Recipe: Pineapple Banana Smoothie

Yes, I can be pretty sneaky at times, but it is always for a good cause. When my husband and I started our raw food lifestyle, he absolutely despised anything green. I started making this smoothie for him and he loved it.  I let him in on the secret and he admitted that spinach wasn't so bad after all. Spinach has a long list of amazing health benefits. Spinach contains antioxidants, aids as an anti-inflammatory, helps lower blood pressure, helps with vision, contains key components that fight infection, aids in preventing acne and wrinkles, contains protein that is essential for maintaining bone density, helps with brain and nerve functions, and contains anti cancer properties. So as you can see Popeye had it right all along. Spinach is packed with tons of nutritional benefits. So make sure to get some of those greens in daily. You may have to be sneaky like me but it is for a good cause.

Ingredients:

2 frozen bananas

1 cup fresh spinach

1/2 cup frozen pineapple

Place all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Depending whether or not you used frozen ingredients you may need to add a little bit of ice or water to reach a desired consistency.

Enjoy!

- Britnee

Watch the YouTube video here.

Spinach, Banana, and Pineapple.

Smmmooothie Time!

Recipe: Prickly Persian Salad

Raw cactus, also known as nopal, has some amazing health benefits. Cactus is filled with antioxidants and is high in vitamin C.  It helps with inflammation, diabetes, as well as ulcers. When eating cactus, try and consume it in it's raw form that way you will have all these amazing benefits. You can also add cactus to salsa recipes or to top a salad.  This recipe also calls for Persian cucumbers, however you can use any cucumber you like. The Persian cucumbers give it just an added flavor if you have never tried them i suggest you do.  This is one of my favorite summer dishes hope you like it.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 cups chopped nopal cactus (prickles removed) 

1 1/2 cup chopped persian cucumbers

1-2 juiced lemons to taste

1/4 cup chopped green onions

salt to taste

Add all ingredients into large bowl stir and serve.

Enjoy!

-Britnee

Watch the YouTube video here.

 

Cactus, Tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, Lemon, and Green onions.

Mondays with Maddie: Caribou Smoothie

Maddie loves animals! She names this smoothie "Caribou Smoothie" since one of the ingredients is Carob powder. This smoothie is a hit with all the kiddos. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups coconut milk

1 banana

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

1 tbsp carob powder

1 tsp agave

1 pinch of salt

1 cup ice

Place all indigents into blender. Blend until smooth.

Watch the YouTube video here.

Coconut milk, Natural peanut butter, Banana, Carob, Agave, and Salt.

Recipe:  Simple Salad

Mondays with Maddie. A recipe so easy even the kids can do it! Gather the kids around and show them that there are other kids who want to be healthy too.

Ingredients: 

1 cup chopped romaine lettuce

1 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp black olives

1/2 lemon juice

Place lettuce into a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix everything together and enjoy.

Watch the YouTube video here.

Recipe: Sunrise Smoothie

I have a confession.....I'm just a tad bit obsessed with smoothies to say the least. I just love how easy it is to throw different ingredients into a blender and have a meal ready in 5 minutes! I usually have a smoothie every, and it never gets old. I'm always trying a new creation. I just love how simple, easy, and filling smoothies are. I have literally been having this smoothie everyday for the past two weeks. It is starting to warm up and this smoothie is perfect to cool me down.  This recipe calls for chia seed's, which may be tough to find especially in smaller towns. Chia seeds are starting to pop up more and more in health food stores, but if you are unable to find them in your area check out our Amazon store.  Chia is a great source of omega 3 for vegans, it is the richest plant-source of this healthy oil. By weight, chia contains more omega 3 than salmon, and it still tastes like whatever you want. Omega 3 oil is important in heart and cholesterol health. This smoothie is a perfect way to start your day, enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 bananas

1 mango

1orange

1 pitted date

1/2 cup strawberries

1/2 cup pineapple

1 tbsp soaked chia 

Add all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. If you are not using any frozen ingredients make sure to add a little bit of ice. 

- Britnee

                                                                       Watch the YouTube video here.

Oranges, bananas, mangos, strawberries, pineapple, dates, and chia,

Ch-ch-ch- Chia

Dates and Chia.

Enjoy this smoothie and watch the sunrise.

Recipe: Cereal and Coconut Milk

This delicious filling cereal hits the spot every time. This smooth and creamy milk is by far my favorite milk out there. Coconut milk can be used in smoothies, desserts, or as a substitution for dairy milk. Coconut milk contains lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid, unlike the saturated fat in meat and more like the saturated fat found in human breast milk. Coconut milk helps blood cholesterol levels by raising the levels of HDL, the good cholesterol, while not affecting levels of LDL, the bad cholesterol. This change puts cholesterol levels into a better position for protecting heart health. With all the health benefits found in coconut milk I say drink up!

Coconut Milk

Ingredients: 

5 cups of water

2 cups unsweetened dehydrated coconut flakes

3 pitted dates

1/2 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Place all ingredients into Vita Mix and blend approximately 2-3 minutes until Vita Mix container gets slightly warm. Place a milk bag into a large bowl and pour the mixture into the milk bag and squeeze out the milk. Coconut milk will stay good in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. You may find after refrigeration that the fat from the coconut flakes will clump up no worries you may discard it or keep it in your milk jug.

Cereal

Ingredients:

1 chopped banana

1/2 apple chopped

1/2 cup chopped strawberries

1/4 cup blueberries

5 chopped pecans or to taste.  Of course you can top with any nut you'd like :)

Place all ingredients into a bowl and fill with coconut milk. Serve and enjoy!

-Shelly

Watch the YouTube video here.

 

Coconut flakes, vanilla beans, dates, and salt.

Delicious dates. 

Blend away.

Apples, strawberries, banana, blueberries, and pecans.

 

Cereal with Coconut milk.

Recipe: No Shrimp Cocktail

I love me some spicy, refreshing No Shrimp Cocktail! Sometimes I make this big bowl and eat it all in one serving, and the best part about this is I don't feel one bit guilty! Just one of the many perks about a raw vegan lifestyle. I modified this recipe from my sister in laws Shrimp Cocktail recipe, and it has became quite the hit amongst my family members. With low prep this hearty tomato dish takes about 15 minutes to whip up. This just goes to show you how easy a raw food lifestyle can be. This recipe is perfect for those hot summer day's when you want something cool and refreshing.

Ingredients:

About 15 roma tomatoes

3 juiced lemons (less or more to taste)

1 avocado chopped

1 cucumber chopped 

1 bunch of chopped cilantro

1/2 to 1 minced serrano chili (depending how hot you like it, can leave out also)

1/2 cup of corn

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 orange juiced

salt to taste

Puree 8 tomatoes in blender, and pour into a large bowl. Chop the remaining tomatoes and add to the bowl, as well as all the remaining ingredients. You may want to set aside a small amount of corn and cilantro for a garnish. You can also throw in your favorite hot sauce if you want some extra spice. Serve immediately or chill before serving.

Enjoy! 

-Britnee
                                                                                        Watch the Youtube video here.

                                    
                                                         

                                                          

                                                                                         Serrano chili's for an added kick.

                                         

                                                                           Only fresh roma tomatoes for this hearty cocktail.

                               

                                                                             Cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, chilis and onion.

                                                                                Don't forget the orange, lemon, and cilantro!

                     
                                                                   Salty, Spicy, No Shrimp Cocktail.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog for Heartsinyourfood.com!!!! We are a mother and daughter duo who are extremely passionate about health and raw, vegan, living foods.  Raw foods has transformed our lives, and our health more than words can describe. We hope to inspire others to take control of their health through our blog and recipe videos.  We are very excited about our new endeavor and hope that we inspire others.  Check out the video below as we discuss how we got started with raw foods.  Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to continue to get our latest videos.  We also have a Facebook Page , so "Like" that page as well.

"The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison."   - Ann Wigmore

Watch the YouTube video here.