Check out my NEW Youtube channel!

Hey friends!

Welcome to 2012! It's a new year with new beginnings. Time for cleansing and reaching new levels of health. My candida and Interstitial Cystitis symptoms came back again around Jan. 1, so I took it as a sign that I needed to focus on detoxing. And I also want to share my experiences with you through vlogs on my brand spanking new YOUTUBE channel! This is a very exciting endeavor and I hope it will help you as much as it helps me. :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/melissaintheraw

Make sure to subscribe so that you get updates on when I add new videos! I hope to add a vlog at least once a week. I welcome all comments & never hesitate to contact me with any questions you have.

peace, love, & light.
melissaintheraw.

Raw Green Gringo Soup

My 7 Day juice FEAST is officially over. I experienced really intense detox symptoms, so I'm introducing smoothies and soups so that I can continue to detox, but at a slower pace, with more tolerable cleansing. So I'm sticking to an all liquid diet as much as possible right now!

I've been searching for soup recipes with no fat because the more research I do, the more I hear about fat causing candida symptoms. So I'm trying to stick to an all raw, fruit & veggie diet for now, and see how that goes. I finally found a GREAT raw soup recipe with no fat, no sugar, all greens and candida fighters.

RAW GREEN GRINGO SOUP

4 stalks celery
1 cup cherry tomatos
handful of spinach
1/4 cup onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 bunch of cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1T apple cider vinegar

Put the tomatos & liquids in first and it will blend in any blender.

The lime & vinegar really add a nice zing to the soup. I ate is cold & it was yummy!

Lemon Ginger Blast

I am currently doing a juice FEAST & candida cleanse. Candida feeds on sugar, so I'm trying to minimize the sugars in my juices. This is a great, alkalizing juice, and the lemon & ginger do a great job at masking the veggie flavor!

5 leaves of kale
5 stalks of celery
1 handful parsley
1 cucumber
1 inch ginger
1/2 - 1 lemon
(add in 1 apple if you can tolerate it)


Get your greens on! :)

Raw Cacao Banana Ice Cream

OMG you guys... this is the easiest, simplest healthy dessert! I simply love it. I wish I could take the credit for this one, but the idea comes from my good friend, Shana.

Simply mix frozen bananas, raw cacao, and a small touch of water (just enough to get it to blend...you may not need any) in a food processor or blender!

Another delish variation: cinnamon & dates instead of cacao.

You may add sweetener like agave nectar, honey, or stevia, but it really tastes yummy all on it's own!

Raw Apple Pie

Sweet & simple.

I made this for a Thanksgiving raw food potluck & it was gone in a few minutes! :)

Crust

12 oz raw pecans
6 oz dates
Cinnamon to taste

Put in food processor until you have a doughy consistency. Line bottom of pan, bowl, etc.

Filling

6 apples
6 oz dates
Cinnamon to taste
Lemon juice to taste

Put 4 apples, dates, cinnamon, & lemon juice in food processor until you have an apple sauce consistency. Chop up the other 2 apples and add in afterwards. This adds to the consistency with some nice big apple chunks.

That's it!

I topped mine with shredded coconut, apple chunks, & some dates with the pits removed and pecans in their place. If you can find them, try to get fresh, de-pitted dates that are still juicy. They taste sooo much better than the pitted, dehydrated dates. I got some local AZ black sphinx dates, which are seasonal and only grow in a few places! So yummy!!

Raw Zucchini Hummus

OMG. I have an obsession with hummus. It is one of my favorite foods! This is a great raw recipe that does not involve beans, which can be difficult to digest.

2-3 medium sized zucchini
1/3 cup tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon pink himalayan sea salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 garlic clove(s)

As always, you can play around with the ingredients to get the flavor you want. I like lots of garlic & lemon juice, with less fat.