I Scream for Raw Ice Cream

This warm weather is making me-scream for ice-cream.. Here are some of my cool recipes..
This one is made from goji-berries, hemp seeds, honey and frozen bananas.. all blended together until smooth and creamy..




This one is made from two segments of semi frozen durian blended up with the jelly and some of the water of a young coconut.. simple.. exotic.. delish.. & divine..





I really enjoyed this one too as I made it for my mum, while also showing her how to make it herself in the new juicer I got her.. It's actually very simple, just peel, chop & freeze a few bananas and place them in the juicer with a few strawberrys..




My mum & brother loved it.. it was sublime, cold, sweet, creamy, healthy and delicious what more could you ask for on a hot summer day??

Someone to lick it off perhaps.. ;)

Charity Cycle

I'm very proud of myself right now.. I cycled 200 km in two days, from Cork to Galway. It was for the Chernobyl children who were genetically marked by the disaster that happened over there in 1986. The money raised is going to build a new care unit for them because at the moment they are in a mental hospital where they don't belong.. in their new abode they'll recieve occupational theraphy, woodwork classes, different kinds exercise and have many more advantages.

The cycle left from Cork City on friday @ 10.30am and got to Limerick @ 5pm, there were pit-stops in Mallow & Charlevlle to re-group, rehydrate, rest, recover and relax (on the massage table). We stayed in St Mary College in Limerick, where school teachers train to become teachers, (pic above right). Then we went to a bar for dinner, I was happy and surprised with the salad and bowl of vegies I got, it had everything from asparagus to fennel in it..

Then yesterday morning before we set off to Galway @ 10 am, I took a trip to the local health-food store to get some energy snacks for brekkie and some coconut water for hydration. There was lots of food provided for the cyclists but none of it was healthy except the fruit. I also went to a Chinese shop and got some lychees, I didn't have them before they were juicy, fleshy & sweet.

Then we got to Ennis then Gort then Galway @ 5pm. We had a bbq in the Ardilaun Hotel.. I went up later for a mingle & some dancing.

I loved the cycle for many reasons~ I cycled with lots of cool people and made many friends, I loved the challenge, the fun, the fitness, the fresh-air, the cause and so much more.. it defo was a win-win-win-win situation, I'm gonna do it next year for sure :)

Nurture Nature

The Principles of Natural Healing module is complete, we submitted an 800 - 1,000 word assignment, which was easy enough.. it helps a lot that I really enjoy what I am studying..





We've just started The Practices of Natural Healing module which is even better than the last one.. it has made me think more about Nature and how grateful I am for all it provides..






From foods such as fruit, berries, vegetables, sea veg, seeds, nuts, greens, herbs, bee products, mushrooms, algae, wild edibles & superfoods..







To the fresh air, the ions and the aesthetic masterpieces it provides.. its easy to forget sometimes how important nature is in our lifes, but it feels good to remember..

Healthy Days

I was in Portlaois on friday for another installment of the raw food course which was good fun as usual. We all created a dish and practiced our knife skills doing so.. We partnered up and gave each other a case studies to explore and to advise on. There was 16 of us there, some that I hadn't met before. We had another Potluck, this one was even tastier than the last one because we prepared the food fresh... and we prepared some treats to take from home too, I made gogi & orange fudge -balls, spirulina fudge-balls and coconut & cacao nib fudge-balls, and spirulina & onion flax crackers, which all went down a treat.. gosh there was so much food there.. and I forgot the memory card for my camera, so no pics :( but I expect someone else will post some and then I'll post them here..



My healthy weekend continued on saturday as Sabrina & I took care of my friends stand at the farmers market in Cork.. we were there at 8am juicing wheatgrass and packaging sprouts .. that's Sabz on the left, she loved it.



This is for the girls on the raw food course who loved the fudge balls~

The three base ingredients~

2 cups of ground flax seeds
2 cups raisins
1 cup of coconut flakes






Process, in food processor for about 8 minutes
Until it starts to clump together..







Then add the goji's/orange powder/spirulina/cacao nibs/
cacao powder/bee pollen/whatever you fancy

And process for another 3 min
Add the pinch of salt here too..




Roll them by hand
And roll around in whatever takes your fancy
I rolled these ones in coconut flakes, spirulina & orange powder

Colors of Summer

The start of summer is here me thinks.. well judging by the abundance of color around the Mahon Point farmers market today.. only it's a pity the big yellow sun didn't show up.. as it got a bit chilly, funny that word is almost the same as chilli, probably the hottest herb on earth.. I love playing with words and an example of this was this morning at the market a girl said to me, kinda dispairingly ''I don't know what kind of summer were going to get'' and I said ''be happy whatever happens'' thats why those words 'happy' & 'happens' are so similar.. so it was smiles all round then :)


My friend Pat who has a stand there asked me to run it for him onsaturday so that should be fun, I'll have Nicole with me. He sells wheatgrass/juice and lots of different kinds of sprouts, his website is here. If I get time tomorrow eve I'll make some raw foods to sell there too and I'll pop the recipies up here.. so stay juicy, keep a colorful out-look, be happy whatever happens oh and eat more fruit..

Summer Rainbow

Summer is a great time to eat raw foods. As its easy to eat a rainbow of fresh fruit and vegetables. Here is the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables I'm having a today and lots of juice's and cold soups these days too. This slaw is made with grated carrot, grated cucumber, grated onion, cherry tomatoe halves, broken walnuts and tossed around in olive oil, lemon juice & salt and a splash of apple cider vinegar. It's simple to put together.. just grate everything with the food processor, its best to half the cherry tomatoes by hand and throw them in at the end along with the broken walnut pieces, and garnish with some corriander. Mine isn't quite finished in the pic. You can make saurkraut like this too but omit the walnuts & oils.


This soup is divine on a warm day.. it has celery juice, carrot juice and tomatoes and an avacado blended up with garlic and corriander, and its sprinkled with nori flakes. And there are endless variations to try...




Orange Powder

Keeping with the colorful theme of this post here is a lil tip not to waste; not to waste your orange peels that is! Put them into the dehydrator for 24-36 hours or until they are hard and they 'crack' in half, then put the broken halves into the vitamix and ground them into a powder. You can add a spoonful of it to raw cakes, pies, biscuits and such. It give another dimension of taste, subtle but sweet.

This first


Then this

Smugy Fudgy Summer Tartlets

Here are some cute little tartlets I made today inspired by the raw food course I'm doing... the bottom layer is made from... honey, coconut flakes, orange juice and orange powder, oh and a pinch of salt... the next layer is made from brazil nuts, honey, coconut oil & strawberry juice & another lil pinch of salt. Then sprinkled on top are some coconut flakes, zested & dried orange rind and sliced-still-together strawberry halves...

The process was easy... for the food-processor.! I put in both layers ingredients seperately, the bottom first- processed for a few minutes the pressed it into the bottom of a small heart shaped tart tin. I did the same with the ingredients for the next layer, and then I decorated the top...

I got my neighbour & the local health shop owner to try them..
here were the comments on~

Taste~ sublime & delish.
Texture~ Soft & firm.
Presentation~ very impressive, cheerful & funny.

Alfa-alfa Sprouting & Uses

As part of the course we are to grow alfa-alfa. I usually have it on the go anyway but it was interesting to watch it more closely as it magically grows. I noticed that it grows quicker in this warmer weather.



To the left are the alfa-alfa seeds soaking in water,left overnight.
The next day I drained and rinsed them and left them on the kitchen counter with the lid slightly ajar. Watered and drained them again on the second and third day. By day three they started to sprout little white tails, then I transfered them to tier trays where I watered them once per day.









Where they continued to grow...









And grow..








It's nice in a salad, or sometimes I have a big bowl of it with grated carrot, lemon juice, pressed garlic and creamed avocado all mixed together. I've put it thru the juicer a few times too but only when there was too much and I needed to use it up. I put some into the girls smoothies too, altho they like it as it is. And I blend it into raw soups like this one~









With cucumber, carrot & lemon juice, blended with garlic, avocado, alfa-alfa & salt, yum.