, dairy, meats, nappies, used tissues**, dog poo, cat litter.

It is best to layer your compost, alternating greens and browns. When adding browns in try to leave air between the layers to help the compost aerate. This can be as simple as scrunching up paper before you throw it in. Although people differ in opinions I prefer not to turn my compost. If it is on grass or soil than worms and other life forms will naturally compost the mixture for you.

You can see when your compost is ready to use. Be patient as it takes a few months. It should be dark, moist and smell earthy. You can now use it in your flower beds, around trees, in pot plants and for helping to grow healthy organic veg.

And that's it. Very easy to do. You will get great pleasure through seeing how much you can reduce your waste by, composting at home is much better than your rubbish ending up on a landfill site.

Have fun helping the environment.

Tip 1:Make your own compost bin. Four wooden pallets joined together with one on a hinge to make a door is a very effective compost bin.

Tip 2; Go to http://www.recyclenow.com/ and put in your postcode. Your local council should subsidise the cost of your compost bin to encourage you to recycle.

Tip3; Go to Starbucks. They have a "grounds for you garden," scheme where they give away free bags of coffee grounds. They should be displayed in a basket in the store. The grounds work as an activator, speeding up the speed of composting. They are a nitrogen rich green material and make your composter smell so good!}

Tip 4; Wee in your bin! Urine is a great activator, again helping to speed up the composting.

Tip 5; Take a walk in the park. In autumn take a bin bag and go for a walk collecting the fallen leaves. Leave in the plastic bag for a couple of years and you have hour own leaf mulch!

Tip6; If you want to get rid of cooked waste or have limited space there are other products such as worm composting available.

*I know this is a raw blog but you may have unraw families or be transitioning.
** Germs and diseases are tough and may survive composting. Best to throw out.

Sprouting

2008-09-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

I have really got back into sprouting again. It was actually sprouting that got me into raw food a couple of years ago. I was on holiday in St Ives, Cornwall when I came across a shop about sprouting seeds. On a holiday buzz I bought a sprouting set thinking how quirky it was. Little did I know this decision would make me embark on a whole lifestyle change. I can grow a crop of ready to eat, nutritionally packed food in 3-4 days for only a few pennies a batch. Although I bought I kit I have since realised that you could make your own for free.

You need
1. An old clear glass jar preferably quite big, like the kind you would get a pasta sauce in.
2. A piece of material such as hemp or linen, slightly larger than the opening of the jar.
3. An elastic band.
4. Beans/ Seads to sprout; I would recommend mung or aduki as I personally find them very easy to sprout and have a mild taste.

Take a couple of tablespoons of your chosen seeds/beans and put in your jar. Cover with fresh water and leave to soak overnight. Cover with a teatowel to stop light gettting in.
Uncover the next morning. Cover the jar opening with your material and secure with the elastic band. Drain of water. Fill the jar with water, cover up again and give a gentle shake to wash the beans. Repeat a second time and drain thouroughly, secure material.
Leave jar tilter downwards at an angle(propped up in a bowl works) in a sunny area to encourage drainage. Wash beans twice daily until their roots have grown to required length. Take out of jar and eat.

Good in salads, dehydrated in crackers etc and as attractive toppings for soups. They are also quite filling so if you made enough you could have them as a meal on their own.

I love radish sprouts in winter as very warming so stop me missing hot food.

X

Body Scrub

2008-09-17T14:03:00.001-07:00

Outside I have got lots of beautiful lavender growing. As it is nearing the end of summer I don't want to waste the herb. Last year I cut lot's and dried it out in my airing cuboard. I bought some remnants of pretty material from a haberdashery and some ribbon and made homemade lavender bags for hanging on coathangers.
This year I am going to try and make my own body scrub. I have loads of horrible processed white sugar that I am never going to eat but I don't want to throw away.

Holly's lavender and lemon body Scrub

Sugar- Scrubby
Ground almonds-Scrubby
Olive oil- Moisturising, will bind other ingredients together
Lemon juice- Toning, freshening, preserving
Dried lavender- Relaxing, balances bodies sebum production.

That is the plan. I am not sure in what amounts to use the ingredients, I shall experiment. I am off to go play....

Juicing

2008-09-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have just bought as new juicer and can't believe how wasteful it is. It is lovely coming home to a glass of fresh apple and carrot juice but the pulp is still wet after juicing. I will learn not to buy cheap food appliances. The money I'm wasting on excess fruit I could have put towards a more efficient juicer. End of rant!

Recycling pots

2008-09-16T02:21:00.000-07:00

Now it's getting close to winter I have decided to try and grow as much as I can indoors. I was looking through my seeds recently and found a half open packet of cress seeds. I am avoiding buying pots so I got an old plastic tray which I got my blueberries in from tescos. It is perfect for growing seeds in as it has small air holes at the bottom. I lined it with a couple of sheets of kitchen paper, sprinkled with water and dropped a few seeds on. To encourage growth you need to put it in a dark place, so I put it inside my wok! I don't use it now, at least it could be of some use. Two days later I had a peak inside and they have got a root on them. I watered them a bit more, covered them up agian. In a couple of days I will move them into the light for a day and then they will be ready to eat.

Tip! I try not to buy pots for gardening now as they are such a rip off. Try using your imagination. Old plastic fruit trays are perfect as they are see through and are easy to put holes in if they don't already have them. When you have planted out your food you can either wash and re-use or discard. Any plastic non raw pots such as yoghurt pots can be used. Use your imagination.

Make your own. Take the inner cardboard tubing from a toilet roll and cut in half. Line with newspaper to make a base. When you have added water and compost it should bind together which means you don't need to use sellotape. Or get a few sheets of newspaper, wrap around a rolling pin and twist and flatten the end to make a base. Again water should bind it all together. The advantage is if you need to plant out whatever you are growing there is no need to take it out of the newspaper just plant as is.

The Fruits of my labour

2008-09-16T02:02:00.000-07:00

This week I have been enjoying lots of fresh tomatoes from my garden. I have grown plum, beef and some inbetweeners. This is my first gardening season so I have been cautious, growing only tomatos, strawberries (disaster!) spinach and herbs. From a packet of seeds for around a pound, six wooden canes for a pound and a few bags of compost I have had twelve healthy plants and around 100 tomatoes! Not bad for my first year.

Tip! Remember to do what I didn't and save seeds for next year. Choose a tomato which has the property you want most (biggest, fastest growing, best colour etc). Don't eat it but cut it open, scoop out the seeds and dry out. Put them in an airtight bag or container, label and date with a waterproof pen and you have seeds for next year.

Save the pulp from your juicer to provide a mulch. Just spread on the soil around your plant to provide nutrients.