barefoot and frolicking

frolicking friday inspiration: prana

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

everything is prana.

- from Ram Dass, Be Here Now (1971).

raw dessert class

2012-01-24T16:12:00.002-05:00

Hello to my fellow frolickers! Wow, what a while it has been since I truly posted on the blog. The holidays seemed to have gotten the best of me and my spare time - hope you have all had a wonderful end to last year, and a fantastic new beginning to 2012.

What a busy few weeks it has been; towards the beginning of December, I taught a Raw Dessert Class as part of the Adult Evening Specialty cooking class series at the Real Canadian Superstore. For this class, I taught the basics of raw food dessert preparation to nine lucky ladies. The evening's menu included Raspberry Cream and Caramel Tarts, Banana Soft Serve with Chocolate Cake, and a Layered Parfait with Seasonal Fruit Compote.

These lovely ladies were so enthusiastic about raw desserts!

getting organized is half the battle...

the Whipped Chocolate Mousse and Cashew Cream ingredients for the parfait, ready for action.

Layered Parfait with Seasonal Fruit Compote
Serves 4-5 depending on size of the parfait

Parfait Cream
1 cup cashews, soaked overnight (yields 1 ½ cups soaked cashews)
¼ cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup to taste
3 tsp melted coconut oil
2 tsp lecithin granules
1 tsp vanilla (or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean)

Whipped Chocolate Mousse
the flesh of 3 ripe avocados
3 tbsp unsweetened cocao or raw cacao powder
¼ cup maple syrup + 1 tbsp to taste
16 soaked dates

Process ingredients together in a food processor until smooth.

Fruit Compote
3 cups your choice of seasonal, fresh berries (thawed, frozen raspberries)
1 pomegranate, de-seeded
1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)

Blend ½ of the mixture of berries in a blender until a semi-smooth consistency. Mix with the remaining berries and sweetener. If using frozen berries, simply thaw, mash with sweetener, and serve.

Crumble
½ cup almonds
½ cup dates

Process Crumble ingredients in a food processor until they are well-combined with a crumble texture.

Directions:
To assemble the Parfait, layer Parfait Cream, Fruit Compote, and Crumble, in a parfait glass. Top with berries and enjoy!

Me and Marilyn, the cooking school's co-ordinator; the class took place on her second to last day before retirement.

Me with some of my amazing yoga friends, Sarah and Nancy; so pleased to have them attend the class.

By the end of the night, these ladies were all raw dessert mavens. A beautiful class photo!

frolicking friday inspiration: purity

2012-01-20T12:38:00.001-05:00

"when food is pure, being is pure. When one's being is pure, memory/mindfulness is stable. On attaining such memory/mindfulness, all knots at the heart are released"

- Chāndogya Upaniṣad,

qtd. in Georg Feurstein's "The Deeper Dimensions of Yoga" (2003).

kombucha cheer in niagara magazine

2011-12-24T05:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Holiday Season everyone! To ring in the season with some festive cheer, check out my recipe for a delicious Cranberry Kombucha Cocktail in the holiday issue of Niagara Magazine. You can view the issue online here, or see the recipe below.

Wishing you all the best during this festive time of the year - I hope you are spending the holidays with some special loved ones.

holiday superstore cooking classes

2011-12-17T06:48:00.000-05:00

What a whirlwind of a December it has been. I've been fortunate to teach a few cooking classes during this very busy month; two classes, in fact, as part of the "What's for Dinner" program with Loblaws-Real Canadian Superstore.

Holiday-themed recipes were part of the agenda for these two classes. With the colder weather, I like to re-introduce some more heartier, warm dishes to my diet, some of which I shared with each group. Check out these nourishing recipes:

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Grapes, Thyme, and Walnuts
Yields 8 servings

4-6 cups Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered if large
4 cups grapes (preferably red variety)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh thyme, de-stemmed
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Using two rimmed baking sheets, toss the Brussels sprouts and grapes with the oil and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until caramelized and tender, about 20 minutes (if roasting on a lower heat, 350-375, extend cooking time to 40-45 minutes). Remove from the oven and drizzle each tray with 1 tsp of the balsamic vinegar. Toss in the walnuts and serve.

Whipped Chocolate Mousse
Yields 6-8 large servings

3 ripe avocados
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa or raw cacao powder
1 cup mashed fresh or frozen thawed berries
¼ cup maple syrup + 1 tbsp to taste
16 soaked dates

Peel avocados, removing skins and pits. Place the avocado flesh in a food processor. Add in the cocoa/cacao powder, maple syrup, and dates. Using an ‘s’ blade, process until mixture reaches a very smooth consistency. Top with berries (fresh or frozen) and serve alone or as an accompaniment to another dessert.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Yields nine 3” cookies or 12 1” cookies
Inspired by My New Roots

1 ½ cups black beans, very soft (or one 15 oz. can of organic black beans)
2 tbsp. melted coconut oil
1/3 cup organic fair-trade cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chopped dark organic chocolate
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or oil the baking sheet with 1-2 tsp coconut oil.

Mix the ground flax seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla in a bowl and set aside for a few minutes (the flax will ‘swell’ in the liquid mixture).

Place the drained and well-rinsed beans, coconut oil, cocoa, salt and cayenne in a food processor and blend until well combined. Add maple syrup and ground flax seeds and pulse to incorporate. Remove the blade from the food processor and add fold in the chopped dark chocolate and dried cherries.

Spoon cookie batter onto a lined baking sheet. Using the back of the spoon, flatten top of cookies slightly, as they will not spread when baking. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake for 15 minutes until the edges are browning. Cool and eat. Will keep in the fridge for several days.

With these classes, you never know how many people will show up: we had a smaller class in Mississauga (6) and a much larger class in St. Catharines (30). Every day is different, isn't it folks? Either way, both classes were full of enthusiasm and great energy, which made teaching the classes all the more fun and worthwhile. Always a pleasure!

fun times at the second toronto raw vegan festival

2011-12-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

What an energetic few days we had last weekend at the second Toronto Raw Vegan Festival. I was on hand helping out at Truly Organic Foods table, selling superfoods, and seeing old and making new friends throughout the two days. Just look at those smiling faces:

Spread out over two days, the festival was still well attended, and there was enough food for all (at the last festival, most vendors sold out within hours).

A smiling picture of Kent from Truly Organic Foods, and Mandi from Health Nut, having a laugh for the camera. Mandi was selling her nut butters and aged raw vegan nut cheese.

As mentioned in my previous post, I was selling some of my handcrafted raw vegan cake pops. And of course, the infamous Mr. Owl was there:

We also met Mark and Bridgitte from Giddy Yoyo, a superfood, sprouts, and chocolate company based out of Orangeville, Ontario. Their chocolate is unbelievable - such a velvet, cacao experience. I highly recommend checking out their chocolate; there are six different flavours to choose from (my favourites are Mocha and Mint).

The vibrant colours of the Giddy Yoyo collective:

We also had the chance to meet Jennifer Italiano, the lovely beauty behind Live restaurant in Toronto. She was so friendly and chatted with us about raw food and the history of the restaurant. Here are some pictures from their vendor table at the festival:

Raw vegan nanaimo bars, turtles, cookies, kale chips, wraps, and more!

Another vendor was selling organic apples and fresh cider. I just had to sample these adorable fruit tarts, made with different berries and sweetened with stevia:

Our friend Alexi was also on hand with a table that featured information on her cooking classes, as well as samples of her amazing raw food desserts and creations:

A raw festival would not be complete without raw cacao, now would it?

Nzyme was also serving up some amazing raw food. I fell in love with the Spicy Lentil Chili. Not the best picture, but the chili was out of this world delicious; nut-free and made with a vegetable base and topped with sprouted lentils, this was my favourite dish at the festival.

The delightful Marni Wasserman shared space with us (her booth was located directly behind ours), so we had some lovely chats throughout the weekend. Marni gave some great raw uncooking demos, including one on "The Pleasures of Blending" and smoothies:

Happy festival people!

What is now becoming a tradition, we headed to Live for some post-festival food after the first day. I just had to have the Big Salad (as well as a fabulous Green Juice):

Behold, the amazing Sweet Potato Tempeh Cakes:

Another great festival - many thank you's to the organizers and everyone in attendance. See you at the next one in June!

frolicking friday inspiration: cake pops and the toronto raw vegan festival

2011-12-02T17:47:00.001-05:00

Today's frolicking friday inspiration is brought to you by my

cake pop kitchen!

I have been busy, busy preparing three different varieties of cake pops that will be available for purchase at this weekend's Toronto Raw Vegan Festival in Toronto (December 3rd from 10-8pm and December 4th from 10-4pm) at 918 Bathurst St.

The cake pops can be purchased at Truly Organic Foods' table, located on the main floor directly across the front of the stage. You can find more information about the weekend's schedule of events, vendors, and products that will be available on the festival website.

Stop by Truly Organic Foods' table for some amazing superfoods, nut butters, and three different varieties of cake pops. The cake pops are made with 100% plant-based ingredients, raw cacao, and decorated delightfully with whimsical touches of superfood bliss. Check out these different flavours:

Cacao Fudge

Candy Cane

Mulberry Maven

You can read all about our experience at the last Toronto Raw Vegan Festival in June by clicking here. For more information on my cake pops, check out this feature from Niagara Magazine.

Happy raw/vegan season to everyone, and we hope to see you there!

bella belmonte raw

2011-11-29T19:24:00.006-05:00

Hello out there - it feels like forever and a day since I last posted. Life certainly does get in the way sometimes, doesn't it? A few weeks ago, I managed to steal away some time at Belmonte Raw, Toronto's newest raw food establishment, with some lovely ladies for dinner. You might know them, and their blogs, of course: Dani, Ashley, Nicole, Camille, and Candice.

The positive and glowing reviews about Belmonte Raw have graced my computer screen over the past month, and I knew I just had to experience the restaurant in person. Owner Carol Belmonte was the most gracious of hosts, and supplied our table with delightful conversation and copious amounts of freshly pressed juices and delicious dishes. Check out this stunning cotton candy colored pink juice - perfect for a girl's night out:

This juice was apple and gotu kola ("great for digestion"). Carol lived in and around Asia for a few years prior to opening the restaurant, and I was thoroughly impressed with her knowledge of ayurvedic herbs and remedies. They made a perfect addition to an already radiant glowing juice:

Photos and food; you definitely know when bloggers are dining together:

I ordered the Wilted Kale Salad which came with a variety of ingredients: cashews, raisins, sundried tomatoes, sprouted lentils, hemp seeds, red onions, and tomatoes. I really enjoyed the subtleties of the dressing here which featured more of a massaged, salted kale than one inundated with dressing. Superb.

I almost ordered the Beet and Carrot Salad, and was glad to see that Candice did so I could feast with my eyes. Look at this amazing salad medley - talk about presentation:

Camille and Ashley ordered the Burrito Wraps which came with a side order of corn chips.

Dani ordered the creamy Cashew Mylk with a Protein Bar topped with drizzled chocolate. Dinner, dessert, whatever you'd like.

Of course, dinner wouldn't be complete without some sort of raw cacao goodness. In the words of Sarah Jessica Parker à la Sex and the City,

"Hello Lover"

Without a doubt, this was the most sumptuous, whipped raw cacoa experience I have ever had. Whatever Carol has concocted here, I'll have another please. Fluffy, moist, and available in a few different flavours; I ordered the raspberry. Gorgeous.

Toasting to a wonderful get together with apple juice and gotu kola shots is a fantastic way to spend a November evening. I'm very fortunate to know these gorgeous gals and to take part in such fun gatherings. What a truly lovely dining experience at Belmonte Raw - I am already looking forward to my next visit. Cheers everyone!

Photo courtesy of Ashley

Belmonte Raw is located at 1022 Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario. Check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and also their website for more information about their weekly lunch menu and detox juice program options.

chaga tea latte

2011-11-20T22:50:00.001-05:00

My latest elixir of choice has got to be chaga tea; a perfect accompaniment to the colder Canadian weather. What an amazing superfood - chaga is a medicinal mushroom that grows on birch tree bark and has anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-cancer properties. Chaga is also incredibly high in antioxidants and strengthens the immune system.

At the Walk this Way event a few weeks ago, we stumbled upon a sweet soul chaga vendor with the most delightful booth. Isn't this display gorgeous? All sorts of wonderful lovelies reside in the forest - the actual chaga mushroom is the darker mass on the table.

Now, I like to jazz up my chaga tea with a little homemade seed mylk, some superfood sweeteners, and spices. Lately, I've been enjoying the following combination of chaga with some mesquite, vanilla, cacao, cinnamon, and nutmeg with the frothy addition of sesame seed mylk. Amazing!

Chaga Tea Latte
Makes 1 litre of chaga tea

1 litre of chaga tea
1 vanilla bean, split
5 cacao beans, peeled
1-2 tbsp mesquite power
fresh nutmeg, microplaned (about 1 tsp)
1 tsp cinnamon
1-2 cups fresh sesame mylk

To make a chaga tea, you can use either a powdered form of the mushroom, or the larger chunks. For the powder, add 1 tsp of chaga tea powder to 1 litre of boiling water. Let sit overnight (12-14 hours). Brew tea according to directions along with the vanilla bean, cacao beans, mesquite, and spices. Let sit overnight. Warm tea on low heat on the stove. Add in the fresh sesame mylk and blend in a Vitamix. Strain contents through a nut mylk bag and serve.

Frothy chaga tea latte. Brewed to perfection...

walk this way: meeting dr. brian clement

2011-11-16T15:12:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, I jumped on the superfood train and helped out with Truly Organic Foods at Walk This Way, an event that featured a 5km walk for prevention ("education before medication"), health vendors, and special guest speakers Tosca Reno and Dr. Brian Clement (from the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida).

The event had a fantastic turnout. I found it quite fitting that they played songs that featured either the lyrics 'walk', or the theme of walking, during the outdoor 5km walk (some notable songs included Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" (of course!) and Madness' "One Step Beyond"). Too cute!

Lee and I had a ball - I always love helping out with her table and being surrounded by the glowing organic superfood products. Here she is, doing what she does best!

Tosca Reno, above, discussed her interesting health journey and various books that she has published.

Dr. Clement spoke towards the end of the event, and gave an interesting lecture entitled "The Building Blocks of Life." He certainly was able to captivate the crowd with his educational, yet flavourful, discussion about health on a cellular, biological level.

After the lecture, we had the chance to meet the one and only Dr. Clement and I was slightly in awe - the man certainly looks young for his reported 67 years of age, don't you think?

I'm quite fascinated with some of the ideas purported by Hippocrates as well as Dr. Gabriel Cousens from the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Centre in Arizona (Conscious Eating is one of my staple go-to health resources. Read this book!) - a low sugar (lowfruit), rich in chlorophyll and sea veggies approach to diet. I find it a little difficult to have little to no fruit (although, I stay away from too many dried fruits and melons - I feel ill if I eat too much of the latter; I am fast oxidizer, according to Dr. Cousens book) but love my greens and sea veggies.

Have you experimented with a low fruit/low sugar diet?

superfood giveaway winner

2011-11-14T08:32:00.001-05:00

Thank you to everyone who entered my latest Superfood Giveaway Contest. I loved hearing about your favourite superfoods, and appreciate the time you took to enter - it is also nice to know that I am not the only one who is smitten with the power of superfoods (especially cacao, spirulina, and maca).

Many thanks as well to Lee at Truly Organic Foods for supplying me with a wonderful selection of organic superfoods. I am thrilled to share some of my favourite products from her line, including:

Canadian Hemp Seeds

Salad Booster

(chocked full of sea veggies)

Mesquite Maple Candied Walnuts

(soaked, sprouted, then dehydrated with delicious flavours).

And without further ado, the winner of the latest giveaway is......

Shannonmarie from Rawdorable!

Her comment: "Just tweeted about it. Will have to look for a photo to e-mail ya" was lucky #25! You can also check out some photos of Shannon's favourite superfood recipe that she submitted here.

Congratulations Shannonmarie - please send me your mailing information to barefoot_and_frolicking@hotmail.com and I will get these goodies in the post for you. Enjoy!

last chance to enter the superfood giveaway

2011-11-12T08:01:00.000-05:00

There are only two days left to enter my latest Superfood Giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a selection of delicious superfood goodies from Truly Organic Foods; hemp seeds, salad booster, and some mesquite maple candied walnuts.

This giveaway is oh so simple; to enter, just let me know about your favourite superfood, tweet about the giveaway, or better yet, send in a picture of your favourite recipe that uses superfoods. The contest ends Sunday, November 13th so keep those entries coming.

For more information, and also to enter by leaving a message in the comments section, you can click on this post. In the meantime, check out these amazing raw recipes that use superfoods that were sent in by some lovely ladies:

Jade submitted two gorgeous photos of a superfood smoothie that uses frozen blueberries, a frozen banana, maca powder, cacao nibs, and almond milk. I will definitely have to try this recipe - looks delicious (also, Jade, is your glass from Ikea? I think I have the same ones!).

Shannon from Rawdorable submitted some rawesome photos of her favourite go to superfood recipe, a recovery pudding from Brendan Brazier's book, Thrive. You can check out one of her posts with this recipe here.

Jess from Cupcakes and Kale sent in a photo of some raw goji balls that made me oh so hungry for dessert!

Thank you for submitting these beautiful photos ladies!

frolicking friday inspiration

2011-11-11T07:36:00.000-05:00

"Love is a flower, you've got to let it grow."

- John Lennon, "Mind Games" (1973).

conscious eating niagara - eighth potluck

2011-11-10T07:29:00.004-05:00

We held our eighth Conscious Eating Niagara potluck this past weekend. My goodness, we were met with such a beautiful turnout of people along with a sumptuous selection of raw and vegan dishes; everything from luscious mango pies, sprout salads, kelp noodle creations, and mouth-watering superfood-infused chocolate. Just wonderful!

Now, let us feast our eyes on the potluck in pictures (they speak in many more hues than just words):

For our film screening, we watched Jenna Norwood's interesting romp through raw veganism in her documentary Supercharge Me! All in all, another lovely raw food gathering with some lovely company!

another superfood giveaway

2011-11-06T08:06:00.006-05:00

Good morning everyone - I hope you are enjoying this extra hour we have been given, thanks to Daylight Savings Time. Sometimes "falling back" can be a great experience, and other times it can wreak havoc with ones sleep patterns. I'm happy to say that I had a great sleep, which I'm hoping will help me adjust my mindset to the fact that the skies will be getting much darker, much earlier for the upcoming winter months (eek!).

Today, I am sharing a fun announcement: as a way to celebrate the new blog friends and followers who have visited my blog as a result of Vegan Mofo, I an holding another Superfood Giveaway! The lovely Lee from Truly Organic Foods has supplied me with three samples from her amazing superfood line, all of which will go to the lucky winner. These include:

Hemp Seeds - 360g

Mesquite Maple Candied Walnuts - 75g

Salad Booster - 100g

To enter the contest, you can choose from the following options (remember, the more ways you select to enter, the better your chances are of winning!) Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry option you choose to do:

1. Follow my blog, Barefoot and Frolicking using your Google Account.

2. Enter a photo of your favourite raw and vegan recipe that uses superfoods (*the recipe does not have to be your own, but it must be made by you and feature the use of any superfood). Email me your photo at: barefoot_and_frolicking@hotmail.com and I will upload these photos to a blog post about the giveaway.

3. Tweet: "I just entered Barefoot and Frolicking's super Superfood Giveaway! (with link to back to this post and @barefootfrolick & @growlove7 (our Twitter accounts).

4. Leave a comment about your favourite superfood!

The Giveaway Contest is open to Canadian and U.S. residents only, and contestants can submit their entries between Sunday, November 6th to Sunday, November 13th at 12pm EST. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and will announced here on the blog on Monday, November 14th.

And there you have it - a few simple ways to have a chance to sample these delicious superfoods.

Happy entering everyone!

frolicking friday inspiration

2011-11-04T11:44:00.002-04:00

I'm very fortunate to have Fridays as a space for rejuvenation and contemplation after a very busy week; you can usually find me taking in a gentle yoga class, going for a long hike, and catching up on some personal reading.

Seeing as I have the chance to re-energize myself on this day, I thought I would extend this to my blog and start a new tradition called Frolicking Fridays, where I will share some moments of inspiration, whether they be a particular uplifting quote or photograph.

To start off with our first Frolicking Friday, I wanted to share a photograph that I took this past week. I am so lucky to be able to witness such beautiful sites as this in my own backyard:

"Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried

about yesterday."

- Tiny Devotions.

the end of vegan mofo and the liebster blog award

2011-11-01T20:12:00.003-04:00

Well, Vegan Mofo 2011 has officially come to a close. What a whirlwind month it has been. Each and every day, my computer screen came across the most inspiring and beautiful blog posts from vegan bloggers who made it their mission to post as much as possible about healthy and delicious plant-based food.

What an amazing experience it was to be in such great company as 700+ vegan bloggers who signed up to take part in this vegan month of food. Truth be told, I learned a heck of a lot about myself as a blogger over the past few weeks. For one, I realized that, with a little dedication, one can really churn out some substantial blog posts each and every week. I had a lot of fun sharing some planned, and sometimes spur of the moment recipes with you, and I look forward to continuing to do so here. I'm also happy to have made some new blogger friends as well.

Also, I was recently been awarded the Liebster Blog Award thanks to Lauren from Where the Veggies Are and Lisa from Vegan Culinary Crusade. I've only recently discovered Lauren's blog, where she shares some great veggie recipes. I've had the pleasure of meeting Lisa in person at a few vegan events, and let me tell you, she is as lovely and as passionate about health in person as she is on her fantastic blog.

“Liebster” is German and means ‘dearest’ or ‘beloved’ but it can also mean ‘favorite’. The rules of winning this award are as follows:

1. Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

And the Liebster goes to (in no particular order of course) these awesome bloggers:

1. Heather at Sweetly Raw
2. Lauren at Ginger is the New Pink
3. Sarah at Queer Vegan Food
4. Nikki at Fresh Young Coconut
5. Dani at Body by Nature

These ladies have all inspired by own journey with health and plant-based foods with their own stories, experiences, and delicious recipes. Many thank you's!

And finally, a Happy World Vegan Day to everyone - I hope your day was full of compassion and a random acts of kindness.

vegan mofo 2011 #19 - halloween day

2011-10-31T13:17:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

There are so many fantastic Halloween inspired recipes circulating in the blogosphere these days. Everything from Halloween themed cookies, cakes, pastries, and drinks - the creative possibilities are endless when it comes to Halloween treats.

If I had to choose some of my favourite Halloween and fall inspired recipes from barefoot and frolicking, they would have to include:

Warming Pumpkin Chai

Candy Acorn Apples

Pear and Apple Crumble

Smashing Pumpkin Smoothie

Sweet Potato Pie

I will leave you with one of my favourite Halloween-inspired songs, an early demo from those lovely 90s alt-rockers, Veruca Salt, entitled "Halloween Day."

Have a safe, happy, and healthy Halloween!

vegan mofo 2011 #18 - smoothie sunday: sweet potato and sesame bliss smoothie

2011-10-30T11:17:00.005-04:00

With Vegan Mofo slowly drawing to a close, I have just a few more daily posts to share - two to be precise, in order to meet my twenty posts, or five days a week post quota (not to worry, I am going to try to keep up my blogging momentum). Today, I'm back with another installment of Smoothie Sunday. This time, I've experimented with our favourite festive root veggie, the sweet potato, as well as ashwagandha.

Ashwagandha.....ashwagandha. It has such a nice ring to it - the word just rolls of the tongue, no?. Except for the fact that the word translates from Sanskrit to English as "horse's smell" or "the smell of a horse" which most likely originated from either the odor of the root or the stallion-like power that the root imparts when taken internally.

Personally, I don't find the powder has too much of a harsh smell (nothing compares to maca, am I right?). Otherwise known as "Indian Ginseng," ashwagandha is a poweful herb used in ayurvedic healing practices. It has an incredibly calming effect, and can help top alleviate levels of anxiety and stress. In fact, the first time I used this potent herb in my morning smoothies, I noticed an immediate calming effect, unaware of the fact that this was one of its therapeutic properties.

Seeing as autumn is a major time of energetic transition, ashwagandha is a perfect herb to add to your smoothie repertoire (note: woman who are pregnant should not take this herb. You can read more about the benefits of ashwagandha here).

Sweet Potato and Sesame Bliss Smoothie
Serves 1-2

1 small sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup sesame seed mylk (fresh and homemade)
1/2 cup water
2 heaping tablespoons lucuma powder
2-3 dates (optional - if you desire more sweetness)
1 tsp ashwaghanda
1 tsp maca (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon + cinnamon for dusting

Blend ingredients together in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy. Serve with a dusting of cinnamon and enjoy.

No need to fret about eating raw sweet potato - once it is blended, it will take on the creamy and sweet flavours of the other ingredients and will be easy to digest.

Sesame seeds can also make for a fun pattern-making activity -
flowers, stars, even spelling out the name of your special someone.

vegan mofo 2011 #17 - flipping for flapjacks

2011-10-28T07:57:00.001-04:00

The other day, I was flipping for flapjacks - you know, the moist and dense, fluffy cousin to the pancake. It's funny, because I've never been much of a fan of pancakes and flapjacks until I realized that buckwheat and quinoa could be used instead of overly processed wheat for the flour.

These gluten-free beauties pack some serious protein punch with the almond mylk and quinoa, and only take a minute or two to be cooked. Whats more, you could also try dehydrating these for a few hours for a raw flapjack-crepe variation.

Apple Flip Flapjacks

Makes 4 small flapjacks

1 cup almond milk (I used homemade)

1/4 cup water
2-3 dates
1/2 of a golden delicious apple, sliced
1/2 cup quinoa, cooked (I used a combination of black and white)
1/2 cup ground buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Blend ingredients together in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy. Transfer mixture to a bowl or container. Using a non-stick pan or skillet, melt 1-2 tsp coconut oil. Pour mixture into two small circular forms, and let cook in the pan for a minute or two (or until the mixture starts to form bubbles). When ready, flip the flapjack and do the same on the other side. When finished, serve immediately with side of fruit, dash of cinnamon, and.or maple syrup.

Happy Flapjack Friday!

vegan mofo 2011 #16 - detoxifying beet elixir

2011-10-27T07:41:00.000-04:00

Ahh, precious beetroot. I can tell my British heritage is kicking in whenever I crave one of these sweet roots. During my last trip to London, I was surprised to encounter sliced beetroot (beets to us North American folk) in bagged salad mixes. I thought to myself, "what an excellent way to sneak in this nutritious root vegetable."

Flash forward to this autumn, and I am also sneaking in some red beets in fresh juices, rotating between green juice blends and this Detoxifying Beet Elixir. Named for the combination of beets with some apple and carrot, this is a surefire way to detoxify those cells and to 'cleanse our palates', so to speak, in order to transition into the cooler winter months.

Detoxifying Beet Elixir

Serves 1 (approximately 2 cups)

3 small red beets, or 1/2 large beet

4 carrots

1 small cucumber (or 1/2 of a large cucumber)

1 apple

1 inch knob of fresh ginger

4 leaves of beet greens (optional)

1/2 lemon (optional)

Wash and prepare produce. Juice using your personal juicer, straining any pulp if necessary.

Nutritional powerhouses, beets are an excellent source of antioxidants, help to regulate digestion, cleanse the liver and detoxify our cells. The leaves are also edible, and are chocked full of beta-carotene. What better way to alkalize the bod than with beets?

So, the next time you need a little sweetness in your life, hug a beet and put a little love in your heart. Your body will thank you!

vegan mofo 2011 #15 - raw artistry at the naked sprout

2011-10-26T07:47:00.002-04:00

Raw cuisine is such an amazing and creative art form. Initially, I was drawn to raw foods because of the beauty and kindness I saw being used during the preparation of recipes (coupled with the major health benefits); the colors and stylings of the food was so inviting and pleasing to the eye.

The best experience is when this energy can be found at raw food restaurants, and The Naked Sprout is no exception. I've extolled about my great dining experiences here before, and thought I would share some of their raw food artistry with pictures from our last few trips there (notice the plural).

The tacos

The Wild Seed Massaged Kale Salad

Tacos again

The Nachos

The Wild Seed Massaged Kale Salad - I loved this salad so much that I ordered it during another recent visit to the restaurant. So satisfying and chocked full of delicious ingredients (kale, sundried tomatoes, goji berries, cabbage, sprouts) and tossed with the most vibrant and delicious dressing.

Enjoy with your eyes, or better yet, get thee to The Naked Sprout to try this food for yourself! They just celebrated their Grand Opening, and I wish them all the best and look forward to many more dining experiences at the restaurant.

vegan mofo 2011 #14 - potluck guest post at xgfx.org

2011-10-24T07:24:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, just wanted to direct you to a second guest post I've contributed to xgfx.org for Vegan Mofo.

The post is entitled "Potluckin'" and talks about the power of raw and vegan potlucks. Learn how you can unleash your own "potluck power" and organize your own meetup group here!

vegam mofo 2011 #13 - warming pumpkin chai

2011-10-22T07:37:00.000-04:00

The days are getting shorter, the weather a little colder. Nothing feels more like autumn than curling up with a warm blanket, a good book and a warm, soothing drink.

This Warming Pumpkin Chai is inspired by the ayurvedic principles that we need to stay grounded during the autumn, which is a frenetic time of transition and can effect our stress levels. Pumpkin and nutmeg are nourishing and seasonal ingredients that help soothe us during the weather change. The combination of fresh homemade almond mylk with coconut butter makes this an extra creamy drink to soothe ones soul.

Warming Pumpkin Chai
lightly inspired by a recipe on Joyfulbelly.com
Serves 2

1 cup fresh almond milk
1 1/2 cups pureed steamed pie pumpkin
1 tbsp coconut butter
2-3 dates
1 inch knob of ginger root
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
dash of pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)

Steam the pumpkin and mash into a puree. Combine the pumpkin with the rest of the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Option: you can warm this drink on low heat in a saucepan on the stove for about 10 minutes after blending, or drink directly after blending. If the mixture is not sweet enough, you can add in 1 tbsp of maple syrup. Serve with a dusting of freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon.

Pumpkin Chai is an excellent way to de-stress, enjoy the changing colours of the leaves outside, and a way to warm ourselves up from the inside out; the cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg stimulate our circulation and help to activate proper digestion. There is nothing like a warming, nourishing elixir to compliment ones day.

A beautiful acoustic instrumental that reflects the wondrous energy of autumn:

vegan mofo 2011 #12 - an autumnal cooking class

2011-10-20T07:22:00.001-04:00

I'd like to interrupt what is slowly becoming my vegan month of smoothies (what can I say? I just love smoothies) to share some photos from a recent cooking class I taught as part of the PC Cooking School culinary series.

For this autumnal-themed cooking class, I demonstrated three raw and vegan recipes for a lovely group of people (some familiar faces from previous classes, and some new friends as well). This cooking class used in season ingredients such as sweet potatoes, beets, and apples - the best in comforting fall fare.

Our menu featured a Sweet Potato Hummus, followed by a raw Beet, Carrot, and Apple Salad, and a raw Pear and Apple Crumble for dessert.

The Sweet Potato Hummus was inspired by Gena Hemshaw's fabulous recipe, with a few alterations modifications; I increased the sesame oil to 1 tbsp, and added in a dash more of paprika.

I sought inspiration for the Beet, Carrot, Apple salad from the lovely Angela Liddon; this recipe just needed to be shared with the world. A few more modifications here; I used red beets only, just a pinch of sea salt, and just a dash of maple syrup for the dressing.

Last but not least, the Pear and Apple Crumble was a combination of pears, apples, dates, cinnamon with an almond, date crumble.

A sample of the day's menu

Serving the Pear and Apple Crumble

Everyone really enjoyed the day's menu, especially the Beet, Carrot, and Apple Salad; one woman said she couldn't stand the taste of raw beets, and after having the salad, thanked me for helping her to like beets again. She said the salad was delicious!

Thank you to everyone for making the class such a fun experience and success - enjoy the recipes.

vegan mofo 2011 #11 - smoothie sunday - smashing pumpkin smoothie

2011-10-17T15:05:00.002-04:00

Hey folks, I'm here with a Smoothie Sunday recipe to share on a Monday of all days (a tad behind in my posts).

I don't know about you, but I am really enjoying the autumn weather lately. Not too warm, not too cold, we had our first autumnal weekend, complete with falling leaves, whirring trees, and gusts of cool breeze. As I'm one to scour farmers markets for the most seasonal of ingredients, I couldn't ring in autumn without getting my hands on some delicious pumpkin.

Pumpkin is one of those gourds/squashes/fruits that I enjoy cooked over raw (unless it is prepared properly in a fabulous raw pumpkin pie). That being said, you can prepare pumpkin a few different ways. Here are some of my tips and tricks:

* for most recipes, you will want to use a pie pumpkin, which is a tad sweeter and more palatable than traditional carving pumpkins.

* to prepare your pumpkin, wash the skin and carve a circle around the top, lifting the 'lid', so to speak, and removing the inner flesh and seeds.

* you can choose to peel your pumpkin, or leave the skin on. It's your call. Either way, you will want to slice the pumpkin into halves and quarters, and into small cubed pieces.

* to bake the pumpkin, bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

* to steam the pumpkin (my preferred method), steam the pumpkin in a rice steamer or stove steamer.

One way to sneak in some pumpkin is in a smoothie. Coupled with your favourite nut mylk and natural sweetener, pumpkin can taste absolutely thrilling as a breakfast or snack option.

This smoothie recipe was inspired by all of the fabulous pumpkin smoothie recipes I've been encountering as part of Vegan Mofo, but also partly inspired by one of the favourite bands from my youth (The) Smashing Pumpkins. I won't get into my deep appreciation for the group's music (particularly with the original line-up), as it would take up this if not another post (plus, we all know how I grew up wanting to be D'arcy, so that should certainly reinforce my ~~geekdom~~ fandom).

Smashing Pumpkin Smoothie
Serves 1-2

1 frozen banana
1/2 cup pureed pie pumpkin (cooked - could try raw if you prefer, as well as increase to 1 cup for a thicker smoothie)
3 dates, soaked
1 cup homemade hemp mylk
1/2 cup water (optional - depending on the desired thickness of the smoothie)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
dash of nutmeg
dash of cloves

Combine steamed pumpkin with ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve in a glass with a dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg and enjoy.

I shared some photos of this smoothie on Facebook, and a friend who shall remain anonymous left the most hilarious comment/description which I just had to share with you. It touches on the changing line-up of the band over the years, as well as the grandiose stylings of frontman Billy Corgan - a sort of smoothie/band parallel if you will:

"So it tastes great the first time you have one. The second time, everyone really likes it. So then you super size the recipe, and everyone realizes how indulgent your whole smoothie is.
Then nobody cares any more no matter how many changes you make to the ingredients. You take some ingredients out, then put them back in.
Then you try to go with just the one main ingredient on its own- but that tastes really awful and nobody seems to like it."

Tis true, the band has gone through multiple line-ups and Billy Corgan's harrowing vocals are an acquired taste, and the many changes in their music sometimes alienated fans, but there are so many gems in their discography. Since I am currently on a Fleetwood Mac kick these days, here is a cover of "Landslide," performed by Billy Corgan/the band, from 1995.

Coming up next, yet another autumnal drink that features pumpkin with an ayurvedic twist (and perhaps another Smashing Pumpkins pun~~kin~~. Stay tuned!

vegan mofo 2011 #10 - green smoothie guest post on xgfx.org

2011-10-15T07:39:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, I've contributed a guest post to the fabulous gluten-free vegan resource xgfx.org as part of Vegan Mofo 2011!

In my post, "Green Smoothie Lovin'" I talk about the health benefits of green smoothies and how you can jazz up your own green creations with certain superfoods.

So for those of you who might have reservations about trying this amazing detoxifying drink option, you can read my post here for some fun and helpful tips and tricks. Enjoy!

vegan mofo 2011 #9 - having fun at a new raw vegan potluck

2011-10-14T07:47:00.002-04:00

First off, a resounding wow and thank you to everyone for their kind comments on my last post (Happy Birthday Barefoot and Frolicking). I'm glad you enjoy visiting my blog as much as I do, and I'm happy to keep writing and sharing with you all!

Speaking of sharing, I attended a new raw vegan potluck a few weeks ago that gave new meaning to the word potluck. The Burlington-Oakville-Mississauga Raw Vegan Meetup Group was started to fill in a gap between some of the other meetup groups in the area.

Organized by Jan, Dave, and Pam, this group meets at different raw restaurants in the area (we are fortunate to have more than a handful around here) every month or so; while the restaurants are closed during the potluck, attendees bring some of their favourite raw dishes to share with the group.

The first meetup was held at Nzyme, a new living foods bistro and juice bar in Oakville (check them out on Facebook). Conveniently located above a cute hot yoga studio (love that!), Nzyme serves the most delicious raw vegan fare in a gorgeously intimate environment; wood floors, refurbished wood for their tables, reclaimed chairs, and an open kitchen setting.

Once we arrived, we were treated to a delightful sparkling beet and apple mocktail...

...as well as some mushroom cap appetizers.

Jan (left) shared some fantastic raw resources with the group.

You can see the amazing wood table underneath our potluck dishes.

Nzyme is owned by Kevin (above and below) and his wife Angie. Kevin was the most gracious of hosts, and gave a little talk abouttheir interest in raw foods and inspiration for opening the restaurant.

Nzyme also provided two dishes to our potluck; their infamous mock egg salad, and some spirulina chocolate truffle balls for dessert. They were delicious! Other dishes at the potluck included some green salads, a beet and carrot salad, fettucine alfredo, and some garden patties.

Lee and I brought two dessert dishes; I made a pear and apple crumble, and Lee made mulberry bars with coconut icing. Other desserts included raw cupcakes, ice cream bars (incredible artistry!), almond cookies, chocolate pudding, pumpkin pie, and more.

Pear and Apple Crumble
Serves 6-8

For the Crumble
1/2 cup raw almonds
3/4 cup raw walnuts
3 dates, unsoaked
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the Filling
4 cups thinly sliced, peeled, cored ripe pears (Bartlett work best)
2 cups thinly sliced, peeled, cored apples
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of cinnamon
dash of pumpkin pie spice
4 dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour

To make the crisp, place almonds in a food processor with an S blade and process until coarse. Add walnuts, dates, cinnamon and process until the mixture begins to stick together. Remove mixture and set aside.

To make the filling, place the pears and apples in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Remove one cup of this filling and place in the food processor. Add the soaked dates and the nutmeg to the food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides when necessary.

Stir mixture into the bowl of sliced fruit along with the raisins. Spread the filling in a 8" x 8" pan or large pie dish and top with the crumble. Serve immediately or refrigerate. The Pear and Apple Crumble will keep for several days in the fridge.

We had a great time meeting some new friendly faces, sampling delicious food, and relaxing rather than organizing (I have to say, it is a very different experience to attend a potluck instead of organizing one lol). All in all, a fun new experience that we were glad to be a part of.

Have you been to a raw potluck before?

vegan mofo 2011 #8 - happy birthday, barefoot and frolicking!

2011-10-12T07:33:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Barefoot and Frolicking!

Yesterday marks the official two year anniversary of my blog. Although I signed up for my Blogger account almost a year prior, for some reason I either wasn't compelled or ready to start officially blogging until October 11th, 2009 (you can read my first post here, appropriately titled 'a vegan thanksgiving').

I wasn't sure what to expect from blogging, but I did know that I wanted to start a blog so I could 'join in on the health conversation' with other like-minded people interested in raw and vegan foods. I was also so inspired by some of the blogs I had started to encounter, that I felt compelled to start my own.

Writing here on Barefoot and Frolicking has been such a treat, and I am so fortunate to have met many great people (either online or in person), created delicious recipes, and reported on fun foodie related events and restaurants. I look forward to sharing many more posts, adventures, and recipes with you and am so pleased to have such a supportive community out there. The fact that we take the time to follow each others blogs and contribute comments to posts is both encouraging and inspiring!

I thought I'd honour this two year anniversary with a look back at some of my favourite food photos and recipes I've shared on the blog. Enjoy!

I love, love, luvv green smoothies - they are my favourite go-to breakfast in the morning. I especially like topping said smoothies with multiple superfoods, like cacao nibs, goji berries, hemp seeds, etc.

I Live in the Springtime Smoothie

Since starting my blog, I tried kale for the first time and absolutely fell in love with this cruciferous leafy green. There is nothing more satisfying then a well-prepared and marinated kale salad for lunch or dinner.

Also since starting my blog, I've become a fan of green juice. I had never encountered green juice before in my health journey (I grew up with the standard apple and carrot juice), so exploring different ingredient combinations (broccoli stems and apple, say whaat?) has been really fun!

Ahh yes, the infamous cake pops - what a treat (no pun intended) these are to make. I was thrilled to have won Lisa and Nicole's Raw Cake Pop Challenge in April; it inspired me to make raw cake pops for different food events over the past few months. The cake pops were written about in some local magazines, and I even had the opportunity to make a few orders for clients for bridal showers.

And where would cake pops be without raw cacao? I love making raw chocolates for people - nothing says 'a gift' better than raw cacao. I also had the chance to make and sell these as part of Truly Organic Foods table this summer at various farmers markets.

Mr. Owl became our unofficial cacao mascot this past summer

("Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a raw cacao cake pop?")

Cacao Truffles make the perfect gift

Cherry Vanilla Tarts - these little delights are a super easy raw dessert recipe; one of my favourites.

I'm a fan of using local, fresh produce and ingredients whenever possible. This Pink Moon Peach Cobbler with a Quinoa Flake Crumble uses fresh peaches and quinoa flakes as part of the topping. A delicious and healthy dessert (or breakfast, snack, dinner) option. Lots of possibilities here.

vegan mofo 2011 #7 - a peach smoothie and some Portishead

2011-10-11T06:20:00.003-04:00

Peach smoothies and Portishead. What other topics could be better for a blog post? (not much, if you ask me). Today, for my seventh Vegan Mofo 2011 post, I thought I'd share a peach smoothie recipe that uses the last vestiges of this late summer fruit, in addition to some photos from a recent Portishead concert I attended. Peaches and Portishead go hand in hand in my world - what can I say?

Peaches are always in overabundance here towards the end of summer. Around this time, you will most likely find me purchasing bushels of 'second' peaches (fruit that has slight marks, but is much cheaper in price) and freezing them for the coming months. Here are some stoned and halved peaches just itching to get into the freezer:

More often than not, my plans to prepare and save these peaches follow through, but sometimes I can't keep up with the mass amounts of peaches that come my way and have to discard of a few of them.

Peach Perfection Smoothie
Serves 1

2 fresh peaches, stoned and halved into quarters
1 cup cashew or almond mylk (*homemade of course - the fresher the better)
1/2 frozen banana (optional)
1 tbsp maca
1 tbsp lucuma
dash of cinnamon

Blend ingredients together in a high-speed blender and enjoy.

As for the Portishead concert, it was phenomenal. What an experience to witness one of the last great musical acts in full force. For those of you unfamiliar with Portishead (an incredible trip-hop band from the UK), check out their albums Dummy (1994), Portishead (1998), and Third (2009). You won't regret it.

The show featured an impressive and interesting video backdrop, which captured camera footage shot from cameras placed on each band member coupled with other footage and animations - a sort of live feed video projection.

Here is a fan video from the concert that captures one of their most (if not the most) popular song(s), "Glory Box." Very impressive video recording skills to whoever shot this - captures the performance beautifully:

Any other Portishead fans out there?

vegan mofo 2011 #6 - kelp noodles and corn chowder

2011-10-08T12:29:00.003-04:00

Thanks to everyone for your great comments on the last post - I'm glad to hear that there are other kelp noodle enthusiasts out there, as well as those of you who are interested in trying these noodles for the very first time! Also, I was pleased to hear that the little soup featured in yesterday's pictures didn't go unnoticed.

For those of you curious about the recipe, you are in for a treat today - I'm back with the recipe for the soup as well as a picture of another Kelp Noodle dish (just looking at photos of kelp noodle dishes makes my mouth water). I just can't help myself.

As I mentioned, a few of you were inquiring about the soup I strategically placed in my previous kelp noodle photos (it made for a perfect meal one summer evening). I can't take credit for this delicious recipe, as it comes from the one and only Ani Phyo, one of my favourite raw food chefs. Seeing as I found this recipe reprinted online, I think it's safe to assume I can reprint it here on the ol' blog.

Corn Chowder
Recipe by Ani Phyo, reprinted on Food and Wine
Serves 2

3 1/4 cups fresh yellow corn kernels (from 4 large ears) *
2 cups water
1/2 cup raw cashews
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove
2 teaspoons kosher salt **
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped cilantro leaves***
Freshly ground pepper

In a blender, combine 2 1/4 cups of the corn with the water, cashews, olive oil, garlic and salt and puree until smooth. Pour the soup into bowls. Garnish with the remaining 1 cup of corn kernels, the cilantro and a sprinkle of pepper, then serve.

*keep in mind that corn is one of the most GMO'd crops out there. I was fortunate enough to have some non-GMO organic sweet corn from our summer CSA, but check labels and keep this in mind when choosing corn for the recipe.

**I used 1 tsp sea salt

***the recipe in her book, Ani's Raw Food Essentials, calls for thyme as a garnish.

Creamy corny goodness!

vegan mofo 2011 #5 - kelp noodle crazy

2011-10-07T07:57:00.002-04:00

Lately, I've been kelp noddle curaazzy. There is just something about kelp noodle dishes that I find so appealing; I think it has to do with their satisfactory quotient - a meal that features perfectly flavoured and marinated kelp noodles can be so fulfilling (pun intended?).

Along with zucchini noodles, kelp noodles are a fantastic substitution for pasta in raw dishes, are fairly inexpensive, taste light and fresh, and have a particularly long shelf life. Here are some of my tips for preparing kelp noodles:

* make sure to rinse them well once taken out of the package; they've been packaged for quite some time before they arrive in your kitchen, so make sure to rinse them well using a colander.

* once rinsed, I find soaking the kelp noodles in warm water helps to soften them. I usually soak kelp noodles in warm water for at least an hour before I prep a recipe.

* after you have prepped the noodles and made a recipe, you will want to let the noodles marinate (making kelp noodle dishes ahead of time and letting them 'set' in the fridge overnight will help to make them extra soft and palatable).

Here are just some of my favourite quick and easy kelp noodle recipes:

Raw Pad Thai
Serves 2-4

1/2 cup almonds, soaked for at least a few hours
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp freshly minced ginger
1/2 clove garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 dates
salt to taste
sliced green cabbage
red and yellow bell pepper, chopped
broccoli, chopped

Soak 2 packages of kelp noodles for at least an hour in warm water. Drain. Blend the first nine ingredients in a blender, and add to noodles, making sure to mix the dressing with the noodles until well-integrated. Add chopped vegetables and serve immediately or let the dish 'set' overnight in the fridge.

Vibrant Lime Kelp Noodles
Serves 2

1 package kelp noodles, drained and rinsed
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp avocado oil
handful of sunflower sprouts
2 tomatilloes, chopped
red and yellow bell pepper, chopped
pinch of sea salt

Prepare the kelp noodles as instructed above, and let them soak in warm water for at least an hour. Rinse and toss with lime juice, sea salt, and avocado oil. Toss with the tomatilloes, bell pepper, and sunflower sprouts. Let marinate, although this dish tastes best if served immediately (a fresher, less creamier kelp noodle recipe).

Kelp noodles are the perfect addition to any raw meal - give them a whirl the next time you are looking to try a new raw and vegan recipe.

vegan mofo 2011 #4 - heirloom tomato fest

2011-10-05T20:37:00.003-04:00

Last month, I was asked to take part in a very special event called Tomato Fest. An annual event, Tomato Fest is run by Linda Crago, the proprietor of Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm.

Linda is truly an inspiration; she left an established career in social work to pursue her ultimate passion - gardening, heirloom seeds, and sustainable agriculture - some thirteen years ago, and has not looked back since. Linda is also active in the preservation of heirloom seeds with Seedy Saturday and also shares many of her experiences on her fantastic blog.

I was thrilled that Linda asked me to be part of her fantastic event; a day of celebrating tomatoes, in all of their heirloom, organic glory. Along with three other local chefs, I was asked to create a tomato-themed appetizer recipe that visitors could enjoy while touring her gardens. Of course, I just had to ask my friend Lee from Truly Organic Foods to join me, and together, we had a blast at our organic table.

For my tomato-themed appetizer, I made a dehydrated almond-flax-zucchini based cracker with a fermented cashew cheese topped with sliced cherry tomatoes and basil from Linda's garden. I'd like to keep the recipe a little 'hush-hush' for now, but the cheeze did involve some cashews, probiotics, herbs and spices, and some ample fermentation time.

These little appetizers were delicious, and I was so pleased that the crowd loved them; so much so, that I was getting requests about selling the cheese. People simply couldn't believe it was a nut based cheese - it tasted that good (or in my opinion, even better than dairy cheese!).

Linda is in the red shirt enjoying some of the day's activities:

Another local chef who was creating some vegan options was Shawn Murphy, proprietor of Niagara Catering. His appetizer was out of this world insanity amazing - I can't even begin to describe the combination of creativity, originality, textures, and flavours in this recipe. Your best bet for an explanation would be to ask him yourself on Twitter (@ArtisinalPalate).

Apart from the appetizers, guests also had a chance to sample the many different varieties of heirloom tomatoes that Linda grows on her farm. Behold, the all mighty tomato table:

Just look at these gorgeous, mouth-watering samples of every possible tomato variety you can imagine:

Sampling this wide array of tomatoes was so much fun - I'm a real tomato fan, and tend to eat them like the fruit that they are, especially when they are in season. Cherry tomatoes are most addictive, don't you think?

Many thank you's to Linda for her kindness and dedication to preserving such unique heirloom vegetable varieties; I felt very fortunate to take part in this lovely event and gathering of local foodies.

vegan mofo 2011 #3 - latest conscious eating niagara raw potluck and a sweet potato pie recipe

2011-10-03T14:19:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, we held our latest installment of the Conscious Eating Niagara potluck. For those of you who might be new to joining my blog, I help to co-organize a monthly raw and vegan potluck meetup group. Now at our seventh potluck, we have grown from a small group of twenty to about fifty people attending each month. Due to our expanding numbers, we've grown out of three different venues!

Each and every time we meet, the food and company seems to get better and better. Here are some photos of the amazing raw food artistry I have the pleasure of experiencing each month:

Pam's Samosas with Chutney

Walnut and Greens Salad

Toni and Paul's Raw Onion Bread Rolls with Cashew Cheese

Alexi's Almond Patties with Cucumber Raiti Sauce

Beets, Carrots, Greens

Mushroom and Cheese Quiche

Alkalizing Salad

Lauren's Red Hot and Raw Salad (I think this was the title :)

Fabienne's mini mushroom quiche bites

Kaia's hummus dip

Robyn's amazingly marinated kelp noodles

Robyn's equally impressive pasta noodles

And of course, dessert:

Lou-Ann's chocolate cake with raspberries

Pam's chocolate cookie balls

Mandi's pumpkin cheezecake

Claire's choccie truffles

For the potluck, I made a Sweet Potato Pie. I'd only worked with raw sweet potatoes once before in a raw soup which definitely did not turn out as expected. I thought I would give this beautiful root vegetable another chance, and wound up creating a very tasty pie that could be served as part of a main meal (think, mashed potato) or for dessert. We weren't sure whether to place it with the main dishes or with dessert at the potluck; to each their own!

Sweet Potato Pie
raw-vegan-gluten free
Serves 6-8

8 cups diced sweet potato, peeled
1.5 cups walnuts, soaked overnight
2 tsp cinnamon
5 dashes of pumpkin pie spice
1 cup dates
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup

Process the diced sweet potato, dates, 1 cup of the walnuts, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and coconut oil in a food processor until well-mixed. Transfer mixture to a Vitamix and process until smooth and creamy. Place the mixture into a large pie plate.

Coat the remaining 1/2 cup of walnuts with the maple syrup (and a dash of cinnamon for good measure) in a small boat, and let marinate for a few minutes. Top the sweet potato pie with the walnuts (if you would like more of a coating, you can increase the amount of walnuts and maple syrup for the topping). Serve and enjoy!

Our special guest speaker this month was Dennis, who healed himself from a very troubling MS diagnosis. He attributes his radical shift in health to a major reconfiguration of his diet, lifestyle, stress, and how to deal with one's emotions. He gave a very inspiring talk, which sparked an interesting group discussion about Western versus holistic approaches to treating dis-ease in the body.

Til next month's potluck!

vegan mofo 2011 #2 - smoothie sunday: cucumber green smoothies

2011-10-02T07:46:00.004-04:00

I know what you are thinking, right? The title of this post, cucumber green smoothies, doesn't sound all that appetizing. Well folks, I'd like to introduce you to my new favourite (and delicious) green smoothie ingredient - cucumbers!

Why cucumbers you ask? Well, apart from being quite a cooling food, cucumbers are an incredibly high source of:

* silica: great for hair and nails
* calcium: build those bones!
* magnesium: most of us (80% of North Americans) are deficient in mag.
* potassium: it's not just for bananas anymore.
* vitamins A, B6, and C = weee!

Here is a cucumber green smoothie recipe that I enjoyed on many an occasion this past summer. The cooling nature of the cucumber really helped me to combat some of the hot weather we had (especially on the day of a massive heat wave which broke multiple records here). This smoothie works well for breakfast, as a snack, or as a pre/post workout source of energy.

'Cru as a Cucumber' Green Smoothie

1 cup almond mylk (or other nut mylk)
1 small cucumber (or the 1/2 of a large cucumber)
1 handful of spinach
1 frozen banana
1 tsp spirulina
1 tbsp maca

Blend ingredients together in a high-speed blender and serve.

One caveat emptor about cucumbers, though, is that, like much conventional produce, it is far better to purchase organic rather than conventional. Cucumber skins can accumulate a wide array of harmful pesticides and chemicals which we certainly want to keep out of our bods. If you can't find organic, simply peel your cucumbers before using.

There you have it, a cucumber green smoothie recipe that can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere. Give it a whirl!

welcome to vegan mofo: vegan month of food

2011-10-01T06:44:00.001-04:00

October 1st marks the first day of Vegan Mofo: Vegan Month of Food. Now in it's fifth year, Vegan Mofo is a month-long endeavour in which foodie bloggers (hey, that's me!) can sign up to write as much as they can about vegan food for the month of October. This month long celebration of all things vegan food was originally created by the Post Punk Kitchen, and is now organized by an amazing collection of superfoodiewomen.

Sign up I did, and I am certainly not alone - check out their blogroll chocked full of amazing foodie bloggers who I will be joining in this month long writing bonanza (about 700 blogs and writers). I can't wait to get started - taking part in something as fun as writing about healthy, plant-based living as a way to inspire others to make more conscious food choices is a-ok in my books!

(image c/o MyZoetrope)

While there isn't a required number of times to write, the ideal amount of posts is about five per week (once every weekday), resulting in about 20 posts for the month of October. Rest assured, I am going to try my darndest to post as much as I can about vegan food and keep up with the 20 post goal, but will have to remind myself to take a slight step back from a post or two if I feel like my hand is going to fall off from too much typing (in addition to my other 'life' duties that require me to do a heck of a lot of typing).

Over the month, I'll also be contributing a guest post or two over at xgfx.org, an amazing vegan and gluten-free online resource created by a community of fellow rockin' lady bloggers who will also be featuring daily posts and contributions from other bloggers as part of their VeganMofo participation. I'll keep you posted!

Anyone else taking part in Vegan MoFo?

(and if you have any tips for blogging large quantities of posts,

I'd be happy to hear them!)

...and the winner of the I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest is...

2011-09-29T06:53:00.001-04:00

Thank you to everyone who entered the

I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest!

Lee and I were so amazed with the number of entries (there were 92 comments in total from 27 people) and the enthusiasm for superfoods that shone through our computer screens. It's great to read that so many of you use superfoods as part of your health practice. We wish we could share the beauty of superfoods with everyone in this giveaway this time around (but, stay tuned for another giveaway in the coming weeks).

So, without further delay, the lucky winner of some Truly Organic Foods Superfoods (goji berries, gourmet nut mixes) and a selection of raw cacao treats made by yours truly, selected at random courtesy of random.org is.....

Lucky #13

Andrea McGee!

The random generator selected her comment (#13 in the comment list): "Andrea McGee said...Entry #5: I visited Truly Organic Foods website. Lots of information!!"

Congratulations Andrea! Please contact me at barefoot_and_frolicking@hotmail.com to redeem your selection of superfoods.

Many thanks you's to everyone who entered the contest, and remember, a little birdie told you that we'll be hosting another giveaway in the coming weeks!

a summer song

2011-09-24T20:39:00.004-04:00

As promised, I'm back with another quick summer recap post. The past few months were filled with so many wonderful memories - here are just some of the many highlights I was fortunate to experience this summer:

...picking fruit (apricots and raspberries) from one of my new

favourite fruit farms. I love being outdoors in the bright sunshine, toiling around in nature.

...this is one of the most beautiful sites to see, ever.

I think I could live quite comfortably in a fruit orchard - yes, yes!

...foraging for wild black raspberries in the forest

...seeing my spring planting really come to fruition (on the left is lemon balm that I started from seed)

...and of course, a Canadian summer wouldn't be complete without canoeing!

We had the opportunity to visit a friend of mine from Europe who is working with his girlfriend at a winery a few hours away. They were the most gracious of hosts, and even supplied us with a raw vegan breakfast (complete with coconut, which they are attempting to crack in the photo):

They also had complete access to an organic garden that belongs to the winery owners; the could walk out their door and find so many different varieties of vegetables and herbs. What a fabulous arrangement!

For dinner, they made the most delicious vegan curry using all organic ingredients from the garden. I don't usually eat many cooked dishes, but this was one exception I had to make - the curry was absolutely out of this world!

This summer, I returned to a more regular yoga practice (I've practiced off and on for the past twelve years, but a consistent practice has finally 'found' me, and vice versa) and took part in some fun yoga events.

The above photo is taken from a 108 Sun Salutations in the Park event; the name certainly says it all - 108 Sun Salutations in a row. What an experience it was - my hamstrings were sore for days, but it was well worth the pain to take part in an event with some like-minded yogi folk.

And again, summer would not have been complete without some yoga on the beach. Here I am with one of my yoga instructors, Molly, doing an impromptu tree pose on the sand at dusk after our outdoor class:

I had such wonderful experiences this summer, and went through a lot of personal growth. I truly treasure the many vivid memories, kindness from friends, as well as meeting some new like-minded people during these past balmy summer months.

It's always a difficult task to try and capture the many fragrant and fervent shades of summer, but I think this beautiful song from Chad and Jeremy (c. 1964) captures my sentiment best (listen closely to the lyrics):

"I'll think of summer days again, and dream of you."

Happy "summer song" to you and yours
- wishing you all a wonderful start to Autumn!

...and until next year...

two conscious summer evenings

2011-09-22T09:04:00.000-04:00

Wow - thank you to everyone who has entered the I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest so far; Lee and I really appreciate your interest and reading your answers. Keep those entries coming!

Well, in the past day or so, summer has officially passed us by, so I thought I would take a moment to reflect on some fun summer adventures that didn't make it on the blog - my first of two blog posts on the subject.

In August, my university had the utmost pleasure of hosting An Evening with Gene Baur, director and founder of Farm Sanctuary. I'm sure most of you are familiar with Farm Sanctuary as a safe haven for abused farm animals. During the evening, Gene gave a one hour lecture on the history and mandate of the Sanctuary, the atrocities of factory farming, and also took time to answer some questions.

The Sanctuary runs on donations, and one of the ways they achieve is through the Walk for Farm Animals 'event,' which is hosted in different cities by like-minded vegan folk. We are hosting a Walk for Farm Animals in this region in a few weeks - if anyone is interested, you can check out my donations page to contribute to this great cause.

Here is a silly photo of myself with the delightful Mr. Gene Baur; we discovered that we know some similar people (seriously!) and are subsequently having a laugh. It truly is a small world out there.

Of course, summer would not be complete without An Evening with David Wolfe. Along with some friends, I made the trek out to Barrie, ON where giddy yoyo hosted an evening with Mr. David "Avocado" Wolfe, superfood-mushroom-springwater-foraging for wild edibles extraordinaire. I'd only seen David speak once before in 2009, so this was a real treat to see him in action again.

However, I found that his talk was so similar to the one I had seen years earlier, and I secretly wished he had a few new images and had some different points of discussion. While I find David speaks about a variety of interesting topics, I couldn't turn of my analytical brain (thanks academia!) about his lecture approach; the more I listened carefully, the more I found that his style of speaking is a little too fluid. His opinions and knowledge quite fascinating, but I think it would help the larger health discussion and community if he provided some concrete, factual information in addition to the interesting points that he makes.

Vendors at the evening included the lovely Living Libations - I purchased a few new items from them: the Yogi Tooth Serum, Scalp Tonic, and the Radiant Earth Poetic Pits. Beautiful as always.

Sprouts and superfoods were everywhere; Essene bread also made an appearance. I tried a sprouted kamut version, and while it is very dense in texture and satiety, it was very delicious.

Here we are, Lee, Kent, Elke, and myself (taking the photo) brushing shoulders and hobnobbing with a member of the raw food elite - we had a chance to briefly say hello to the Wolfe after his talk.

Remember to enter the contest by next Tuesday!

Announcing the I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest!

2011-09-20T06:14:00.002-04:00

In my last post I mentioned I would be sharing a big announcement, the first of it's kind on Barefoot and Frolicking. Well, the time has come that I am holding my very first GIVEAWAY! Contests and Giveaways have become a really fun part of blogging (I've also been fortunate to take part in some very beautiful contests), and it is a great way to share and give back to supportive readers and friends. And so, I bring to you the:

I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest!

I couldn't bring this giveaway to you without the kindness of my friend Lee from Truly Organic Foods. Lee has generously donated some of her favourite products from her impressive superfood selection to be given away to one lucky winner (it could be you!).

The lucky winner of our Giveaway Contest will receive:

Truly Organic Foods - Wildcrafted Tibetan Goji Berries - 1/2 lb

Truly Organic Foods - Organic Rosemary Pistachio Almonds - 250g

Truly Organic Foods - Cilantro Lime Pistachios and Pepitas - 75g

...and a small selection of raw cacao treats made by yours truly!

I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest retail value: over $50

To enter, you can choose from the following options (the more ways you select to enter, the better your chances are of winning!) Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry option you choose to do, so Lee and I can keep track:

*Follow my blog, Barefoot and Frolicking using your Google Account - it's so great to see new faces appear in the sidebar (right) - makes me a happy-go-lucky kind of girl :)

*Like Barefoot and Frolicking's Facebook page by clicking HERE.

*Like Truly Organic Foods Facebook page by clicking HERE.

*Tell us why you ♥ Superfoods, as well as your all-time favourite superfood, with a little explanation why (i.e. health benefits, taste) as a comment on this blog post.

*Tweet the following message on Twitter: Enter BarefootandFrolicking (@barefootfrolick) & TrulyOrganicFoods (@growlove7) "I Heart Superfoods" Giveaway Contest! http://tinyurl.com/3sr5hoj

*Visit Truly Organic Foods website and check out their absolutely rawmazing selection of superfoods! (they have everything you could think of, including my new favourite, chaga tea!)

The Giveaway Contest is open to Canadian and U.S. residents only, and contestants can submit their entries between Tuesday, September 20th to Tuesday, September 27th at 12am EST. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Wednesday, September 28th.

Happy entering and best of luck to everyone - remember, the more entries from the above list, the better your chances are of winning. Depending on the success of this giveaway, we just might have to throw another one!

smoothie sunday - figgy fall smoothie with cacao beans and cinnamon

2011-09-18T08:07:00.004-04:00

Depending where you live on this vast expansive Mama Earth, you might already be feeling a slight change in the weather. Around here, lovely Fall has started to make an appearance, with some chillier than thou weather, lower sun-in-the-sky setting, and inklings of little colour changes in the leaves. The quick change has thrown most of us a little out of balance, seeing as summer doesn't officially end until September 21st (I don't know about you, but I'd like to have four more days of warm bliss!).

Staying raw in the cooler temperatures can be a bit of a challenge, but there are many ways to make slight adjustments to a high raw diet. For me, the colder temperatures usually make me crave more heartier dishes along with warming spices such as cayenne and cinnamon.

Enter the Figgy Fall Smoothie with Cacao Beans and Cinnamon. The ingredients include dried figs (an excellent source of protein, iron and calcium), cacao beans (for that little kick), maca to help temper the cacao, warming cinnamon, and the frothy creamy dreaminess of homemade almond mylk. This smoothie makes for a delicious, high energy breakfast or afternoon treat to help usher in the upcoming fall season.

Figgy Fall Smoothie with Cacao Beans and Cinnamon
Serves 1

1 frozen banana
1 cup homemade almond mylk
1/2 cup water
2 dried figs
2-3 cacao beans, peeled* (if unavailable, substitute with 1 tbsp cacao nibs)
1 tbsp maca
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon plus a dusting of cinnamon on top

Blend ingredients together in a high-speed blender (Vitamix!) until smooth and creamy. For extra froth, oscillate between high and low settings, leaving the mixture to blend on the lowest setting for 1 minute or so (this will also slightly 'warm' the smoothie). Top with a dusting of cinnamon and enjoy.

Get ready for long autumnal hikes, apple cider and apple picking, longer evenings, pumpkin patches, and jumping in and out of raked leave mountains. Let's raise our Figgy Fall Smoothies in a toast to delightful Fall.

Wishing you a happy Smoothie Sunday!

Also, stay tuned for a big announcement - the first of it's kind on Barefoot and Frolicking - you can stay in touch here as well as on this blog's Facebook page for more details and updates.

conscious eating niagara - sixth potluck

2011-09-16T07:58:00.001-04:00

Happy September everyone! We celebrated in true raw food fashion this past Sunday with our sixth Conscious Eating Niagara potluck. I can't believe we have already had six potlucks - it feels like only yesterday that we had our very first meeting with about twenty people in attendance.

Our group has since grown to upwards of seventy-seven members, with an average of forty-five people attending the last few potlucks. I feel so fortunate to be part of an amazing food revolution that is taking place - who knew there were so many raw foodies around here?

Originally, we started to have our monthly potluck meetings at Pan Cafe, a wonderful space with a beautiful aesthetic. Seeing as we have since grown much larger in numbers, we've had to change locations and unfortunately say bye-bye to Pan (we will miss you!). Our most recent potluck took place at a larger location that will be able to accommodate our new numbers.

Here is the potluck in pictures (get ready for some amazing raw food inspiration - just gets better and better each month):

Not one, but two amazing kelp noodle dishes: Toni and Paul's creamy version above, and Jan and Dave's savory recipe below:

Nancy's kale and sprout salad:

Dave's Mock Tuna:

Greens and Fruit Salad:

LouAnn's Kale Chips:

Mandy's Manicotti Zucchini Rolls:

Fabienne's amazing marinated mushroom salad with broccoli and julienned carrots:

Elly's Gazpacho:

One of Robin's salads:

Alexi's borscht soup:

Elke's raw pasta:

Lauren's Cauliflower Tabbouleh:

Robin Salad no. 2:

Tara's amazing peach cobbler:

Mandi's Lemon Bars:

We also had a film screening of Forks Over Knives - a very interesting film that discusses the healing benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet. While the film doesn't distinguish between the benefits of a raw vs. cooked diet, it still makes some important claims about the importance of plant-based foods for optimal health and well-being, especially for such degenerative diseases as diabetes. I'd recommend anyone interested in these sorts of issues to give it a watch - it is always inspiring to see people turn to food as medicine as a method for healing!

strawberry sunshine

2011-09-12T11:50:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the berry patch! This past summer, I had a few fun romps in the strawberry patch, picking berries to use in some raw desserts and to save in the freezer for winter smoothies. I hadn't picked my own strawberries in a few years, so it was fun to reacquaint myself with this precious fruit (stained hands and all). Fortunately, I also had some company and another set of helping hands to help me pick the berry bounty.

Strawberries are usually in season for 3-4 weeks (depending on the warmness of the summer weather) from the beginning of June to the first week in July. Stocking up during this time is key - around here, picking your own berries saves you $2 per quart. In my opinion, it is definitely worth the effort to pick your own - what better way to spend an hour or two in the sunshine than harvesting your own local food? Especially since fresh strawberries taste so much better than those pesky 'store bought' ones.

What to do with strawberries? how about...

Strawberry Crumble

"Strawberry Fields Forever" smoothie

Sweetheart Vanilla Cookies with Strawberries

Strawberry Shortcake

recipe courtesy of Carmella Soleil. This was probably the first raw/vegan cake I ever made, actually learning that the difference between using a springform pan rather than a regular pie plate makes all the difference in 'setting' raw cakes lol. I'd like to think I've come a long way (baby) since then.

sliced strawberries make a lovely accoutrement to a fruity breakfast

strawberries mean love!

cerise, je t'aime

2011-09-10T07:27:00.001-04:00

Mon cheri amour, cerise, je t'aime. Simply put, I love cherries. They are one of my favorite summer fruits; easy to pick, purchase, prep, and most importantly, devour. There is definitely an art to eating cherries - sure, you can have just one, but it is so easy to enjoy a whole bowl of cherries in one sitting (I speak from personal experience).

This summer, I made it my goal to pick as much of my own fruit as possible. I started with strawberries (post coming soon), cherries, (wild) raspberries, and apricots. These pictures were taken from one of my cherry picking excursions in the hot summer weather. There is nothing I enjoy more than taking in the sunshine in an orchard; one of my favorite places to be:

Sights like this remind me of the beauty of summer:

Using cherries in raw desserts is a fantastic way to add color, texture, sweetness, and flavor. I made this Black Forest Cherry Cake (inspired by a recipe in Carmella Soleil's Delightfully Raw, but made with slight modifications) for a client, along with some chocolates. Here they are, chilling in the fridge before their delivery:

Apologies for the less than stellar photos - the cake was made and delivered straight away in the springform pan, so I didn't have a chance to reveal the multiple layers of whipped cashew cream and chocolate cake for the camera.

How about some Cherry-Banana Soft Serve, made with frozen bananas, some pitted sweet cherries, vanilla, and topped with cacao nibs and cherries on top? A divine way to spend a hot summer afternoon.

Do you have a favorite raw recipe that uses cherries?

ladies who lunch: rawesome summer get-togethers

2011-09-06T18:18:00.151-04:00

Hope you are all enjoying these last days of summer; I can't believe there are only a few official weeks left before we transition into the fall.

I thought I would recap a few beautiful moments from August, when I had the absolute delight of taking part in two, what I like to call, 'ladies who lunch' meet-ups, which involved good company, great conversation, delicious raw food, and warm sunshine.

The first meet-up was hosted by my dear friend Lee from Truly Organic Foods; three other lucky ladies and I were invited to an afternoon raw vegan lunch prepared by our friend Toni, an incredibly inspiring raw foodist and living foods chef.

Toni (top and bottom left) makes the most delicious raw food (some of which we are lucky to sample each month at our raw potlucks). Her approach to raw cuisine is so kind, thoughtful, and patient. Just watching her prepare food in the kitchen is almost like meditation - she is so conscious and mindful of the energy she puts towards her food preparation, an approach that is so evident in the final result.

Lunch was an incredible assortment of dishes, including Sushi with Dipping Sauce, a Vegetable Pad Thai (with carrots, apples, and beets), Caesar Salad with Rye Bread, and a Chocolate-Berry Tiramisu for dessert. Wow!

The Sushi, with a delightful carrot-accented pate (above)

and the Pad Thai (below)

Cashews and Almond Sauce for the Pad Thai

The Chocolate-Berry Tiramisu

Here I am with Tina, showing off our plates of raw goodness

As if that wasn't enough of lovely girl talk and raw food, I'll flash forward (or is it backwards?) to the end of August, where I found myself in the company of eight lovely ladies at a blogger meet-up organized by the lovely Danielle and held at Live Organic Food Bar.

We had such a wonderful lunch, and had many an interesting conversation that could have kept us there for hours. It was so nice to be a part of such a positive meeting of like-minded foodies and health advocates. From left to right: Me, Danielle, Jill, Shayna, Christina, Katy, Laura, Samantha, and Kristen. As of writing this post, I am the only girl from this meet-up that doesn't have their own blog domain name (dot com) lol. Must get on that!

Kristin and I ordered the same meal: a Green Juice

and the Tomato Wrap.

The juice was excellent, as was the Tomato Wrap, although, I would have preferred a tinch more of side salad (and maybe some fresher mixed greens). Also, I was surprised the server didn't mention the special of the day, which I learned afterwards was some sort of raw falafel creation. If they had, I think I would have ordered that instead. Nevertheless - a very delicious meal (the wrap itself had such an interesting flavor and texture):

A snap of Danielle's Kale Salad

Samantha ordered the Big Salad, which looked delicious

You know you are in the company of bloggers when...snap!

Cheers to great company and healthy food.

raw on the road: part three - East Coast, Quebec City, and Montreal

2011-09-03T07:07:00.006-04:00

After taking in all of the sights of Lowell, we hopped back on the road, and made our way to Salem, and then up the East coast through Maine. We'd heard that Old Orchard Beach was a particularly quaint seaside town, and at the last minute, decided to pull of the highway and stop there for an evening.

At complete random, we parked our car and walked into the first inn we could find, Billow House Inn, and it turned out that they had one free room available for one night (this was a rarity, as they are an incredibly popular inn, and are usually booked up solid for months). To top it off, our accommodations turned out to be a beach front room, and below is the beautiful view we awoke to in the morning. I also had a chance to do some yoga on our deck in the sunshine:

After lounging on the sand, we decided to walk up the beach towards the Old Pier, a 100 year old pier with an amusement park. This was a lovely dose of Americana, with funnel cakes, amusement park rides, a Ferris Wheel, sandy beach, and lots and lots of people:

Old Orchard Beach: beautiful sunny seaside town

I became so mesmerized by this sign; do they actually deep fry Kool-Aid?!

I loved the "Drifter" bumper sticker

After our brief stay in Maine, we covered a lot of ground in one day (driving across the state of Maine and across the Quebec border in a few hours), and stayed in Quebec City for two days. I had never been to this part of Quebec and was quite amazed with the old buildings and sense of culture to be found in this historic city.

Finding raw and vegan options in Quebec City was quite easy; there was a groovy health food store located in the downtown core (can't remember the name) where I was able to purchase some much needed kombucha, as well as a vegetarian chain restaurant called La Commensal.

Set up in a buffet style, the restaurant offers vegetarian and vegan options, including a delicious salad bar (albeit a little pricey, but manageable when one is scouring the city for a vegan friendly restaurant). I tend to load up my plate whenever I am at a buffet, especially when I am on the road and filling up on nutrition whenever possible (as you can tell from above, not the most aesthete presentation, that's for sure).

Here are some other random photos from our trip:

I snapped a picture of some cozy 'restaurant' lovers, and below; I am fairly certain this is purple kale growing in flower beds outside of a restaurant downtown. I came across this at a few different restaurants in the city; what a great idea!

After Quebec City, we decided to stop in Montreal for an evening, and stayed in the same accommodations that I did during my earlier trip to the city in June. Of course, I couldn't stop in Montreal without dining at Crudessence. My first dining experience there in June had been just ok, (the service was excellent, but the food was not that great), so I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt, and 'give it another go.' As you can tell, deciding on what to order is quite a contemplative ordeal:

After a long day of driving, I felt the Miso Soup would help to re-energize my tired self. I was right - this was a delicious and satisfying combination of dark red miso, mushrooms, spring onions, and goji berries. I had never thought that goji berries and miso soup would make for an interesting combination, but they acted as perfect compliments to one another. The serving size was also a great proportion, and the temperature was spot on:

For our mains, my man ordered the Om Burger, and I decided on the Pousse Pousse Salad. Unfortunately, I felt that the menu description of the Salad was a bit misleading, as it didn't say this salad was specifically a sprout salad. I've since learned that the name translates into English along the lines of 'growth,' which could indicate sprouts, but the ingredients did say there were micro greens in the salad, which I found were lacking in mine.

Overall, it was a delicious, filling salad, but a bit too 'sprouty' for me because I was expecting more of a green salad. During the meal, I kept looking over at the Om Burger, which looked (and was) delicious; a delicious nut burger patty on dehydrated bread, served with sides of green salad, sauerkraut, and kale salad (Om burger is in the background, my salad, in the foreground):

A close-up of the Pousse Pousse Salad. I must say, Crudessence has such a talent for delightful and thoughtful presentation of their dishes:

Some more random pictures from our trip; a little lad playing in Old Montreal:

A brightly decorated shop window:

And a final snap from our long sojourn back to Ontario; this picture beautifully captures how highways can start to look after being on the road for two weeks; beautiful, yet out of focus; "check out the dashboard lights, glowing all green and white..."

And there you have it, a two week road trip condensed into three blog posts - a definite editing feat if there ever was one! I hope you enjoyed this brief tour of our travels; it's a strange feeling to look back on such a busy and rewarding road trip, and also to condense it into three posts. There is a real sense of freedom on a road trip that is so different from any other form of travel; I highly recommend getting out on the open road for your next trip.

raw on the road: a stop at Life Alive in Lowell

2011-08-31T19:14:00.008-04:00

When I was researching different points of interest in Lowell, I couldn't help but feast my eyes on Life Alive, a groovy "Urban Oasis and Organic Cafe" located in the heart of the cities downtown arts district.

Life Alive has a great health mandate: to provide a space in which "You are entering a world of pleasure. A world of delicious, organic, and therapeutic food, created with love to feed your vitality. Whether you are an omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic, raw, gluten-free or other foodie…We know you want to feel great after a meal." With an objective like that, I knew I just had to stop here (in fact, we dined here twice during our stay).

Once inside, I was immediately struck by the good energy and energetic decor: the walls and tables were immersed in engaging colors and curious objects. There is also a reading area stocked with a varied selection of material; everything from raw food un-cookbooks, to the history of Food Not Bombs, philosophical texts, and more. Check out their elaborately decorated, and eco-friendly washroom; what a bath-tub!

Part of their nutrition mandate, and of course, a famous excerpt from Hippocrates:

The reading area/ book shelf:

The servers were so friendly, helpful, and nice; one lovely lady told us about some of the more hidden Jack Kerouac attractions in the city, of which I was most grateful. With another, I had a lovely conversation about food blogs, including Oh She Glows. It was interesting to experience the diversity of locales and blogger readership for myself, especially on such a random trip as ours - I never thought I would encounter another Oh She Glows fan on my road trip travels.

After finally deciding on a drink order (so many great items to choose from), I opted for the Be Alive, which is a juice blend of Apple, Beet, Carrot, and Greens; "a deliciously sweet mix that cleans your blood and nutrifies your entire body." It was delicious - a superb juice blend. Alissa Cohen decided to join me lol:

For a quick dinner, I ordered The Mystic Mountain Salad, a mesculin greens salad with sweet corn, celery, shredded carrots and beets, cucumber, sunflower seeds and sprouts. With some lemon hummus on the side, plus granny smith apple slices and cashews, this was superbly satisfying salad. I wish my photo turned out better, but unfortunately, the lighting wasn't that great:

After traipsing the town, we decided to venture back a second time, as the food was so yummy. Below is the same salad, but served in a different arrangement, with broccoli instead of avocado. I appreciated the fact that the restaurant 'mixed it up,' and changed their presentation of dishes on a daily basis; it was nice to have a different experience of the same dish:

A mural reminiscent of Henri Matisse's The Dance adorns the wall on the outside hall:

Some more quick snaps from our time in Lowell, also known as "the Venice of America":

An interesting shot of the canals and cityscape:

One of the old mill buildings, complete with advert for "knit fabrics":

"Highlight" - some uplifting mural art

Overall, we had a wonderful experience in Lowell; a city with a vibrant historical and cultural landscape, delicious vegan/raw food (I wish there was a Life Alive in my area!), and many a hot spot. Kerouac would be so proud of his cherished city.

raw on the road: part two - searching for Jack Kerouac in Lowell, MA

2011-08-29T06:52:00.008-04:00

The next stop on our road trip was to Lowell, MA, an incredibly interesting and historic American city. Birthplace of early American Industrialism and Jack Kerouac (to whom this post is mostly dedicated), we just had to explore this varied city scape with our own eyes.

Are you ready for a nice, hefty dose of literary tourism?

Being an ardent admirer and fan of Jack Kerouac's work for many years, I'd come to know his references to Lowell in many of his books. Born in Lowell, Kerouac lived here off and on for many years, and it also stands as his final resting place - he was buried there after his death at age 47 on October 21, 1969. Kerouac is pictured, in his prime, on the right in the photo below:

Below is the cover of On The Road, Kerouac's most famous novel, published in 1958, and my all-time favorite work of 'fiction' (this picture was taken while I was re-reading the classic while driving "on the road" to Lowell). I lightly quote the word fiction here, because Kerouac's work is largely autobiographical, and documents his own experiences, and interactions with friends.

For privacy and copyright issues, he was urged to change the names in his books to aliases for each character. Kerouac is pictured on the right (below) with friend Neal Cassady (left). In the novel, Kerouac is represented as protagonist/narrator Sal Paradise, with Cassady as the energetic and frayed Dean Moriarty.

Shortly after we'd arrived in the city and were attempting to find our bearings, we stumbled upon Kerouac Park, a beautifully touching tribute near the centre of the city. Constructed in the shape of a mandala and cross, the park speaks to Kerouac's interest in Buddhism and Catholicism, and speaks to his lifelong spiritual search. The park also features inscriptions of passages from many of his books on the stoic sculpture. The Jack Kerouac Commemorative, which includes the mandala and overall park, was erected in 1988, with his estranged daughter Jan Kerouac, at the unveiling.

The beginning and closing passages from On the Road.

Also strewn about the city are various Kerouac hotspots (or watering holes), places where Kerouac perused, shopped, worked, or meandered. Above is The Worthen, the oldest pub in Lowell, where Kerouac frequented often, as well as one Edgar Allen Poe (it is rumored that the bar is haunted by both men). I think for that reason alone, we decided not to venture inside.

The Sun building for Lowell's main newspaper is also located in the center of the city. For a time before his notoriety as a Beat novelist, Kerouac wrote articles for the publication.

Below is Kerouac's birthplace, located at 9 Lupine Road in the West Centralville section of the city. I was pleased to see that there is a lovely plaque affixed to the front of the house that reads "Jack Kerouac's Birthplace" which recognizes the building as a historic site. Kerouac was born in the second floor apartment on March 12, 1922, according to Kerouac, in his book Doctor Sax, "at five o’clock in the afternoon of a red-all-over supper time.”

This is another of Kerouac's childhood homes. 34 Beaulieu was referenced as "Sad Beaulieu" in his book Visions of Gerard, due to the death of his older brother Gerard at the age of nine, an event that permeated and haunted Kerouac for the rest of his life.

At the Mill Girl Exhibit, part of the Lowell National Historical Park, we stumbled across another testament to Kerouac, his life, and Beat roots, with this display of his personal backpacking/hitchiking gear (including duffel bag, socks, pots and pans), typewriter, photograph by Allen Ginsberg, and early editions of some of his novels.

A few more stops on our Kerouac tour of the city included a stop at Lowell High School, where Kerouac attended, and I'm sure caused a ruckus with his energetic visions and lust for life. There have since been editions to the building, but this clock was in place at the time Kerouac attended school.

When I was taking this picture, a woman walked by and said, "taking a picture of Kerouac's clock?" which made us smile. Lowell locals are more than aware of Kerouac's position as a tourist attraction, but there is definitely a warm embrace of his work. What I found perhaps most interesting was that there is not one cohesive museum or exhibit of his work, rather it is strewn about the city in different locales; maybe this is more fitting, as one can truly experience the city as Kerouac did, searching for these destinations.

These beautiful doves of peace with the slogan "Create Peace" could be found a few places throughout the city. This one was found outside the steps of the high school:

And lastly, the final resting place of an incredible writer. Located in Edson Cemetery, Kerouac's grave is as humble as the man himself. Under sparse patches of grass, and a simple marker for "Ti Jean" (his French-Canadian familial nickname), Kerouac rests in the city that gave him life, love, sadness, and the varied, overall experience of existence. "He Honored Life" could not be a more fitting tribute and testament.

I placed the small bouquet of wildflowers, which I had picked from a patch of grass, to further honor the man, and his influential work. I took a few moments to grasp our experiences in the city, and how his final resting place, in essence, became the sum of his parts, his incredible yet troubled life, and how all of the on the road adventures and traveling expeditions documented in his books would rest with him here for all eternity.

To familiarize yourself with Kerouac, I highly recommend watching this segment from The Steve Allen Show, from 1959. Apart from Allen's highly entertaining jazz-approach to interviewing (dig that piano playing), we're given a glimpse at Kerouac discussing his inventive writing style, and also him discussing and reading an excerpt from Visions of Cody and the final excerpt from On The Road (his intonations suit the jazz music perfectly). You can also grasp a sense of Kerouac's rise to celebrity with the success of the novel, and see his personal grappling with this position (oh, and also see what a handsome devil he once was):

"I think of Dean Moriarty...I think of Dean Moriarty..."

raw on the road: part one - from Quebec to Vermont

2011-08-25T07:37:00.002-04:00

Summer just wouldn't be complete without another installment of raw on the road, now would it? For two weeks, I was "on the road" for an extensive road trip across parts of Canada and the US. My man and I carved out a route that took us through Quebec, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Quebec City, and Montreal. Check out those travellin' toes on the dashboard:

With this road trip, we hoped to find a little vacation time that catered to some of our research interests (more on that later). After many hours of driving (which sent hours of my yoga training out the window - sore back!), we found our way through the changing landscapes of our destinations. I won't cover the whole trip in too, too much detail, but what I will do is highlight certain key moments as well as some of the raw and vegan food I enjoyed while on the road.

During our stay in Vermont, for example, we stopped at the Moon Dog Cafe, a cute little organic cafe located in Chester, VT.

The Moon Dog Cafe is Chester, VT's only organic cafe. They serve an array of salads, sandwiches, soups, baked goods (many gluten-free), and eclectic gifts. I was most impressed with the vibrant colors of the hippie-ish decor and small produce market section:

plentiful organic produce

beautiful, natural, organic beauty products

We opted for a light lunch, and I ordered "today's special", the Tulsi Rose iced tea, which I have to admit, was as "stress relieving and magical" as the sign suggested. I love that "iced tea" in America is actually that - real, brewed tea with no added sweetness.

I ordered a Green Salad with avocado, apple, walnuts, and balsamic dressing as well as a side of Seaweed Salad. Both were delicious, and I particularly enjoyed the dressing on the Seaweed Salad - great blend of sesame flavor with vinaigrette.

The Cafe is located along a stretch of shops "on the green" in Cavendish, VT. Here I am, posing for a little pic :

Other stops in Vermont included a trip to Calvin Coolidge's family estate at Plymouth Notch, and taking in the sights of the Vermont mountains and trees. Below is from a little hidden watering hole, with some of the clearest water I've ever seen:

We also encountered these menacing storm clouds one night -coupled with the large ski mountains, this was an amazing sight to be seen:

Next up: part two of our raw on the road trip -

stopping in Lowell, MA to discover all things Jack Kerouac!

the daisy award

2011-08-22T20:07:00.006-04:00

I received an email a few weeks ago from Rachael, the lovely lady behind Passing Daisies, a fun healthy living blog. She showcased barefoot and frolicking as part of her Feature Friday series, and also awarded me

The Daisy Award:

With this award, I've been asked to answer a few questions, and to link a few other blogs that also make me smile (very tough to narrow it down to just a few, because I LOVE reading so many food/health blogs). Enjoy!

1. How long have you been vegan and why did you choose to change to this lifestyle?

I transitioned to a vegan diet around the age of 16. I had been a vegetarian since the age of 11, and veganism was the next logical step in my exploration of food, health, and nutrition. Raw veganism in particular has since become my next 'phase,' and I've been eating a high raw/vegan diet for almost three years with fantastic health results.

My reasons for changing to a plant-based lifestyle are many, but mostly they revolve around my interest in a holistic approach to health and well-being. For me, animal products (particularly meat, dairy, and eggs) did not fit into this equation; due to the fact that I simply do not find animal products appealing or appetizing, and also that the ways in which these foods are prepared are severely problematic due to factory farming and the violent, inhumane treatment of animals. There is so much to discuss on the issue - definitely too much for my little response.

2. What is your favorite vegan junk food?

Oh gosh, well it would have to be raw vegan desserts! I was never a dessert fan much before I became interested in raw food cuisine, and now I can't get enough of healthy raw desserts like raw cacao chocolates, or delicious fruit desserts, cobblers, bars, ice creams, on occasion. They taste far superior to their SAD counterparts, that's for sure!

3. Where is the absolute best place you’ve ever traveled and why?

I've been very fortunate to travel to many places that mean alot to me - these include places that are connected to my research interests, family, and friends. I would have to say London is my favorite major city (apart from San Francisco, which I haven't had the chance to visit yet). I've had a chance to visit many music and culture related spaces, including Liverpool (birthplace of The Beatles), Abbey Road, the "Give Peace a Chance" hotel room, plus some really interesting ones that will be featured in upcoming posts on my blog (stay tuned!)

4. What is your guilty pleasure?

See raw vegan desserts above!

5. What are you most passionate about?

In a nutshell: health, nutrition, and life in general. Having a reverence for nature as a whole system. Yoga. Being kind to others, trying to be the best person I can be, and working with/through personal faults. Sharing food and fun memories with friends. Friendships. The creative possibilities of raw vegan cuisine. Making the most out of those little moments. Teaching, learning, growing, connecting.

6. What’s your favorite (or one of your favorite) memories?

I live in a fairly agricultural area, and some of my favorite memories occur during this time of the year (late August), when you can start to feel the shift in nature turn direction from summer towards the fall. The crickets start to chirp softly, all day long; the sun is perched a little lower in the sky, and you can feel the wind rustle through peach trees with their last fruits of harvest before the apples and pears reign supreme.

7. Any words to live by?

"Everything comes and goes, marked by lovers, and styles of clothes" - Joni Mitchell, "Down to You" from Court and Spark, 1974.

Five Other Blogs that Make Me Smile

1. Sweetly Raw
2. The Sunny Raw Kitchen
3. Oh She Glows
4. The Daily Ritual
5. Vegan Culinary Crusade

'pink moon' raw peach cobbler with a quinoa flake crumble

2011-08-18T17:11:00.000-04:00

Now, I don't know about you, but I have trouble sleeping during a full moon cycle. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one out there with this slight malady, but it turns out I'm actually part of a very select group lol. I've heard from a few people saying they also share my "full moon insomnia."

It's a strange experience, waking up at odd hours of the night, wide awake and not able to get back to sleep. My last experience with full moon insomnia happened this past Sunday (I awoke, bright eyed at 2am). I pondered my wide-awake mind, asking myself, "well, what to do now?"

Seeing as peaches are in (over) abundance here (and I had recently purchased a large amount for eating/freezing), I just had to whip up a peach-themed dessert. May I present to you the result of my lack-of-sleep productivity?

'Pink Moon' Raw Peach Cobbler with a
Quinoa Flake Crumble
Serves 5-6

This is a super delicious raw + vegan peach cobbler, using almonds, quinoa flakes (yum!), and dates for the cobbler crumble, and fresh Niagara red haven peaches for the filling.

Filling
6 Niagara Red-Haven ripe peaches, sliced
2 peaches of the same variety, halved and reserved for filling
dash of cinnamon
2 dates
2 tsp psyllium husk

Crumble
1 cup almonds, processed until crumbly
1/2 cup dates, processed until crumbly
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
dash of cinnamon
dash of vanilla

For the filling, prepare the six peaches (sliced), and set aside in a medium-sized mixing bowl. In your blender, combine the two remaining peaches, cinnamon, dates, and psyllium husk, and process until smooth. Combine the sliced peaches and blended peach mixture in a bowl until well-mixed.

For the crumble, process the almonds in a food processor until crumbly, adding in the dates, cinnamon, and vanilla as you go along. Place in a medium-sized mixing bowl, stirring in the dry quinoa flakes, until well-combined.

To assemble the crumble, place the combined filling into a large pie plate, and then top with crumble. Best if served immediately (with a delicious raw ice cream, or cashew cream), but will keep fresh in the fridge for 4-5 days.

This was so delicious; a simple and healthy dessert that also doubled as my breakfast (while I took these photos at 6am). I recently purchased some quinoa flakes, and find that I like them better raw, rather than mixed with warm water/cooked. Has anyone else tried quinoa flakes - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

While on the subject of moons, I'm reminded of Pink Moon, the most beautifully esquisite and ethereal song from Nick Drake (and where I drew inspiration for the title of this recipe). Have a listen while you watch the full moon, and/or treat yourself to this delicious cobbler.

Enjoy!

meet the wild naked chef, peter niculescu

2011-08-13T14:53:00.005-04:00

Thanks to everyone who gave such a great response to my review of The Naked Sprout on Facebook yesterday (you can also join in on the conversation at the FB page for barefoot and frolicking).

I had the opportunity to ask Peter Niculescu, the executive chef and co-owner of The Naked Sprout, (and who also goes by the pseudonym, "The Wild Naked Chef"), a few quick questions about his passion for vegan and raw foods; take it away Peter!

M: How did your interest in veganism/raw foods come to be?

P: I first became interested in Vegan foods while playing in a band. My brother at the time was experimenting with going Vegan. He started sharing a lot of information and videos with me. The catalyst was this one particular video about the fishing industries and their impact on the environment. It sort of sent me over the edge.

I used to be really overweight - 100 pounds heavier - and healthy eating, not vegan, became a large of interest of mine. After discovering the environmental and health impact it seemed like a clear discussion. I haven't looked back since.

raw + vegan chocolate covered strawberry cheezecake

with 'heart-shaped' berries

M: What inspires you most about 'uncooking' and the creative possibilities of raw food cuisine?

P: What inspires me the most is going out to well respected (non-vegan) restaurants with my girlfriend and trying to 'veganise' or 'raw veganise' certain dishes - like crispy mushrooms, or carrot cake, et cetera. I also love going to food markets with no particular plan of action in mind. I find that to be really inspiring.

M: What is your all-time favorite raw food dish, either to make for yourself or to prepare at the restaurant?

P: This sounds like a two part question. My all time favourite raw food dish would be a toss up between the raw pizza at Raw Aura [in Port Credit, Mississauga] or the Pad Thai at LIVE Food Bar in Toronto. My favourite dish to prepare at The Naked Sprout would hands down have to be the raw lasagna. It takes a bit longer to put together but I just love how all components come together to make one - if I do say so myself - great looking, delicious dish.

M: Are there any upcoming events at The Naked Sprout we should mark down on our calendars?

P: Yes there are! We have an upcoming raw food dessert class on the 22nd of August. There are a few spots left. We're also having a live music night on the 18th. There's no cover! We'll be holding two raw food classes a month so keep checking our website for more information.

Many thanks to Peter for taking the time to answer my questions, and for providing such inspiring answers; you can read more about his personal story here. Check out The Naked Sprout for more information about their rawmazing food, and upcoming events.

check out the naked sprout

2011-08-12T07:50:00.001-04:00

I feel so fortunate that this summer has been filled with many raw food adventures. One of which included a fabulous dining experience at The Naked Sprout, a new raw and vegan restaurant that just opened next to Chrysalis Yoga in Burlington, Ontario.

The Naked Sprout holds the distinction of being Burlington's first and only full-service raw and vegan restaurant. Under the direction of their executive chef and co-owner Peter Niculescu, they offer a wide range of raw and vegan items on their menu (with a few cooked main options), serving food that is pesticide-dairy-gluten-additive-meat free ( or, as they say, meals that are "stripped naked to serve the purest, energy-dense food, with a bunch of love poured into making the most delicious meals for you.").

I was impressed to learn that the restaurant uses renewable and environmentally friendly products wherever possible; the walls use American Clay which has no VOC's, the floors are made from bamboo and cork, and they even use reclaimed barn wood for the tables. The tea area and some of the chairs are made from reclaimed mango wood, and they also use energy efficient bulbs for the soft, warm, ambient lighting. Wow!

For our appetizers, we first ordered the Sushi, which was a combination of a delightful and slightly pickled parsnip rice with a hint of ginger, cucumber, red pepper, mushroom, carrots wrapped in nori sheets, and served with a side of hemp wasabi. This was so delicious - a perfect combination of flavors and textures.

Next up was another appetizer - the Nachos. Featuring salsa fresco, guacamole, sunflower taco ‘meat’, cashew sour cream, carrot flax chips, these were so unreal - hands down, the best raw vegan nachos I have ever had! They were the perfect combination of spicy and savory elements, as well as dehydrated and fresh ingredients.

For our mains, I ordered the Garden Wrap, which was a zucchini wrap with lemon dill sunflower seed pate, massaged kale, carrots, cucumber, onion, tomato. Again, I must rave about how incredibly delicious this was - the wrap was super yummy, and the pate was "dill-lightful" (I just had to lol). It also photographed so beautifully (an additional plus to the meal):

The attention to detail was superb - just look at the little dollops of cashew cream with sunflower sprouts on the plate; pure raw artistry:

I also ordered a half-sized portion of the Caprese Salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, basil, house aged nut cheese, balsamic) which complimented the wrap quite well:

My man ordered the cooked/vegan Warrior Bowl (brown rice, grilled tempeh, sprouts, steamed broccoli, thai almond sauce) which he enjoyed, but did find it was a little heavy on the almond sauce.

Feeling so satisfied (and satiated) from our meal, we opted to have an after-dinner drink, rather than dessert. I selected one of their delicious organic teas which was served in the cutest little teapot/cup, and my man ordered some of their infamous bird-friendly coffee:

Can you tell we enjoyed ourselves? Empty plates abounded all around us:

Overall, we had a great dining experience at The Naked Sprout: the service was excellent, the food was superb, and the price was just right. I highly recommend checking out the restaurant when you are in the Burlington area (and maybe take in a yoga class as well!).

For more information about The Naked Sprout, check out their website, on Facebook, and Peter's FB page, The Wild Naked Chef.

conscious eating niagara - fifth potluck

2011-08-09T16:48:00.002-04:00

I can tell it has been a long time since I've updated this blog when I have two posts about our monthly Conscious Eating Niagara potlucks shared back to back!

Well, it certainly has been a busy few weeks, and I have lots to share with you all with many exciting posts lined up. For now, let's take in the beauty of our many fabulous raw food chefs who continue to dazzle everyone with their amazing creations at our monthly potlucks. This is a small sampling of some of the dishes that were brought:

Vegetable Tempura (from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Asia)

Fabienne's Tomato-Cheeze-Basil Appetizers

Toni's open-faced tomato-cheeze sandwhiches topped with sunflower sprouts

an assortment of desserts: Kim's Pecan-Apple Crumble,

Tina and Jim's Raw Fruit Crumble with Cashew Sauce, Kelly and Morgan's Raw Chocolate Balls

More rawmazing desserts: Chocolate Balls, and Banana-Coconut 'Rice Pudding' (c/o Ani Phyo's Raw Food Asia - must get this book!), Jane and Dave's Strawberry and Lemon Pies,

Mandy's Coconut Cream Pie (foreground)

The Vegetable Tempura with Jicama Rice

Alex and Vik's organic red cabbage salad (homegrown!)

Endive Boats with Mango Salsa

Lauren's Heirloom Tomato and Fennel Gazpacho

Robyn's Strawberry Cheezecake

My Raw Cacao Truffles (background) and Lou-Ann's Carrot-Chocolate Cookies

Kelli (above) and Kristin (below): raw food = smiles all around.

Jim certainly likes his plate of raw desserts

For our guest speaker component, we decided to bring an object that represented and helped us in our journey with health and well-being. I brought my yoga mat, and we had other objects like flour mills, spiralizers, stones, probiotics, and even self-cleaning juicers (see Jan below!).

Our talk extended way into the evening, and I found it so interesting to hear everyone's different experiences with health, and what exactly brought them to eating more consciously by incorporating raw, living foods into their diets.

A huge and warm thank you to everyone who brought their smiles, amazing food, and good vibes to share with everyone on a wonderful August evening. As the old song goes, "See you in September!" for the next one.

conscious eating niagara - fourth potluck

2011-07-19T08:18:00.001-04:00

Another month, another Conscious Eating Niagara potluck right?

Well, it would be easy to pass of our latest potluck as another notch-in-the-belt gathering, so to speak, but this time around saw us venturing into the great outdoors to soak up the much needed warm weather and sunshine.

Oh, and we had a bounty of raw/vegan/living food to sustain us through our get together (of course!). The pictures speak for themselves - please, do peruse:

Henry's Blueberry Chocolate Pie and my Strawberry-Cherry Crumble

Toni and Paul's Tabouli-Falafel Wraps

Sharlene's Marinated Portobello Mushrooms with Almond Cheeze

salads, salads, salads!

fresh figs and Jessica's Raspberry Ganache Cake

Karen's salad topped with fresh sliced coconut

me and my super groovy dinnerware; very Biba!

Our special guest speaker was Sharlene Brewer, who owns PURE Natural Health and Wellness. She is a certified yoga instructor, holisitc nutritionist, wellness coach, reiki practicioner, and meditation facilitator. She gave a wonderfully inspiring talk on balance, rather, how to stay balanced in our every day lives.

A big thank you to everyone who made the potluck another success

- see you all in a few weeks for the next one!