Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

Today was long, tiring, wet and cold. I'm exhausted, and looking forward to collapsing into my bed in a few hours.
When I finally got home from class and the library, finished all my other house work and homework, sent some emails and made weekend plans; all I wanted was a cookie. Not a wonderfully healthy, sprouted nut and raw honey based cookie - a terrible, ewwy-gooey, flour and sugar cookie from the killer oven!

I had found a cookie recipe that I wanted to bake for X-mas for the fam a little while ago, and it's all I could think about when I got home. I follow what my mind and body tell me - which 99% of the time is "YAY ORGANIC FRUIT AND GREENS!", but I won't lie: I love some cooked foods.

Maybe for emotional reasons, "addictive" reasons, or just 'cause IT'S OKAY TO EAT COOKED FOOD (for all you hard-core raw fooders out there who kick yourself every time you eat something cooked), I enjoy cooked meals every now and again. Usually with friends and family, for special occasions, or simply when the dish is too amazing to resist. An example is eggplant. Oh. My. God. Just slice it and bake it until it's soft. Same goes for garlic and onions.

@#$*%&$%#! Food is such a beautiful thing. Cooked OR raw.

I'm also not gonna sit here and say I don't feel guilty after eating cooked food sometimes. I'm really trying to work on getting over this. My mind knows it's okay and that we've been cooking our food for thousands of years; yet another part of me thinks it makes me weak, or selfish for not putting my body's needs first. For now, I've just gotta get over it and figure out what works best for me.

It scares me a little when I become so fixated on my diet, it's not healthy, even if being healthy is my goal. I have this link at the bottom of my blog for this reason; sometimes I DO become too idealistic and almost dogmatic about my diet, something I don't like at all. So in a way eating cooked food helps me stay realistic, if that makes sense.

*For those cooked foodists out there, this is probably sounding very strange, for raw foodists, you probably know what I'm talking about =)

Right now the bottom line is that I listen to my body and occasionally my body wants cooked food - so I will eat it. Simple as that.

So as I was saying... I decided to make these cookies. They turned out perfectly divine and delicious. I got the recipe online, and it said it was from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. My dad and mom LOVE them (especially my dad, I get the von Euw sweet tooth from him).

I must come up with a new name for these... but I can't think of anything catchy. Hemp spheres? Globes? If they were covered in coconut, I could just call them snowballs. Ah well, I'll think of something. For now, it's fun to see peoples' reactions when I offer them big ole chocolate hemp balls. They're really good though! And not too sweet.

My friend was going to Nanaimo for the weekend to visit her mysterious, grammar-obsessed lover; and she asked me if I could help her make something gluten free to give their family.
Since I couldn't use my sprouted flours or any of my more expensive ingredients since I was giving it away (yes... I am cheap), I took advantage of the sprouted buckwheat I had.

We used that for the base and added cocoa, hemp seeds, agave, cashews, peanuts, flax seeds, coconut oil and vanilla. Processed it all together and rolled 'em into balls. Then covered them in hemp seeds to make them pretty. The jury's out on whether or not the Nanaimo-ians liked them... but I think they're tasty. Perfect for a pre-workout snack, or just sustained raw energy in your busy day =)

Today was rainy, windy and hailing all day. But I secretly love it this year... I dunno what's come over me. I can't get enough "gross" stormy weather, even when I have to go out in it. Call me crazy.

Today I was able to stay inside and pretty much relax the whole day. Lucky me =)
Good thing too, because last night I was up until 5:30 am. My friends and I know how to party...


Since I had the day to just recuperate and rest, I decided to make something a little special - RAW Nanaimo Bars! They're especially fun 'cause they originated in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island - right across the water from us.


Me and my sweet tooth used to looooove Nanaimo Bars, but even I would feel kind of heavy and tired after eating one.

So today I decided I would make them raw! I lined up my ingredients: coconut oil, nuts, cocoa, vanilla, dates, a banana and an avocado... that's right, an avocado. I have several that are very ripe at the moment and need to use them up! (Probably one of the best problems you could have.)

They turned out realllllly good!  My family was a little concerned about the colour, but even my little brother liked them. They don't taste exactly like the "real thing" of course, but I love 'em! They're so yummy. Will definitely be making these again. P.S. I think they got better on the second day.

This is a super simple, nutritious, quick snack I make whenever we have ripe avocados (is there anything BETTER than a ripe avocado?). 
I used to only add avocados to other things, like nori rolls or in salads; but now I love eating them just as they are. They are a wonderful food. One of my favourites for sure. There is nothing like the creaminess, flavour and colour of an avocado.  

Also, don't be afraid of their fat content! Their fats are SOOOOO good for you. They keep your cells (our cell membranes are made of mostly fats, which are responsible for protecting our cells and moving around cellular materials) moving smoothly and fast, which ultimately allows your metabolism to burn calories more efficiently. Plus our hair, nails and skin are made of fats, so we should keep replenishing those with fresh new ones from whole plant foods like coconut, avocado, durian, olives, sprouted raw nut and seeds, and even bananas. These are the foods to eat for BEAUTY!

There's plenty of books about this subject. I Googled it really quick for ya and this link looked reliable. I encourage you to research this topic for yourself though. You're the best judge =)
Another way to do this - don't add anything! Or add some spicy sauce, or agave/honey... "whatevs"!

Yet another thing on the endless list of things I love about being raw; your body care is the same as what you eat. When you think about it for one moment, it shouldn't be any other way.When you're raw, you don't have to use many skin, hair or makeup products because your body is glowing and gorgeous without globs of chemicals on it already!

Plus, what you DO use for your hair, skin, nails and face can be the same stuff you eat everyday! I'm talking about bananas, papayas, avocados, oats, coconut, almonds, and others. We all know these are common extracts used to scent chemical shampoos, lotions, cleansers, etc. So instead of buying "Luscious Cocoa and Oatmeal Body Creme", or "Hydrating Mango Shampoo"... Let's just buy some raw organic COCOA, OATS and MANGOES! 

I made myself a banana/oat mask the other day actually... it made my skin glow and tasted SO GOOD. I had a bunch left over so I ate it while the mask hardened on my face. He he.

Do you eat your body lotion/skin cleanser? Probably not... So then why do you put in all over skin if you don't want it IN your skin/body? Logic, dear friends. 
Chop/process almonds into small pieces, but not flour-like, you want them to be able to exfoliate, remember. Add them to almond milk/water and rub vigorously on your face/skin.  Rinse off and put on some coconut oil to moisturize, or whatever you like. 
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Rub on face and lie down for 10 minutes You will feel the enzymes... it can burn a little but that's good. If it's too much, however, wash it off! When you are done, wash off with warm water and pat dry. Put on some coconut oil to moisturize and seal in the cleanliness.

Yesterday I got the impulse to make a raw version of something I'd always loved as a kid, but stopped eating because they were processed (not good for me), and definitely not vegan: Ice Cream Sandwiches!  So what'd I do? Made them healthy for you.


The thought of making something so cute, yummy and familiar was enough to get me in the kitchen with the food processor, some jazz music, and determination. I had just enough ice cream left in the freezer to make about 3 of these, plus a mini one (but that's with me eating it as I'm making it... so you could probably make a few more if you can resist munching).

The "cookie" part was the perfect consistency, easy to mold but softened really fast when I took them out of the freezer to eat, so they weren't crunchy. Use any cookie cutter shape you want! Or make 'em rustic by hand. Either way, they were lovely and just what I needed. Nothing to feel guilty about here!

*Sorry this post is kinda long... I ramble.

This weekend, I got a cold: headache, sore throat, stuffy nose - the whole deal.

This has not happened since I've been vegan; in fact I was quite enjoying the over-all elimination of sickness since becoming vegan and mainly raw. The only cause I can possibly think of, since my diet hasn't changed, is the hard-core workout I had the day before I fell ill.

I used to be a workout junkie, I was addicted to exercise... I LOVE IT! But since university, I haven't been working out as much. I was okay with this, and knew when the time came I'd get back into it. Well, after a couple months, the time came. This was last week.

I jumped right back into the workout intensity I was doing before I mellowed out... bad idea. Not necessarily because I've gotten weak, in fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how well I got through the workout.

Exercise gets everything moving (your blood cells, etc.) so I think perhaps it was just a manifestation of that. Also, lately I have not been eating much at all. Simply because I'm not hungry. My #1 rule: always listen to you body, and my body hasn't wanted as much to eat in the past few weeks.


In short: the combination of jumping back into my intense aerobic routine after not working out as much for awhile, PLUS the fact that I haven't been eating much lately (and hadn't eaten that day), PLUS the change of seasons, probably was the reason I got sick. You might say "or maaaybe you just got a cold because people GET COLDS", buuuut...


I was just being silly and didn't act appropriately. I paid for it. The whole weekend, and still today, I've been totally congested and... well, you don't need the details. All weekend I was gulping down as much water and tea as possible, and eating lots of fruits and smoothies for nutrients.

My mood was manifested in the weather: rainy and cold all weekend. In a strange way, I actually love that kind of weather - I guess live in the right place.

It was just me and mom at home when I got the idea to make a big pot of soup. Soup seems to have magical properties. People have been making it for centuries because it's inexpensive, delicious, warming, and you can make it out of ANYTHING. It is the classic food made to ward off the cold and flu.

I am not 100% raw. I enjoy cooked vegetable-based dishes every now and then, partly because sometimes they are just so good (I cannot resist Thai food), and mostly because my family is not raw; we all want to be enjoying the same meal, especially when my mom makes incredible vegan dishes (they still eat meat but have become mostly vegetarian because of my diet change)!

I made Cauliflower and Sprouted Lentil Soup with peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, and a bunch of other veggies. It made the whole house smell like warm comfort. It's a perfect winter dish to warm you up and ward off colds.