Chef Spotlight: Sayuri Tanaka

by lilla on February 5, 2010

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Sayuri was my roomie when we both worked at Samudra Shala/Vegan Cafe in Western Australia. She is a vegan cooking and un-cooking dynamo! She works all over the world, catering at different yoga retreats such as Purple Valley in Goa and Radiantly Alive in Bali. Everything she makes is seriously scrumptious. She was famous for [...]

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Wild Mushroom Foraging in NJ

by lilla on February 2, 2010

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First I remember David Wolfe talking about it. Then Daniel Vitalis. Followed by several rawies facebooking about their wild mushroom finds. The benefits of medicinal mushrooms has become a growing topic of conversation in the raw food circle. Huge chunks of chaga that can retail for $65/lb (wow!) have been found right in people’s “backyard.”  [...]

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Coconut Oil Giveaway!

by lilla on January 30, 2010

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Quality coconut oil really does make a difference in food prep. I made a favorite quick dish yesterday – pan seared scallops with arugula sauteed in garlic and coconut oil (picture above) and it came out fabulous!
So if you’ve been following my blog, you know that I decided to review four organic coconut oils. Tropical [...]

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The Coconut Envelope, Please…

by lilla on January 29, 2010

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So if you read my last post, you know I was conducting a highly “scientific” taste test comparison between four popular organic coconut oils. And who was the victor??? The winner IS…
… (no surprise) Tropical Traditions! Any company confident enough in their product to send complimentary jars to their customers – well, you KNOW it’s [...]

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All Coconut Oils Are Not Created Equal

by lilla on January 27, 2010

favorite coconut oil comparison taste test

I don’t know about you, but I use coconut oil ALOT. It’s great for desserts (hello coconut + cacao!) cooking, smoothies, soups, as a moisturizer, to remove make-up and who knows what else. Since I’ve started cooking more following Nourishing Traditions and the Paleo way, I just love using it to stir fry with ginger [...]

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Melty Chocolate Chunk Walnut unCookie

by lilla on January 25, 2010

Raw Chocolate Walnut Cookie

Sundays + rain = time to do some unbaking! I was itching for a sweet treat but too lazy to go out, so I started scavenging the cupboards. Cacao, lucuma, almond butter, walnuts, maca – all the makings of a quick yum pot, but I wanted MORE. Something special. A really raw decadent chocolate chip [...]

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Chef Spotlight: Nwenna Kai

January 20, 2010
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I met the Goddess of Raw Food, Nwenna Kai when we were both working playing at Samudra in Western Australia. We co-taught some classes, spread the raw food lifestyle and made some fab treats along the way (I still have memories of the her incredible raw raviolis dancing in my head!)
Recently, Nwenna wrote this important [...]

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How I Got a Free $130 Ceramic Crockpot

January 18, 2010
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Not until I got back to the USA, did I realize how bad the economy has been hit. Whoa! Things aren’t nearly as bad in Australia. So I’ve had to be a wee bit creative in saving and spending and came across some pretty cool resources that I would like to share.
1) FREECYCLE – This [...]

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Udderly Delicious

January 15, 2010

Back in Australia, it was relatively easy to find organic raw goat milk. I made the BEST kefir, yogurts and goat cheese (if I do say so myself) that were so sublimely delish, creamy and EASY! So once I got back to New Jersey, the hunt was ON to find raw milk where (eek!) it’s [...]

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I’m a Recovering Nutritionismist

January 12, 2010

I’m reading this great book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. He talks about how far we’ve drifted from REAL food and come to think of everything in terms of macronutrients -
“I eat protein with every meal 5xs per day.”
“What are the net carbs?”
“I have to watch my saturated fat.”
Where’s the food?! He discusses [...]

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Your Own Organic Garden Without the Work?

December 29, 2009

Have you heard about the new program called “My Organic Acres?” There’s been quite a buzz about it among the raw food communities but I’ve hesitated joining until now because frankly, it just sounds too good to be true and a little suspicious like an MLM, although it’s not…exactly.
Basically, you can get your own garden [...]

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A Surprise Christmas Treat

December 25, 2009

Hey everyone! It’s been a looong time since I last wrote but I just HAD to post about the Raw Food World because I am blown away by their service. I placed an order for a whole bunch of goodies on Tuesday December 22nd. They’re having a massive 17.5% off sale until New Year’s Eve [...]

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