Honey-Glazed Duck (or Chicken)

1 5lb. bird

1 and 1/2  tsp salt

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 and 1/2 tsp dry mustard

5 thin slices of lemon

5 thin slices of onion

Clean bird and prick in several places to allow fat to drain while cooking. Combine salt, poultry seasoning and paprika in bowl and mix well. Rub mix all over inside and outside of bird. Place in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. Drain off fat and reduce oven to 350 degrees.

Mix honey, lemon juice and mustard in bowl and brush sauce onto bird abundantly. Bake for 1 hour.  Brush glaze onto bird once more, secure onion and lemon slices to bird with toothpicks and continue baking for 20 minutes or till done.

Grandma’s Baked Custard

7 farm fresh eggs

2 quarts whole milk

1 cup honey

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend all ingredients EXCEPT milk. Then add the milk and mix well. Pour into baking dishes. Bake at 400 degrees in a preheated oven for aprox. 1 hour (less if shallow pans are used).

Warmer weather seems to give our bodies vigor and renewed energy and are also excellent times to begin the process of detoxing.  Spring is a great time to start incorporating raw foods because there is more produce available and you can even begin growing your own.

To help rid your body of accumulated toxins you need to give it as long of a rest as possible from foods such as hormone laden meats, processed dairy, refined sugars, chemical additives and anything else that has been processed. Raw foods are not only loaded with nutrition but also fiber which helps to carry toxic matter out of the body as waste.

There are literally hundreds of items on the checklist as to why we should eat more raw food, but for now here are just a few ideas for some tasty and very healthy foods you can try this spring to aid your body in becoming healthier.

1. Raw Hummus Dip

3/4 cup raw sesame seed butter (some call it tahini)
2 tbsp organic cold pressed olive oil
1/2  fresh sliced zucchini
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 clove fresh minced garlic
½ tsp organic black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Place in glass bowl with a few sunflower seeds and your favorite shredded greens sprinkled on top and serve with a platter of raw vegetables for dipping.

2. Banana Carob Shake

1 and 1/2 cup cashews (optional – soak 5 hours to soften)
6 large raw dried dates
4 tbsp raw carob powder
3 large frozen bananas
1/2 cup coconut water
3 tbsp raw honey
Half tray ice cubes (distilled, well or spring water)

Directions:  Blend cashews and dates until smooth. Then add in carob powder, honey and coconut water and blend until creamy. Finally add in bananas and ice cubes one at a time until you have a frozen,  creamy treat.

3. Raw Tomato Soup

½ bag/box raw organic spinach
2 fresh tomatoes
½ raw cucumber
¼ cup distilled water
1 avocado (peeled and halved)

1 clove fresh garlic
2 tbsp Braggs liquid aminos (raw soy sauce)
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp pepper
dash chili powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cold pressed olive oil

Directions: Blend all ingredients until smooth then warm (using baking thermometer) to not above 110 degrees. Serve warm.

Baked Apple Yogurt Treat

Blackberry Crisp

While you might think spicy things are taboo during the hotter months, that seems to be one of the times when you will find folks at all the Mexican restaurants of an evening or at home on the patio dipping chips in hot salsa. Salsa is one of my personal favorite foods, so when a friend gave me this deluxe salsa recipe, I was excited. It is delicious!

Black Bean Chile Dip

2 cans black beans, drained (save juice till the end for thinning)
1 avocado
1/2 cup green or sweet onions
1/2  bunch cilantro (for those like me who do not care for cilantro, this is barely noticeable, but adds something to the final taste)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1 tsp chipotle chile pepper
2 tsp Tony Chachere’s seasoning (optional)

Put all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend. If it is too dry or clumpy for you, add back in some of the bean juice. Serve with tortilla chips or cut vegetables. YUM!

Tomato Cherry Beans

1 and a half pounds fresh green beans

1 1/2 Cups water

1/4 Cup butter

1 Tablespoon honey

3/4 Teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 Teaspoon fresh basil or 1/2 Teaspoon dried

2 and one half Cups fresh cherry tomatoes cut in quarters

Fresh basil

Clean and string beans and cut in thirds. Combine beans and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes and drain. Melt butter in skillet, stir in honey and all salt and spices.  Add in the cherry tomatoes and cook for only a minute or 2 until soft and warm. Pour tomatoes and sauce over beans and stir the contents very gently. Serve in salad bowls with basil or other garnish on top. This should make 6 servings.

Chinese Beets

Ingredients:

3 fresh beets chopped and cooked

1 Cup honey

1 Cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

20  cloves

3 Tablespoons ketchup

3 Tablespoons olive or coconut oil

1 Teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 Cups beet juice

Pinch of salt

Mix the above ingredients in a cooking pot and heat over medium setting for about 4 minutes (until it gets thick). Let the beets cool  in the frig and serve when ready. These beets are great in salads or by themselves. They can also be added as garnish to other dishes.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread 
  
      2 c  Whole wheat flour
      1 t  Baking powder
      1 t  Baking soda
    1/4 t  Salt
    1/2 c  Butter (applesauce)
    3/4 c  Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals
      1  Egg 
  1 1/4 c  Mashed bananas (about 3)
    1/4 c  Plain low fat yogurt
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. 
 Sift flour, baking powder, soda and salt. 
 Cream butter and sugar. 
 Beat in egg. Add bananas and yogurt and beat.
Add flour mixture and mix just until well blended.
 
Turn into pan and bake below oven center about 55 minutes. 
Let stand in pan 10 minutes, then turn out to cool on wire rack.
Makes one loaf.

Blueberry-Banana Sorbet 
    
  1 3/4 c  blueberries
      2  sliced bananas
      1 T  honey
    1/2 t  lemon juice
 
Place all ingredients in food processor or blender and
blend until smooth.
 
Place in plastic container and freeze at least 2 hours. 
Take out partially frozen fruit and stir well to break
up ice crystals. Return to freezer to completely freeze. 
Let fruit sorbet stand 15 minutes at room temperature
before serving.

Raw foods are termed “living food” because they contains some of the most important building blocks of life, enzymes. Enzymes perform a myriad of different functions in the body, such as breaking down food, preventing gas and bloating, tissue repair and alleviating inflammation, just to name a few.

There are many actors, actresses, artists and other famous folks who have given up dead food (as all cooked food is called) to adopt a raw, living diet. Many of these people claim their cancers, arthritis, tendonitis, eczema, intestinal diseases and hundreds of other ailments have gradually gone away as they converted their intake of food from cooked/baked/fried etc. to a raw, fresh way of life and eating.

I said all that just to preface one of my personal favorite raw recipes that is great as a breakfast food.

You take the following ingredients and mix them in a bowl and keep them in the frig until you are ready to use them for a meal:

3/4 cup organic raw almonds, sliced or shredded (and soaked overnight if desired)
1/2 cup organic raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup organic raw cashews
1/2 cup organic raisins
1/4 cup chopped dried figs
1/2 cup organic, unsweetened, shredded coconut (if desired)

When ready to serve:

Put 1/3 cup ground flax seeds (flax seed meal) into a medium sized bowl. Warm 1/2 cup water (but not above 100 degrees) and one tablespoon raw honey or raw agave syrup, and mix this with the flax. Stir and allow to sit for a minute or two. Take 1/2 cup of your muesli mix from the frig and add to the flax meal. Then top with fresh fruit (such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, bananas, blueberries, etc.).

You can serve this as is, with fresh raw milk from a cow or goat, or if you prefer, raw almond milk, rice milk etc. Enjoy!

The fact that what you eat and expose your body to can determine how well it functions, can be a powerful motivator. So here are some healthy snack ideas for when we require alternatives that are more nutritious.

If you are a carb and sugar addict, it may take a little time to re-educate your taste buds, but don’t give up. You will soon find yourself craving the healthier snacks instead. It is just a matter of relearning what real food tastes like.

- Raisins and dried fruit that are not sulfured or soaked in sugar can be a quick energy fix that also contain an abundance of vitamins and minerals.- Sunflower seeds, pecans, cashews, brazils, walnuts, etc. make a healthy snack. Raw, nuts do not contain hydrogenated oils, excess salt, etc. They do however contain essential fatty acids, fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein.

- Fresh raw fruit, berries and vegetables of all kinds are an excellent way to build up your immune system as well as fill a hungry belly.

- Smoothies are another fun way to take the edge off. Some raw honey and your favorite fruit mixed with almond, soy or rice milk is a tasty treat.

- Air-popped popcorn is a popular standby snack food. You can put some salt, olive oil and seasonings on after it is popped to please your personal taste buds.

- One of our personal favorites is to fill celery with unsweetened peanut butter or cover sliced apples with raw almond butter.

Hope you all have a healthy and blessed Christmas!

Scented Christmas Ornaments

4 oz. can (about 1 c.) cinnamon
1 tbsp. cloves
1 tbsp. nutmeg
3/4 c. applesauce
2 tbsp. white glue

In medium bowl, combine cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Add applesauce and glue; stir to combine. Work mixture with hands 2 to 3 minutes or until dough is smooth and ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Divide into 4 portions. Roll out each dough portion to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut dough with cookie cutters. Using straw or toothpick, make small hole in top of ornament. Place cut out ornaments on wire rack to dry. Allow several days to dry, turning ornaments over once each day. Use these ornaments to decorate gifts, hang on tree, etc.

Clay Ornaments Recipe

2 c. baking soda
1 c. cornstarch
1 1/4 c. cold water

Mix soda and cornstarch together, blending well. Add the cold water and mix well until mixture is smooth. Boil for one minute until it has consistency of mashed potatoes. Stir constantly. Spoon out on a plate. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to cool. Knead dough and roll out on waxed paper. Cut out designs with a cookie cutter or shape by hand. Let dry until hardened, about 1 to 2 days. Paint ornaments with tempra or water colors. Dry well and coat with shellac or clear nail polish. Hangers may be mounted on back with glue, or pressed into dough before it dries.

Edible Ornaments

Use a basic sugar cookie recipe, after rolling it out, use glass or can to cut large circles. Use a wide straw to cut a hole near the top. After baking the cookies, paint  family names on each one. You can also give them to teachers, friends, and family as gifts. On Christmas Day everyone gets to eat the cookie with their name on it.

It is a great time for outdoor activities, taking drives to enjoy the fall leaves, hiking, day trips and even weekend camp-outs. Nothing is quite so wonderful as a bowl of tasty hot soup when you have worked up an appetite and come in from the cold. This might be one recipe you have not tried, but if you like pumpkin, give it a try. You may like one of them as much as my family did.

Oriental Pumpkin Soup

Heat olive oil on med. heat  in large saucepan with curry for 5 minutes.
Add diced onion and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the pumpkin, carrot and veggie base, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
When all is soupy, add the coconut cream and mix well.
Serve immediately.

Pumpkin/Cinnamon Soup

- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 7 cups vegetable stock
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 cup soft tofu
- 1 cup soy milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1- 1/2 teaspoons sea salt 
- 1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups fresh chopped pumpkin

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery and onions and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk the flour into the water then add it to the pot along with the vegetable stock, pumpkin, and cinnamon stick and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Puree the tofu and soy milk for 3 to 4 minutes and then whisk it into the soup using a hand whisk. Stir in the salt, parsley, garlic and nutmeg and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and serve warm.