HiHoRosie's Place

image source Happy Friday the 13th! I'm not superstitious so bring it on. :) Confession: I used to drink Mountain Dew. Note the words used to . It’s been at least four+ years since I last had a sip, but I used to drink more than my fair share (I ain’t kiddin’ folks). Where some drink lots o’beer or Gatorade or Red Bull or Dr. Pepper or Coke or whatever, I drank Mountain Dew. That was my vice but since I didn't drink alcohol, what's the harm in a daily shot of MD? I’d go to Costco and buy cases or stop at the store and pick up a pack if it was on sale, “it’s a good deal!” I’d say. Many of my friends were dew-heads and we’d party-harty downing the dew and chasing it with tons of Smarties then filling up my fireplace with the empty cans (crazy kids). You know, pyramid style or whatever fancied our creativity (like that tree). Just silly mayhem, really. I didn’t think much of it then. Silly young me. What shit that was! Excuse my language but it was and still is. Chec...

The holidays are upon us so it’s time to break out the good eats! We tend to have more nuts around during this time of year for either snacking or incorporating into various recipes. Recently, I had the chance to try some raw macadamia nuts and raw, shelled pistachios from Oh Nuts ! Oh yum! These are great to snack on all by themselves so it was becoming difficult setting some aside for something else delicious. Let’s start with the macadamias. Macs are full of fat – good mono-unsaturated fats – which translate in lots of energy. They also contain ample amounts potassium, calcium and protein. So while it’s probably not wise to eats these non-stop on a daily basis, consuming some now and again, is very good for you. Better for you than buttur n ol (say it like Paula Deen). My original plan with the macs was to make some raw vegan cookies. Mm, that failed (note to self: do not over-process nuts!). But…not all was lost, my friends. Instead, it became decadent, sweet nut butter. Swe...

So I’ve been curious about Irish moss for sometime now but have yet to use it let alone eat it. I plan on using it for raw desserts whenever I get the chance and motivation. Baby steps folks. Hee hee! I should clarify: I have the motivation but it’s usually the lack the time and/or the necessary ingredients. Anyway…I’ve been spotting it at my local raw vegan store but just never got brave enough to buy it. Well, Sam was placing an order through Mountain Rose Herbs (they’re awesome btw) so I asked him to order some Irish moss while he was at it. Hmm…this looks different than what I was seeing at the vegan store. Does this look right to you Irish moss users? I’m used it being lighter in color and in more whole pieces (kind of like this ). Can I still soak this? I purposely haven’t opened the package in case I need to return it. Anyway, there’s also a powder which I thought was interesting. According the profile, it’s mainly used for medicinal purposes. For those not familiar wi...

Before I get started on my post, I just wanted to mention that the winner of the $50 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods was Emily of Healthy Eating, Naturally  – congrats! Now on with the show! When I was pregnant with YS2, I consumed fair amounts of spirulina and hemp protein (both powder and seeds, I prefer seeds over powder any day though) thanks to my wonderful hubby, who was so diligent in making most of my meals, including daily smoothies. He is after all, what I call, the Smoothie Master . We think those two superfoods are some of the reasons we’re so blessed to have such a caaaalllmmmm baby. I ain’t kiddin folks! No, he wasn’t born with dreadlocks and singing Bob Marley but people always comment how chill and laid back he is. I’ve even been offered to trade kids. Ha ha ha! No. Jump to the present – he still loves this stuff. He’s our spirulina boy . Most of the soft foods we feed him are topped with spirulina. I didn’t realize HOW much he loves it though until rec...

I'm eating my kelp noodle salad as I type this. :) What I'm eating was inspired by an Asian-infused salad I thoroughly enjoy found at my local natural market made with organic angel hair pasta. Of course, I quickly adopted my own version at home but had been thinking how I could make a more raw version. Or as Rawdorable says: rawify it. It's not completely raw as I use toasted sesame oil but close enough for me. BTW, if you haven't picked up a copy of Rawdorable's raw cupcake e-book , I highly recommend you do! I was trying to find some info on kelp noodles themselves - you know, health benefits. I haven't found much other than they're low in fat and calories and high in mineral content, particularly iodine . Even though I had sampled kelp noodles before I don't remember much about them. Many raw blogs as of late had been talking about their use of the seaweed so it got me thinking about my salad. Kelp noodles would serve as the perfect replaceme...

Today we ventured out to our local farmer's market to check out the goodies. We didn't have anything specific to pick up but since cherries are in season we picked up a few pounds. YUM! I heart fresh picked cherries ! I'm sitting here gobbling down Rainier and Skeena varieties. You can read up on the various NW varieties here . Sorry no pics from me - my camera is AWOL at the moment. So then it got me wondering: what's so great about cherries besides their yumminess? Here's a sample: A growing body of science reveals tart cherries, enjoyed as either dried, frozen cherries or cherry juice, have among the highest levels of disease-fighting antioxidants, when compared to other fruits. They also contain other important nutrients such as beta carotene (19 times more than blueberries or strawberries) vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, fiber and folate. Emerging evidence links cherries to many important health benefits – from helping to ease the pain of arthritis and g...

Whoa, two blog posts in two days from me?! I've gone cuckoo I tell ya! :) It's Valentine's Day (well, tomorrow), which means chocolate . Mmmm...good stuff. Now, most of us are aware of the many health benefits it has. Antioxidants, magnesium, potassium and so on, so here's a little video talking about this very thing. You know what I say? Go find some RAW chocolate. The doc in the video mentions for the most health benefits look for chocolate that's the least processed. Hmm, that means raw cacao doesn't it? She doesn't say that but I do. Okay, for some of us it's a little harder to find (and a little more expensive) than say your standard Twix bar but if you can, find some and splurge for the holiday! There are options out there however, I'm a big fan of Gnosis Chocolate (I highly recommend my fave, the Cool Peppermint ). Raw cacao, including raw chocolate bars, is the way to go. With the raw "candy bars" you get the most health benefit...

To start, thank you all who've left many well wishes and supportive comments on the news of our expanding family. You truly are the best. Many of you have asked how I'm feeling these days so here's an update: Everything on the pregnancy front is GOOD! Can't complain much really. No morning sickness for this girl however I've had my fair share of bloatiness (I know not a real word). Too often I have that feeling of I'm (sorta) hungry but nothing sounds good. Hubby helps me out (a lot!!!) making sure I'm getting food in my tummy. It's not easy sometimes I'm sure because when I do eat I feel so full. Ridiculously full. Other times though, gimme food! ha ha! But really things have been going really well. And for those wondering, I haven't been strict with my diet as far as being vegan or veg etarian although many times it is vegetarian but other things that aren't so vegan sometimes find their way onto my plate. But I'm also not going about ...

Have any of you seen the commercials for high-fructose corn syrup? The ones claiming it's okay to consume in moderation because it's made from co rn. My SIL and I were talking about this last night (I had yet to see the commercials) but when she told me what the message was I nearly fell over! What ?! They're claiming HFCS is good for you ? You're kidding right? Do we really look like suckers? The stuff is manufactured . It's refined sugar. It's not natural. It's poison. Check out the commercials and brief info on the subject at Little Bird 's blog. What are your thoughts?

Anyone who is a non-meat eater has most likely been asked the question “where do you get your protein?” I was once one of those individuals so I do not judge. It was only after embarking on the raw food lifestyle that I began to really know or learn about protein (okay, still learning). Now I’m sure there were be plenty of people who will disagree or not fully agree with my post and maybe successfully argue for the other side or be content with the path they are on. I’m okay with this. Really. This post is more to point out that there are more ways than one in obtaining protein a body needs or hopefully help answer the question often asked. We all know protein is found in animal-based diets. vegparadise.com But protein is also found in plant-based diets. And lots of it! In fact, every whole food contains protein . Click here to see a great chart comparing various foods by amount of protein or check out the big protein stars: hemp seeds sprouts nuts see...

So the other day for dinner I gave into temptation and ate from a place I hadn’t been to in quite awhile. I won’t name the place but it’s a stir-fry grill restaurant. You fill up a bowl with noodles and/or fresh prepared veggies and a choice of meat if you so desire. Their motto “all fresh ingredients...grilled in front of your very eyes!” And “Where the food is always healthy.” Yeah, well call me a fool! Even though I had been there a million times with no issues before last July (about the time we started going raw) I went a few days ago and paid the price. :( This is my story… I had stir-fry with hot chili sauce (mmm) and teriyaki sauce I went home. I ate it. Now, I’ve had teriyaki meals from time to time. Not often but once in awhile I will for lunch. I’m always left quite parched, you know from all the SALT! Ugh! But aside from that all is usually well. What was different this time? Let’s break it down: I ate late I ate too much It had a lot of teriyaki sauce on it, maybe? I dunno...

I'm sure we all have mile long lists of food faves consisting of some staple items and some depending on the season. To add to my list of fun things I add sugar snap peas. I normally don't eat these or haven't in a very long time but lately, uh yeah! Good stuff! We just got back from Costco where we picked up a couple bags of pesticide-free sugar snap peas. I ate 1/3 of the bag as soon as we got home! CORRECTION: these are preservative-free . Thanks hubby! This was my dinner for tonight. Mmmm...some fresh roma tomatoes peppered and snap peas and a side of balsamic dipping sauce that hubby made. Super good and very filling. A one cup serving provides 1/3 of your daily value of vitamin C and 3 grams fiber. Peas are in the legume family and are rich in protein and low in fat. They are also a great source of vitamin K . You can view more info here and here . Now excuse while I go snap up some more peas. YUM!

So some of “y’all” were wondering about collard greens when I mentioned them in an earlier post . What do they taste like? And are they similar to kale? Well, kids. It’s time for summer school again. Yay! So sit back and read on. You will not be quizzed. More yay! Collard greens to me have always been synonymous with Southern style cooking. I’ve never had them cooked in fact prior to my high raw journey I don’t think I had ever seen what they looked like raw so these leafy greens were completely foreign to me until last year. Taste Don’t remember much about them the first time I had them (sometime last fall maybe?). I take that as a sign now that it means I didn’t dislike them but I also didn’t love them. Indifferent I suppose. Now, fast forward to the other day when we had them for dinner as wraps. I loved them. I found them to be very mild and rather neutral tasting but this could be for a couple of reasons: 1) all the other veggies we stuffed them with neutralized the flavor or 2) a...

Today I had a papaya strawberry coconut smoothie (thanks hubby!). Ever have one of these? They’re super good if you haven’t. Besides being yummy I wondered what the health benefits were. For some of you this may be common knowledge but for me I have a habit to just eat food without giving it much thought as to its health properties; I just know something to be healthy but don’t know why so today I decided to go to summer school for the day and here’s what I learned. Papaya is rich in antioxidants and minerals, which together help promote health of the cardiovascular system and provide protection against colon cancer. Here’s a list of other goodies it provides: · Carotenes · Vitamin C · Flavonoids (plant nutrients, “they biologically trigger the production of natural enzymes that fight disease”) · B-vitamins (there are 8 water-soluble B vitamins that have important roles in cell metabolism ) · Folate (helps produce and maintain new cells and ladies take note: it’s especially vital...