Raw Food Rehab.....Step Away From the Cake

Like many of you who are reading this, I've sampled some really tasty cooked foods over this past month. I have this amazing family of gourmetesque cooks who love to bring out their blue ribbon dishes for holidays. The way I handle it is this.....I eat a reasonable portion of the dishes I really love, I take digestive enzymes and I put myself into raw food rehab when I've had enough.

I generally like to make a fresh start on January 2nd....not the first since my annual New Year's Day tradition is to toast to new beginnings with a sip of champagne first thing in the morning and eat my black-eyed peas at some point in the day. But this year, I am feeling "the call" early, so I'm starting off my New Year today, on December 26th. As I shared with my friends on Raw Fu, here is the list of my goals/resolutions/intentions for the rest of 2008 and into 2009:


1. Get Juicy! - Juice Feast 2.0 - starting now, through the end of January. This will be my very own program of fresh juices, smoothies, soups, teas, smart cocktails and elixirs for 40 days. 100% raw, no booze, liquid diet for the next 40 days.

2. Cardio Workout and Yoga classes at the gym. I WILL walk through those gym doors 4 days a week, minimum.

3. Finish my book.

4. Stay plugged in spiritually. Listen more, read my bible, pray, meditate and journal.

5. Look for ways to love my family & friends in even more meaningful ways.

I'd love to hear what your thoughts, resolutions or goals are for starting your New Year off on a positive note. Please share with me a few of your plans in the comments below. There is just something powerful about putting it out there, in writing. If you need some food for thought, go check out this great, inspiring article on How to Press the Reset Button On Your Life. (thanks RebeccaJ!)

Christmas 2008

These videos and pictures say a mouth full.....you can come visit me in Raw Food Rehab tomorrow. I hope you had a blessed and beautiful holiday!!

Woody Gets Raw in Esquire

Esquire Magazine just released an interview with Woody Harrelson. The environmentally conscious actor, raw food advocate and co-star of the new movie, Seven Pounds, shares a number of things he's learned, including lots of edgy tidbits. I like what he had to say about raw food.....

Woody: "The whole concept of the raw-food thing is, any food you heat over 118 degrees, you kill all the enzymes and most of the nutritional value of the food. The enzymes are as much or more important than the various nutritional things that are always getting all the good PR. But to eat only raw food, you've got to love a salad. You've got to just love a salad. Here you go, try this. It's Ice cream. Mint chip. Good, right? It's raw. No dairy."

Way to represent, Woody! You can read the entire article here. Now I'm off to go whip up some mint chip ice cream!

Real Juicy News......

Real Food Tulsa is hosting the 13th Day of Christmas, a post holiday support meetup on Friday - December 26th at 2 pm. If you're going to be in Tulsa and need an escape from the temptations of rich, cooked holiday foods & desserts, come join me for a green juice or salad at Whole Foods at 41st & Peoria. This will be a totally laid back, casual meetup, so just come say hi and hang out for a bit.

I have been asked to do a couple of lectures at Whole Foods in January and I am totally stoked. If you're near me, mark your calendar and please try to attend as I'd love to have a little support in the audience from my raw food homies! The lectures are as follows:

Saturday - January 10th at 10 am - Post Holiday Detox....Feeling like it's time for a fresh start after the holiday indulgences? Come explore effective ways to lose unwanted holiday pounds while positively impacting your overall health through creative detoxing.

Wednesday - January 21st - 7 pm - Juicing For Fun & Health...This won't be your granola grandma's boring carrot juice class! Come learn easy ways to make gourmet, highly nutritious juices, shakes, and elixirs at home in your own blender or juicer. Taste & Enjoy!

This is hot off the press today....Real Food Tulsa now has a Myspace! Thank to one of our lovely members, Erin, we are socially connected and ready for new friends! Stop by and check out our new site here and drop us a friend request!

From Real Juice Daily's Section - Smart Cocktails: The Chocotini

Last, but certainly not least, I am in the fine tuning stages of a book that has been over a year in the making, Real Juice Daily. It has been a labor of love and it will contain my entire collection of recipes for getting unstuck and getting into the flow! It will include sections on juicing, shakes, smart cocktails, enchanting elixirs, photographs and stories for modern day superheros that want to stay juicy in an uptight, backed up world! Look for Real Juice Daily's release in mid January 2009.

Raw in Dallas

I'm just back from a wonderful 5 day weekend in Dallas, Texas. My hostess and inn keepers were Angela Thomas and her beautiful family. On Saturday evening, Angela, Bunny and I hosted the Raw Fu Holiday Party & Gift Drawing. Then on Sunday, a group of us journeyed to a cool downtown loft studio for a raw class with classically trained chef, Frank Giglio. We had an amazing weekend and I'll certainly have recipes to share as the week continues but for now, enjoy a glimpse into the action:

Holiday Recipes-The Grand Finale

Today is the final post of recipes from last Sunday's Real Food Tulsa Holiday Meetup. I've saved some of the best for the last! The first two recipes are taken from Alissa Cohen's, Living On Live Food.

Crepes

Crepe Shells:
5-6 RIPE bananas

Filling:
1cup macadamia nuts
1 cup cashews
1 large lemon, juiced
4 Tbsp raw honey
2 tsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp water

Strawberry Sauce:
1 1/2 cups strawberries
1 -2 Tbsp raw honey

For the crepe shells:
Place bananas into a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove and spread about 1/8 think onto a Teflex sheet on top of a dehydrator screen. Dehydrate for 14 hours or fewer. Begin checking the bananas a few hours before to make sure they are formed, solid but pliable...not getting crispy. Remove form the dehydrator and slice into strips, about 4" x 2".

For the filling:
Place filing ingredients in a food processor and blend unti smooth.

For strawberry sauce:
Combine strawberries and honey in a food processor and blend until smooth.

To Assemble:
Pour strawberry sauce onto plate in a thin layer so as to cover bottom of plate. Pace scoops of fiing onto banana fruit leather strips and roll up. Place on plate with enough room in between so each crepe is not touching. Pour strawberry sauce over the rolled up crepes. Allow the crepes to sit for a couple of hours with the strawberry sauce on top. the sauce will soften the banana leather and make it more "crepe like" instead of firm and chewy.

Key Lime Tarts

Crust:
1 1/2 cupx macadamia nuts
1 cup saft dates, pitted & soaked
1 ripe banana


Filling:
3 whole large limes
2 cups dates, pitted and soaked
2 avocados

For crust:
In a food processor, blend the macadamia nuts until well ground. Add in the banana and blend until smooth. Add dates, blending until amooth. Pat down this crust mixture into little tart pans to form a crust.

For filling:
In a food processor, blend all filling ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour into tart crusts. Place into freezer to set and before serving allow them to unthaw slightly.

Holiday Bourbon Balls

It's the holidays....why not live a little?!

2 cups hazelnuts, soaked and dried
3 cups Medjool dates
1 cup raw cocoa powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp (or more) bourbon
Pinch of Celtic sea salt
1/4 cup cacao nibs
shedded coconut (optional)

Place all ingredients, except coconut or nibs, into a food processor with an S blade. Process until finely ground. Remove mixture and fold in cacao nibs Kneed dough until a smooth ball forms. Portion and roll into small ball truffles. Dredge in coconut, if desired and refrigerate until firm.

Raw Pumpkin Cheesecake

Since I've already posted about this delicious dessert by Rachel Fracassa in an earlier post and it's also featured on We Like It Raw, I thought you could just go check it out there. ENJOY!!

Penni For Your Thoughts.....

Reprinted from Tulsa World

"Penni Shelton enjoys a lemon burst smoothie at Big Al’s Healthy Foods at 3303 E. 15th St." photo by SHERRY BROWN/ Tulsa World

Ask a local: Raw food guru drinks in the locale

By MATT GLEASON World Scene Writer
Published: 12/11/2008 2:32 AM

Penni Shelton, local raw food guru, writes her blog at www.realfoodtulas.blogspot.com She shared a handful of her favorite places to grab a drink — the healthy kind.

1. Big Al's Healthy Foods, 3303 E. 15th St.

The Stress Relief: A fresh, organic juice with a base of carrot with additional veggies. Chock full of antioxidants. Fresh fruits and veggies, especially in their juiced form, alkalizes the body's pH balance, which promotes a sense of calm and well-being in many people.

The Lemon Burst: This healthy smoothie puts a spring in your step. With a combination of vitamin C in the lemons and the allergy-fighting properties of local honey, this refreshing drink can help keep seasonal allergies and colds at bay.

2. Akin's Natural Foods Market, 7807 E. 51st St.

Penni's Happy Bunny: Carrot, apple, lemon and ginger make for a jazzy carrot juice that's like nothing you've ever tried. Power-packed with flavor and nutrition.

3. Whole Foods Market, 1401 E. 41st St.

For some, drinking a green-based juice is an acquired taste. However, it's the best way to absorb mega amounts of nutrient-dense goodness. Adding lemon or lime juice makes any green juice much more palatable.

Basic Green: Big handfuls of spinach, parsley, three stalks of celery, apple and lemon juice.

Penni's Power Up Green Smoothie: A combination of spinach, banana,
strawberries, orange juice and spirulina powder. Even though this smoothie is green in color, you'll never taste the green factor because of the sweetness of the fruit.

By MATT GLEASON World Scene Writer

Big props to Matt Gleason and Natalie Mikles of the Tulsa World.....thank you for believing in me and for your willingness and continued support in my efforts to take the message of healthy living to the masses!! You guys rock! Oh, and Mark Brown....you're pretty darn special too!!!