Karen Knowler * The Raw Food Coach

KAREN'S SUPER-SEXY OLIVE CREAM

This delicious dip is so-called because when a friend first tried this recipe she gasped and went, "Ohhh, that's SO sexy!" - and it kind of stuck. Well, there is a certain something about it...

 

EQUIPMENT

Food Processor

 

INGREDIENTS

1 avocado
1 fresh tomato
5-6 pitted black olives
Garlic to taste

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Simply process all ingredients together until a thick creamy consistency is achieved.
2. Taste-test. Adapt as desired. 
3. Serve with crudités, as a dip or spread on sprouted bread or crackers. Sex-y!

 

Raw Coach Top Tips:

• Feel free to try adding a little juice to this such as lemon, orange or pineapple - you never know what you might create!

© 2012 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

So You Want to Go Raw? Part 1: Your Big Why

The Journey to Rawdom can be a very long and winding one, especially if you don't have an experienced guide accompanying you. In fact, my own journey took five years to go raw in the first place (it doesn't have to take this long!), and I've spent the remaining years analysing and making sense of all the ins-and-outs so that I can distil them into simple wisdom and how-to steps and hand them over to others walking this path.

As spring is not so far around the corner, many of you now, especially those of you new to raw food or those who have been dabbling for a few weeks, months or even years, may be feeling particularly inspired to get going or put more effort into finally going raw.

Now is actually the perfect time to start the journey towards making raw food a part of your life, potentially forever.

Over the next few weeks I'll be giving you a coaching exercise every week which will help you create - step-by-easy-step - a raw food lifestyle that works for you and your life the way it is today.

In this first part, we'll be starting right at ground zero. The early questions may appear basic but your answers will be far reaching - just trust the process!

Chocolate (Carob) Pudding

This recipe has been a favourite of mine for many years. It's great for dessert any time of year, but especially in the colder months when you want something sweet and comforting.

 

EQUIPMENT

Blender 

 

INGREDIENTS

2 avocadoes
1 cup dates
1/2 cup raw carob powder
Water as required

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Simply blend all ingredients in a blender, food processor or with a hand blender until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
2. Taste test before serving. Add more avocado if you'd like it richer and/or creamier, add more dates for extra sweetness or add more carob for a stronger chocolate flavour.
3. Serve on its own or with raw ice-cream for the ultimate treat.

 

Raw Coach Top Tips:

• If you don't like carob powder you can use this with cocoa powder or raw chocolate powder instead.
  
  
• This recipe will keep for about 2-3 days in the fridge.

 

© 2012 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

Love Special: Show Me the Love!

So Valentine’s Day has just been celebrated. Had you noticed?!

As per my email of earlier this week, I'm here to remind you that while having a romantic partner in your life definitely has a lot to be said for it, when all is said and done, the most important love is the love you have for yourself. Yes, it's time. It's time to feed yourself the best of the best emotionally, not just physically. Now's the perfect time to take a look at that. And here's why.

1) You can only give what you have to give; if you don't love yourself first you are drawing from an empty well. If you want to love others in a big, love-them-large kind of way, then you have to love yourself large first. Period! Where do you start? See later.

2) When self-love is lacking, everything dumbs down. We make poorer choices, we neglect ourselves, we ignore our body, mind and spirit, because, well, who cares? The truth of the matter is, if you don't, probably no-one else will - or at least nowhere near as much as you AND you'll be impossible to reach anyway. So care. "Because you're worth it!" (And the world needs you - all in one lovable, huggable and gorgeously grand piece!)

3) When you learn to love yourself you learn to see the innate goodness in yourself and consequently others. You become more human, more forgiving, more nurturing, more real. You are more sensitive to others pain because you have felt your own and have lived to tell the tale. You become more fully alive, more raw, and infinitely more attractive and lovable too! So dive in and explore all you have to offer, so that we can benefit from it too. Self-love is the ultimate act in selflessness, in spite of your first suspicions!

How Dreams Can - and Do - Come True

When I was little I loved to write, draw pictures and create books and magazines. As an older child my dream was to become a children’s book illustrator and while I didn’t think for one minute that would be my reality - my family were constantly telling me “you’re good at drawing but art college is so competitive, only a few make it…” - nonetheless, it was a dream that I held dear to my heart. Fast forward to high school and my English teacher recommended I go to University to study English literature. No-one in my family has ever been to Uni, so this wasn’t even presented to me as an option by my parents, plus I was in a steady relationship with someone who I couldn’t bear to leave.

It’s funny how life turns out. All those clues are there usually right from the beginning. Within 18 months of leaving school my relationship had ended, I was living in London and working in children’s book publishing.

RAW THAI CURRY SAUCE

One of the most common "If I went raw I'd miss..." examples has to be "CURRY!” Well, my first raw curry was self-designed in January 2002 - I remember it well as a week later I found out I was pregnant and had one of those "oh, so that's why!" moments. Since then, I’ve created a raw curry sauce that would work wonderfully with just about any raw veggie concoction you care to chop up! (See end for suggestions to work with). So if you fancy something fresh and raw but "substantial" this weekend, bag yourself a Thai curry kit and stoke up your inner fire with this hot and saucy recipe.

 

EQUIPMENT

Food Processor or Blender 

 

INGREDIENTS

Makes enough sauce to accompany 2 large helpings of veggies

2 avocados
2 (dried) lime leaves
1/4 - 1/2 fresh chilli
1 teaspoon of lime juice
2 cm of lemon grass stem
1.5cm cube of fresh ginger
1/2 loosely packed cup of fresh coriander
1/2 - 1 cup of pure water (depends on how creamy and thick you like it)
1/2 Tablespoon of curry powder

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Simply blend all ingredients together, either in a blender or food processor until everything is fully blended. Taste test. Add more water if you'd like it runnier. Add more lemon, a tomato and/or avocado if it's too hot.

 

Raw Coach Top Tips:

• Great veggies (all finely chopped or cubed) to pour the sauce over include: Cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, peas, sugar snap peas, courgette (zucchini), asparagus tips, tomatoes, cucumber.
• To improve/ soften texture of your veggies you can either marinade them for a while in olive oil, lemon juice and a little Himalayan salt and drain before coating with sauce, or, after marinating for a short while, dehydrate them at around 110 deg F for a few hours to get them soft, warm and slightly mushy!
• To make "rice" simply put in a couple of parsnips or some cauliflower into your food processor and process until rice-like pieces are formed. Even if you don't like either on their own (I am *really* not a fan of raw parsnip!), by the time you have added your veggies and sauce, you won't even be able to tell what the rice is and you'll feel as if you're eating a much "rounder" meal.

© 2012 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

Falling Off The Wagon

This week, more than a few people have shared with me that it hasn’t been their “best” week ever food-wise. I can sympathise. Hormones? Changing weather? Recent life changes? Something larger and far more cosmic than meets the eye? 

I really don’t know but I can tell you this: we usually learn far more from what doesn’t work for us than we do from what does!

Traditionally, as a people, we have got very used to “beating ourselves up” whenever we’ve made food choices that aren’t in line with what we’ve aspired to do. We’ve berated ourselves, used negative language towards ourselves, and have usually ended up feeling even more overweight and unhappy than when we first started.

Sometimes it can take us years to figure out that this isn’t actually the best approach to take! In fact, in all fields of life, whether they be personal or professional, I doubt that there is one person alive who can say that they’ve never messed up, or gone against their intuition, or “let their hair down” or “fallen off the wagon” in some way around food – and not just one time but multiple times throughout their life.

That’s just not likely and it’s just not human.

SWEET COMFORT MILK

This recipe is the one I reach for when I want something sweet and comforting. It's very simple but lovely and is not unlike a "hug in a glass" that we sometimes feel we need - especially when tea and coffee are a thing of the past! This is my recipe of choice this week as I've made it almost every day.

 

EQUIPMENT

Vita-Mix or Blender

 

INGREDIENTS

1 pint of pure water
1 level Tbsp cashew butter OR 1/3 cup cashew nuts
3 Medjool dates

OPTIONAL: Small piece of vanilla bean

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Put all of the ingredients in a Vita-Mix or blender and process until you have a very well blended mixture.
2. Taste test. Need more sweetener? Add another date or two.
3. Pour into a tall glass and make yourself comfy before savouring.

 

Raw Coach Top Tips:

• This recipe will keep for a few hours in the fridge but is definitely best drunk immediately.
• If cashew isn't your thing, then try this with another nut butter of your choice.

© 2012 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

Raw Food and Weight Loss

Many people are attracted to raw foods as a tool for weight loss; in fact that was one of my own most compelling personal motivations way back in 1993. After all, to eat a diet that was mostly fresh fruits and vegetables can only mean a lean, mean fighting machine surely?

Well, yes and no.

This week’s article is an insight into how raw foods can help you lose weight but also how, no matter what you eat (yes, even raw), you can also keep weight on!

TASTY ALMOND HUMMUS

Traditionally hummus is made with chickpeas. In raw food cuisine it's made with sprouted chickpeas - or at least it is by those who like it! For those that don't (and I sometimes do, sometimes don't...) then here's a great alternative.

By swapping the chickpeas for almonds and adding in a few fresh herbs, here's a recipe that you'll find delicious, will fill you up, will be good in a salad, wrap or spread on crackers and will keep in the fridge for about 5 days if covered.

 

EQUIPMENT

Juicer, Food Processor 

 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups soaked almonds
1/2 cup raw tahini
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 large lemons, juice of
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt (to taste)
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon basil

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Break down the almonds using your homogenising juicer with the blank plate, or, even better a high-powered food processor such as the Cuisinart. If you have neither, with sufficient time and patience you could use a hand blender, but take care with it as this is hard work.
2. Put the broken down almonds into a food processor along with all the other ingredients. Try to achieve a smooth consistency. Add a little water if necessary.
3. Process until you have it the way you like it. Some people like chunky bits of nut to remain, while others like it smooth - or you could take half out while chunky and process the rest to smoothness - they actually do taste a little different!

 

Raw Coach Top Tips:

• Serve with green vegetables, such as lettuce, cabbage, and kale, or spread on flax crackers. Also good, of course, as a dip.

© 2012 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.