Learn How To Cook Videos

Here are three delightful French variations on the Italian orignated Carpaccio. Learn about the history behind carpaccio and enjoy a refreshing and low calorie entree for tonight’s dinner. All easy and all delicious.

Vegetables are essential to a salad since that is what a salad is, but do you know the vast variety and history of vegetables? Many have been around for a very long time.

We all have moments that things don’t seem to go as you wish. In this video, Arnold helps out Sandi to overcome depression and lose the 40lbs she gained while depressed.

For more information about the raw food diet, click here

A great video from Ani Phyo. She shows how to make delicious donut holes and gives clear instructions.

If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you are probably well aware that I’ve been a little bummed about my little one started kindergarten. I’ve done okay on the days when I work, but I miss him when I don’t.

Always one to look on the bright side, I look forward to the time he comes home and tells me about his day. I’m also trying to be more constructive with my time, getting more done around the house, and most importantly, letting my creative juices flow.

For instance, on my first day solo, I watched some adult television. Now, get your mind out of the gutter; I’m referring to Rachael Ray and Martha Stewart, as opposed to Cartoon Network.

To start, on my blog I posted a “rawified” version of one of Rachael’s (I sound like I know her personally or something) recipes, after seeing her put Duff from Ace of Cakes up to the challenge of replicating this meal out of cake.

Then, to continue this cake theme, Martha had a guest on her show, who demonstrated how she makes her little cupcakes on a stick (although not raw, I found myself drawn to her whimsical website). So, I thought, “I could do that.”

In colder months, I would’ve chosen to make my raw version out of a raw nut and date-based “cake” or “brownie.” But since I usually go easy on these “gourmet” raw creations during the warmer months, I opted to lighten it up a bit with fresh fruit.

The simplest way to mimic this idea is to just use a banana chunk as the base, cap it with an upside down strawberry and top it all off with a blueberry. To make it seem more like a cupcake, you can even put them in mini cupcake liners (although not necessary). Then, keep it all intact with a skewer, lollipop stick or wooden dowel (like the ones used to make candy/caramel apples – they’re good raw, too).

As it turns out, these fruity treats make a great after-school snack. Just be careful that you’re little ones don’t poke themselves with the skewers.

For some reason, everything is more fun on a stick (or at least that is what they try to convince you at the Renaissance Festival; unfortunately, most of their fare is far from raw vegan). When I was on vacation recently, I saw tons of examples on the boardwalk, like candy/caramel apples (there they are again), frozen chocolate-covered bananas (with or without nuts; another easy snack to make raw) and plump chocolate-dipped strawberry kabobs.

Which brings me to today’s recipe, a coated version of the basic strawberry banana “cupcake.” Serve them on a stick, and have fun with this one : )

Raw Fudgy-Covered “Cupcakes” on a Stick

For the foundation

• Banana chunks
• Strawberries (tops removed)
• Blueberries

For the chocolate

• ½ cup coconut butter
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ cup grade B maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. agave nectar
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• Dash of sea salt

Blend all the ingredients in a high-powered blender. Mold the
chocolate fudge around the banana chunks like a cupcake wrapper. Allow
to set in the fridge or freezer, while you make the maple topping.

* Any extra chocolate fudge can be eaten as is or made into bark by
spreading it into a thin layer, then chilling it in the freezer. I
added almonds and goji berries to mine.

For the maple topping

• ½ cup coconut butter
• 2 Tbsp. lucuma powder
• 2 Tbsp. grade B maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. agave nectar
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• Dash of sea salt

Blend all the ingredients in a high-powered blender. Place a small
amount on the top of each fudgy-covered banana chunk (the side that’s
not already covered in chocolate) to glue the strawberry caps in place.

Drizzle more of the maple glaze over the strawberry tops like icing
on your “cupcakes.” Decorate with coconut sprinkles (optional) and a
blueberry on each one.

To add to the fun, display your “cupcakes” in festive wrapper and/or on sticks. Enjoy!

* This maple topping reminds me of the maple donuts I used to love,
or perhaps a maple fudge (yikes, I used “maple” three times in the same
sentence). Feel free to use the leftovers in a similar fashion.

Cows naturally thrive best on grass, but because it’s too expensive to raise them that way, most cattle ranchers have moved exclusively to corn, (most of which is genetically modified).

Not only is corn cheaper, but feeding cows corn makes them gain weight faster and also makes the beef fattier. Sure it makes the cows more susceptible to disease, makes their bones crazy weak and removes what little nutrients the meat has in the first place, but boy do you get a lot of beef! Bottom line, if you factory farm cattle, you love corn.

But now corn is becoming too expensive and farmers are looking for other alternatives to bring the cost of raising cattle down.

[Video] How about M&M’s Potato Chips? (thx Sarma)

Yes, corn has become so expensive that some ranchers have moved to feeding their cattle junk food. Can you even call M&M’s food?

I wonder if anyone ever stopped and thought to themselves, “Does it seem weird that we’re feeding potato chips and M&M’s to these cows and then selling the meat to families who trust us?”

Probably not.

When you’re not focused on improving your own health, really improving it, you rarely think about the true effect your product it will have on others. Or, for that matter, if your product is actually contributing to the suffering of the planet, animals and human beings.

If you’re a worker at a cattle factory you’re just doing job. If you’re an owner or an investor you’re just doing your job. Everyone’s just doing their job, and if you eat beef, even occasionally, you’re just doing your job too. Luckily your job (yes you) is the most important of all. Without your vote, your vote of the dollar, the system comes crashing down.

I expect things getting crazier. Crazier than cows eating M&M’s? Yes sir! Not only is all this craziness a bi-product of a system that’s unsustainable, but it’s often the only initial way to get people to pay attention.

I’ve been meaning to link to this for a while.

Jason Mraz’s famous Chocomole (Guacamole with Raw Chocolate) recipe.

Every so often I’ll get an email or read a forum posting on GI2MR that essentially asks, why bother?

Why bother eating healthy if someone like Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories of junk a day and can still win eight gold medals.

Why bother when the BBC puts out a report that an elderly women in Japan, who’s 101 years old and still very active, has smoked a cigarette a day and drank for the last 30 years.

My answer? Stop bothering.

If your lifestyle is a bother, why are you doing it in the first place? I don’t know about you, but I enjoy eating and living the way that I do. It’s fun, I feel amazing and I get results.

If you’re not getting results or enjoying the process, I would seriously reconsider what you’re up to.

Life is short and “killing yourself while trying to heal yourself”, as Wolfe says, is not worth it.

And regarding the above situations, training and genetics will always play a major role in fitness and longevity. There will always be that one person here, or those two people there that are getting results that don’t seem to make sense. In some cases those results will last and in other cases they will be temporary.

But while we’re on the topic of results, let’s not forget the results that most of America will experience from being normal:

• 80,700,000 people in the United States have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease
• Cardiovascular diseases claimed 869,724 lives in 2004 (36.3 percent of all deaths or 1 of every 2.8 deaths) – American Heart Association
  
• In 2008 about 565,650 Americans are expected to die of – American Cancer Society
• That’s 1,500 people a day dying from cancer
• Over 225,000 people will die from medical error this year – American Medial Association
• 1.07 Trillion Dollars a Year, the estimated cost of managing the reality that 1/4 of America will be living with more than one chronic disease in the year 2020. (SuperFoods Rx by Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthew)

Sometimes all it takes is a reminder.