February 8, 2010 by Erika
Sorry to have been gone for a bit! Life has been abundantly busy here in the Vivapura aWarehouse. Lots of orders to ship, lots of product to bag and lots of beautiful customers to converse with on the phone. That has left very little time for recipe development or blogging. I decided to start up again with a beautiful recipe just in time for Valentine’s Day. Also, if you would like to get some cacao ingredients to make chocolate at home we have a coupon available for web orders. Order any cacao product (nibs, powder, paste or butter) from our site and use coupon code “cacao20″ for 20% off your cacao purchases!
I made these little heart chocolates a few weeks ago, inspired by my new silicon heart ice cube tray and curious about some sweetener a friend had dropped off for me to try, Palm Sugar. I’ve heard lots about Palm Sugar but have yet had a chance to use it. It worked ok in this recipe but I never could get it to really dissolve in the chocolate so it left a crispy sort of texture. I was a bit distracted by it but all of my taste testers were raving about these so I decided to share them anyway. You could play around with other sweeteners as well.
Chocolate Hearts with Super Berry Filling
1 cup strawberries, chopped
6 drops Valencia Orange Stevia
Place both ingredients into a high-speed blend and blend until smooth. Leaving the puree in the blender add the following:
1/4 cup Barberries
1/4 cup Goji Berries
Stir these into the puree in your blender and allow to soak for 15 minutes. Blend again until puree is mostly smooth but some texture remaining.
2 cups Cacao Paste
1/2 cup palm sugar
1 tsp. Cacao Paste
1 tsp. Super Maca
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
pinch mineral rich salt
Fill a bowl or pan with boiling water, find another bowl or pan that sits on top of the bowl filled with boiling water. Place cacao paste in the top bowl and stir until it melts. If your water cools too much you may desire to add more hot water to the bottom bowl. Once the cacao paste is melted add each of the other ingredients one by one until everything is well-combined.
You can use chocolate molds, silicon baking or ice cube trays or a baking dish. You want to use half of your chocolate in whatever sort of mold you are using. Swirling it around the edges ever so slightly so there is a bit of a coating around the edges. Place your mold in the freezer and allow it to set until firm.
Next your are going to spread the Super Berry Filling on the first layer of chocolate.
Make sure to not spread the filling right to the very edge of the chocolate layer, this will ensure that the filling becomes totally enclosed. Also, be sure to keep the filling as low profile as possible so that the top layer of chocolate can fit. You may have leftover filling (it tastes great added to smoothies, used in cakes or spread on any sort of bread).
Finally, cover the filling with your additional chocolate. Trying carefully to cover the filling so that none peaks out. If you choose to garnish your chocolates be sure to do that now. I used Barberries on mine.
Now allow the chocolates to set once more. Once they have hardened you need not store them in the freezer, they will keep fine in the refrigerator. Since the filling uses some fresh fruit be sure to not let them sit more than a week or so before gobbling them up. Who am I kidding? These couldn’t last a week in anyone’s refrigerator before being gobbled up!
Posted in Desserts, Recipe, Valentine's Day | Tagged barberries, cacao, coconut oil, dairy-free, goji berries, raw chocolates, raw food, raw vegan recipe, Recipe, superfood, vanilla powder, vegan, vivapura | Leave a Comment »
January 25, 2010 by Erika
Periodically I receive a recipe from a customer, friend, employee or random stranger. Today we have a recipe from Eva Chrostowski who follows a Phase 1 Low-Glycemic diet. She’s sharing one of her favorite smoothies with us today.
This smoothie is a great source of vegan Omega 3 & 6 without the heaviness of oil. This will keep you going for hours without an increase in blood sugar levels. Excellent source of dietary fiber, especially if you add the zucchini. For those who find maca on its own harder to swallow, the flavors of this smoothie combine really well and are even mellowed out by the zucchini. Feel free to experiment with other spices too! Green Leaf stevia is less processed than white or liquid stevia and actually helps stabilize blood sugar levels to keep your pancreas and liver happy.
The water and mineral content of the Himalaya salt will help you stay hydrated, it also brings out the sweetness of the stevia. Remember that chia can hold up to 14 times its weight in water so be sure to stay hydrated through out the day to keep things moving along in your colon. Drinking chia smoothies regularly (along with hydrating adequately, gentle exercise like yoga and a diet high in raw vegetables) is bound to keep your internal elimination organs healthy and clean. Chia’s absorbing properties help draw out toxins and the hard shell can clean the intestinal walls.
All in all, a fabulous life-affirming smoothie! May you enjoy radiant health & happiness!!!
Chia Amazingness
a low-glycemic smoothie
5 tbs. Chia Seeds
2 cups filtered, spring or Reverse Osmosis water
1 small organic zucchini
several pinches Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp Super Maca Powder
organic green leaf stevia, to taste
organic cinnamon, to taste
Blend in a high-speed blender until smooth and seeds are broken apart. Experiment with water to see what your preference is. Keep in the refrigerator for a few hours for a thicker smoothie. Add ice cubes to the blender in the summer for a chilled version.
Optional:For fast oxidizers who require more fuel and are able to digest fat easily, add a tablespoon of Coconut Oil to this smoothie. It tastes great!
Add blueberries or Jarrah Bee Pollen for more sweetness.
Posted in Beverages, Guest Recipe Contributor, Recipe | Tagged chia, coconut oil, dairy-free, Eva Chrostowski, low-glycemic, Phase 1, raw food, raw vegan recipe, Recipe, smoothie, stevia, superfood, vivapura | Leave a Comment »
January 22, 2010 by Erika
I was always a fan of things like egg or tuna salads when I was younger. My mom used to make me curried egg salad sandwiches when I was a kid and they were my favorite. Every once in awhile I fancy me a salad like that. I’ve toyed around with a lot of the nut based “tuna” fish salads and while tasty I find that amount of nuts is a little hard on my digestion.
With this recipe I chose to use the pulp leftover from carrot juice as a substitute for hard-boiled eggs and made a cashew based dressing in place of mayonnaise. This would be great in a nori roll or served on bread or crackers. I ate it served with kale salad and quinoa. If I had any lacto-fermented cucumbers on hand I would have chopped some of those up and added those as well!
Curried Cashew Carrot Salad
1 cup Really Raw Cashews, soaked
pulp from 1.5 lbs. juiced carrots
1 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. dried wakame
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup water
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. tamari
Place everything in a food processor except for the carrot pulp and chopped celery. Blend until smooth and creamy. Place carrot pulp, celery and dressing into a bowl. Mix until well-combined.
Posted in Recipe, Side Dish | Tagged carrots, cashews, curry, dairy-free, raw food, raw vegan recipe, Recipe, superfood, vivapura | Leave a Comment »
January 21, 2010 by Erika
My husband is very fond of chocolate pudding. He’s always loved the recipe in Raw Food, Real World by Sarma Menlgailis & Matthew Kenney. I’m pretty fond of that recipe as well, especially when I get it from Pure Food & Wine directly, they put crushed berries in the bottom.
As of late though I haven’t been using many Thai Young Coconuts. I don’t see them that often in our town and I’m a bit concerned about the way they are produced and shipped. After making many successful frostings with Coconut Creme I started thinking that I could make a nice pudding with that as a base. The result was delicious, but more of a mousse than a pudding!
Raw Chocolate Mousse
1/2 ripe avocado
5 tbs. Cacao Powder
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Powder
1/4 cup raw honey or other liquid sweetener
1/2 cup of milk-type liquid (nut or seed milk, coconut milk or raw dairy)
1/2 container Coconut Creme Original, melted
11 drops liquid stevia
pinch of salt.
Put everything except milk-type liquid into a food processor and start running. As everything is process slowly add milk through spout. Allow to process until well-blended & creamy. Eat right away! Chilling will cause this to become more solid.
Posted in Desserts, Recipe, Uncategorized | Tagged cacao, chocolate mousse, coconut creme, dairy-free, pudding, raw food, Recipe, superfood, vanilla powder, vivapura | Leave a Comment »
January 20, 2010 by Erika
We just got another new product into the aWarehouse: Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil. This oil is very darkly pigmented and when I first smelled it I was startled by it’s lovely peanut-like aroma. The taste is nutty and almost toasty.
As soon as I tasted it I could tell it would be a wonderful addition to one of my favorite dressings, an asian-styled peanut dressing. I did a recipe some time ago for Wild Jungle Peanut Noodles so I wanted to try something slightly different. I decided to try a Wild Jungle Peanut Dressing with a cabbage cole slaw. The recipe came out quite delicious.
Wild Jungle Peanut Slaw
Dressing:
1 container Wild Jungle Peanut Butter
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tbs. Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil
3 tbs. raw honey or other sweetener
2 tbs. nama shoyu, wheat-free tamari or miso
2 tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
zest from one orange
1 dried chipotle pepper soaked in 1/2 cup of water, remove seeds from soft pepper
1/2 tsp. mineral-rich salt
Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender. Blend on high until well-combined and creamy.
Assembly:
1 mango, peeled and sliced
1 bunch cilantro, minced
1 cucumber, seeds removed & sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 head green cabbage, finely chopped
Wild Jungle Peanuts for garnish
Add dressing and everything except Wild Jungle Peanuts to a bowl. Toss well to combine. Serve with a sprinkle of Wild Jungle Peanuts.
If you eat cooked food the dressing goes extremely well with baked sweet potatoes, but then what doesn’t?
Posted in Dinner, Recipe, Side Dish | Tagged Cabbage, Cole Slaw, dairy-free, raw food, Recipe, Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil, superfood, vivapura, wild jungle peanut butter, wild jungle peanuts | Leave a Comment »
January 19, 2010 by Erika
After a few hectic weeks my juice feast has come to an end. I’m slowly getting back into the kitchen and back to creating some new culinary treats. My list of ideas is growing more rapidly than I can develop new recipes!
The recipe that I am going to share today I made right before my juice feast began. Before going raw Indian cuisine was one of my favorites to cook. It always wreaked havoc on my digestion though so sadly I rarely eat it anymore. I was desiring a creamy tomato curry that evening and had been thinking Coconut Creme would be the perfect ingredient in a raw curry.
Vegetable Masala and Goji “Rice”
1/4 leek, sliced thin
1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped
6 oz. mushroom, destemmed and sliced
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in halves
1 red pepper, sliced
1 lb. carrots, peeled and shredded
1 head of broccoli, chopped into small pieces
1 lime, juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. mineral rich salt
2 tbs. olive oil.
Combine all of the above ingredients and massage until the spinach is slightly wilted. Spread on a dehydrator tray and warm on 115 degrees while you prepare the rest of the meal.
“Rice”:
1 jicama, peeled and chopped
1 white yam, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup Really Raw Almonds
2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup Goji Berries
Add above ingredients except for Goji Berries to food processor. Pulse until everything is chopped to a fine rice-like consistency. Mix gojis in by hand.
Curry Sauce:
1/2 cup Heirloom Sun-dried Tomatoes, soaked in 2 1/2 cups of water
1 clove garlic
2 tsp. cumin
3 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
sprinkle of cayenne powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1 container Coconut Creme Original, melted
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1/2 tbs. apple cider vinegar
2 cups tomato soak water
Add all ingredients except Coconut Creme to a high speed blender. Start to blend, with the blender running on high pour in melted Coconut Creme.
Assembly:
1 bunch cilantro, minced
Remove vegetables from dehydrator and place in a bowl. Stir in curry sauce and cilantro until well combined. Serve curry with goji “rice”.
Posted in Dinner, Recipe | Tagged coconut creme, curry, dairy-free, goji berries, raw food, raw vegan recipe, Recipe, superfood, vegan, vegetable rice, vivapura | 1 Comment »
This is to be the first in a series of recipes submitted by our readers and customers. Remember, if you’d like to get in on the fun send me your recipe using Vivapura products along with a photo and you’ll receive a coupon for 15% off your next on-line order if we use your recipe. E-mail me with your submissions to: erika [at] vivapura [dot] net.
First up is Xell Calderer of Internal Hygeine. Xell is a Certified Colon Therapist and Wellness Coach who runs a thriving practice in Stamford, Connecticut. You can find many Vivapura products at her office!
Xell’s Amazing Chocolate Carob Chia Pudding
Vanilla Brazil Nut milk or nut milk of choice
8 tbs. Chia Seeds
1 cup strawberry/kiwi rooibos tea, vanilla rooibos tea (steeped strong)
or 1-2 cups Vanilla Brazil or Sicilian Almond milk
Whisk chia into liquid and set aside.
In high speed blender (Vitamix or Blendtec), place:
½ to 1 tbs. Ultra Tocos*
2-3 heaping tbs. raw Italian Carob (or use more cacao)
1 heaping tbs. raw Cacao powder
½ t – 1 tbs. GMO free lecithin powder*
2-3 small dates or 2 or more large Medjool date (the dates adds body and sweetness)
1 – 3 tbs. Vanilla Agave (optional) or stevia to taste (for those sweet tooths out there!)
¼ tsp Sunfire salt (can use Celtic or Himalayan)
½ – 1 tsp. vanilla powder
or ½ vanilla bean, scraped (optional)
1 – 2 tbs. lucuma powder
dash of yacon syrup (about ½ T, optional)
small chunk of cacao butter or cacao paste (optional)
1 tbs. coconut creme (optional)
Once chia has soaked for about 10 minutes, place chia “gel” into blender with other ingredients and blend at high speed until smooth. Eat immediately or allow to “set” in fridge for a couple of hours to firm up.
Variations:
Add 1 or 2 tbs. of Vivapura raw almond butter for a more decadent and rich chocolate almond butter cup type pudding.
A banana may be nice here, but watch your food combining! This is already pretty complex. Sometimes you gotta live on the edge, though!
Vanilla Brazil Nut Milk
-keeps for up to 3, maybe 4 days.
1 heaping cup raw brazil nuts or soaked Sicilian Almonds
¼ tsp sunfire salt
3-4 dates or vanilla agave to taste (optional)
½ to 1 T lecithin (optional but adds great creaminess).
1 T plain or vanilla coconut crème (optional)
¼ vanilla bean pod or vanilla powder
4 to 6 cups water
Place nuts and 1 cup water, and salt, in high speed blender, working your way to high speed. Once things look blended, continue blending and fill the container with rest of water (I usually fill while blending and fill until container is full). Blend very well.
Strain through nut milk bag and pour back into blender, add additional indredients as desired. Blend again, and pour into glass containers. Delicious!
Variations:
Pour half of the milk back into container, add 1 to 2 tbs. yacon syrup, and 1 to 2 tbs. lucuma powder for a maple/caramel type drink that is exquisite and so creamy.
Brazil Nut Milk is lovely gently warmed with shaved nutmeg and cinnamon on top.
As a bit of a bonus, Xell also sent me a few juice recipes to help me along on my feast and I thought I’d share them here with you as well!
50% spinach
48% carrot
2% beets
(this is an incredible colon cleanser, too! This is especially good before a colonic)
Another, inspired by Angela Stokes:
coconut water
1 to 2 T green food (greener grasses is lovely)
1 to 2 T Vivapura bee pollen
This is simple and delicious, a great addition to a liquid meals day
Fave green juice
6 stalks celery
1 large cucumber
1/4 fennel bulb
1 to 2 apples (green or Fuji)
1 lemon
1 or 2 heads of Romaine or Spinach
handful of dandelion greens
1/2 pound sunflower sprouts or another head of Romaine
small chunk of ginger (optional)
Delicious – one of my favourite combos.
Posted in Breakfast, Desserts, Guest Recipe Contributor, Recipe | Tagged cacao, chia, coconut creme, dairy-free, green juice, holistic lifestyle coach, Internal Hygeine, juice feasting, porridge, pudding, raw food, raw vegan recipe, Recipe, superfood, vanilla powder, vegan, vivapura, Xell Calderer | 1 Comment »
December 30, 2009 by Erika
Hello! Sorry for the quietness around hear, I got a bit distracted by my juice!
Juicing sure is full of pretty colors!
So a few updates for blog readers and customers. I have had a great set of recipes submitted by Xell Calderer of Internal Hygeine. I hope to post that tomorrow. Remember that while I’m juice feasting I’m looking for recipe submissions! If you submit a recipe with pictures you’ll receive a 15% OFF coupon for your next Vivapura order. You can e-mail recipes and photos to me at erika[at]vivapura[dot]net.
In other news we have a few exciting new products on the site. The first being some amazing Dulse. The second being the second in our new series of gift boxes. This one is the Salad Gift Box. The holidays may be passing us by but what better way to jump start your own healthy eating or that of loved ones than with a gift box chock full of a superfoods with a recipe included? Next week we’ll be adding a new Seasonal Bee Pollen, I’ll post more info when that is ready.
We had a great newsletter go out today, if you haven’t signed up be sure to do so on the side bar of this blog. We send out special recipes, coupons and events. We just started a great Back to Basics sale just in time for the New Year. get 20% OFF the following items: Cacao Powder, Green Hemp Seeds, Really Raw Almonds, Wildcrafted Goji Berries, Chia Seeds, Nori and All Olives! Use coupon code “basics20″ at checkout through 1/31/10.
So those are the main up-dates. Stay tuned for guest recipes, back to basics recipes to help out with your 2010 Raw Resolutions and other tips to help your New Year get off to a healthy start!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2010 Raw Resolutions, cacao, chia, goji berries, juice feasting, new years resolutions, raw food, superfood, vivapura | 3 Comments »
December 23, 2009 by Erika
3 days ago I started a juice feast. While I have a personal blog that I’m posting the details of my feast to my own blog it is also pertinent to this blog as I will not be in the kitchen chopping up any new food creations for a little bit. I do have a few more recipes stashed in my little black book to share with you but once those are gone it will only be some liquid recipes!
So, that gave me a great idea. I want to know what you all are making with superfoods in your kitchen!I would love to have some of our readers and customers share their favorite creations with us. What I’m looking for are recipes you have created & tested with instructions and a photo. If we choose your recipe to feature on the blog we’ll send you a 15% off coupon for your next order as well as a link back to your site from the blog post! You can e-mail me your recipes to erika[at]vivapura[dot]net.
In addition to the recipe project I’ll be posting tips, advice and tricks to help you out with any raw resolutions (as well as more general health related resolutions) you might make for the new year.
As a starter to that series of posts, just a reminder to make a realistic resolution if you choose to make one. I personally love resolutions but something that is inspirational and realistic. Stick to goals to increase the raw food in your diet, to improve your overall wellness or to bring more awareness to your eating habits. Try to avoid resolutions that are all about percentages, exact weights, dogma and crash dieting. Make your new years resolution a promise to yourself to improve your quality of life, not to punish yourself.
Posted in Health and Wellness | Tagged juice feasting, new years resolutions | Leave a Comment »
December 21, 2009 by Erika
Feel the Experience of Deep Relief!
When the new year comes around, are you ready to let go of any guilt, excess pounds or toxins you may have accumulated? Kick start the new year by kick starting your overall health with Elaina Love, David Rainoshek, and Chris Whitcoe during the January 2010 Liver Flush LIVE! We invite you to join us for a FREE intro call on Sunday, Dec 27, 6pm PST. We’ll be continuing to make good on the promises we made to ourselves from last year, (and ), through a collaborative Liver-Gallbladder cleanse, with nightly group coaching.
A wonderful gift for yourself and others. Relax and enjoy the holidays because you know you have a cleansed planned for Jan 10! 
SIGN UP
Overview:
January 10-17, 2010
We know from years of coaching and cleansing that a powerful group energy for transformation is created when we experience a cleanse together. IN FACT, the neuroplasticity of your brain (the ability of your brain and mind to change) is increased when you:
Cleanse
Do something new
Learn something new
Do or experience anything with others
We have established these elements for you in this Liver-Gallbladder Flush to help you with your overall life goals and orientation towards growth and transformation. In our Liver Flush, we will be coaching and training you to establish an ongoing Life Practice that you can rely on for the care of your liver & gallbladder for the rest of your life. In a very deep and integrated fashion, we are placing this cleanse in the context of an evolutionary plant-based diet and lifestyle with nightly conversation topic including:
Liver & Gallbladder
Honoring and Releasing Practice
Colon
Immune system
Plant-Based Nutrition for Body, Mind, and Spirit
Lymphatic System
Digestion
Food Preparation and Combining
Details
$295 (with kit), $195 (without kit), $50 (Returning members, no kit)
Includes:
Daily Group Q&A sessions with coaches Elaina Love, David Rainoshek, and Chris Whitcoe
Complete cleanse manual which includes a 6 day menu with delicious raw, vegan cleansing recipes by Elaina Love
Interactive 24-hour online collaboration and discussion with everyone doing the Flush
Proven Protocol and System of Liver-Gallbladder cleansing that anyone can do
1 Month Access to JuiceFeasting.com
Lifetime Access to the Juice Feasting Green Room
$20 Coupon to Vivapura.net
Receive a shipped, complete liver gallbladder flush kit from PureJoyPlanet.com
Discounts for all future cleanses (Return Members).
The Background
“In November 2009 I was going to do a liver cleanse, and there are a lot of people out there who love a little bit of guidance during the process,” says Chris Whitcoe, M.A. in Live Food Nutrition, and an owner of Vivapura – Pure Superfoods for Life.
So he called up Elaina Love, professional Chef and Instructor, Lifestyle Counselor and owner of Pure Joy Planet, who has just completed her 11th flush as the organizer and facilitator of the Mt. Shasta 5 day cleansing retreat. “I knew that with Elaina’s experiences, we would be able to handle just about any question or concern,” says Chris.
“I also realized that many people would desire to take it even further, and what better than a Juice Feast?” He then talked to long time friend, David Rainoshek, also an M.A. in Live Food Nutrition, creator of the 92-Day Program on JuiceFeasting.com who also wrote/researched (with Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D.) the book There is a Cure for Diabetes. “I’m all about the accessibility of information and transformative Life Practices.” says David. “Let’s make this something everyone can do at home.”
So they facilitated a one week 2009 Autumn Liver/Gallbladder Flush LIVE, and had 33 participants who successfully flushed their livers and gallbladders.
What did the participants have to say about it? Read some testimonials. Because the cleanse was such a success, we plan to continue them in 2010. The next one starts in January!
SIGN UP
Posted in Vivapura Events | Tagged chris whitcoe, david rainoshek, elaina love, gallbladder flush, guided cleanse, health, holistic lifestyle coach, liver flush, nutrition, pure joy planet, vivapura | Leave a Comment »
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