Spring Restoration Starting

Citrus and Cinnamon Elixir

Ciao Amore! HippieDad is much better, surgery done, back to the office, life is good. I think no matter how old, boys are, they will always find a way to get themselves into accidents.

 Much appreciation for your thoughtful comments.

  I started my spring restoration today, in preparation to the liquid fast starting in a week. The spring season is an inspiring time to do a cleansing fast. The body responds better during the changing seasons. I will be eating much lighter this week in preparation for my first day of the liquid fast on Feb 14.

A 3 days fast helps the body get rid of toxins. A 5 days fast starts the healing process.A 10 days fast completely cleanses and renews the bloodstream, it's all about how far I can /want to go.

It's the best season to bloom and let go of the winter blues, so here I am starting my day with 1 litre of Spring bottled water with lemon/orange rings, fresh ginger cubes, garden mint and a cinammon stick I refill the pitcher throughout the day, ideal to flush the system gently. In this post, my friend blogger ChocolateOrchid has some details on this juicy plan. Much  inspiration from Neeta Bali who is posting her cleansing right now, it's a delight to read...

Simply Carrot Ginger

I am making carrot/ginger juice a daily drink for this week, from saturday, no coffee..! Peppermint /Dandelion/ Anis/ Fennel tea instead. Did I just write 'no coffee'? How fun!?

 This time I will take the simple approach of "no pressure". JuiceFeasting is an extraordinary healing system and I am trying to work my way to 21 days by next summer. Who knows? I might be able to make it.

The reasons behind my desire to do this liquid fast deserves a post on its own. Restoration is the main reason, healing, opening the channels... among other things.

I found Carrie L 'esperance book very helpful on this beautiful time of the year.

I am also inspired by The juicing Bible and Ulimate juicing, fantastic Books. Tons of juice combinations, it's amazing how many colors we can get out of vegetables and fruits!!

Green the healing color

 I will be making Katrina Rainoshek Green Beauty Soup, It is a real delight and can't wait to have it again,

Didn't had any cashews,I used brazil nuts and YUM! but from next week, every soup will turn to a broth.

The liquid fast would give a nice break to the digestif system and all energy would switch to healing mode.I am fascinated by those who can go as far as 92 days or even much less!Ah! The Optimum Restoration.

Berries shake

Drinking Purple in Bluberries, banana, water, bee pollen smoothie.
I will focus on more cleansing goodies like: apples, lemons, lime, cucumbers,ginger, greens, beets...I wish watermelon was around!
 ;-0] My all favorite is watermelon, lime and ginger.

Chocolate still in the menu

This will be my treat for this week. I am keeping them in the fridge and will reach for one when needed.

It is an adaptation from The Sunny Raw Kitchen For the Love of Chocolate.

10 tbs organic coconut oil

10 tbs organic cacao

3 tbs organic dates syrup

Brazil nuts

Mix, put in ice tray, freeze, enjoy

XoXo

My First Arabian Gift-Away

The Arabian Valentine Gift-Away

I finally managed to put together My First Valentine Arabian gift-away, it's a combination of organic soaps, 2 Natural luffas, 500g of Dead Sea salts and 500g of organic green cardamom. YaY!

As mentioned in this post , one of the things that makes me happy is giving something to someone...I am ecstatic right now!!

Don't Be Shy! Enter to Win! Everyone has a chance!

 To Enter Leave a comment and let me know why you want this gift-away. The Winner will be announced friday the 12th of February!

Local Organic hand made Laurel & olive oil soap

The History of Laurel & Olive oil soap originated in Syria over a 1000 years ago, These soaps are organic, hand made and do not contain any additives or artificial perfumes. They smell gorgeous and perfect for the daily shower, to keep your skin nourished and healthy.

Two Organic Natural Luffa to go with the soap!

Those are wonderful for the skin, you can cut them into smaller pieces. Make sure to take out the seeds.

Soak them over night in warm water with white vinegar. Give it a good wash with water only and they are ready for the morning shower.

Check the link for more on the plant.

500 g of Natural Dead Sea Salts with frankincence oil and rose petals

You cand find one of my Dead Sea moments here

500g of Organic Green Cardamom

In the Middle East, green cardamom powder is used as a spice for sweet dishes as well as traditional flavouring in coffee and tea. Cardamom pods are ground together with coffee beans to produce a powdered mixture of the two, which is boiled with water to make coffee. Cardamom is also used in some extent in savoury dishes. In Arabic, cardamom is called al-Hayl

Cardamom has the most amazing intensely aromatic fragrance. enjoy from the second you open the box!

Love & Light to all of you

A Quick Ciao

Picture taken by Christine at OneLuckyDuck

Ciao my dear bloggies! I love real juice and I couldn't help myself asking Christine to borrow this photo for a day! It has all the colors I like to drink. I have been thinking about doing a mini juice feast starting the next new moon. So much inspiration from health seekers and bloggy friends. You can take a look at some of the juices taken on my 1st juicy experience here. I will be sharing my juice intake starting feb 14. 

I have a very good idea for my valentine gift-away but I need to hear your thoughts on the subject: What is the item you would want to have from this part of the world? Don't be shy ;-)

It will be a personal gift...It will make me ( and the lucky winner : ) happy!

 

Unfortunately HippieDad got into a little accident and he broke his right hand! So I have special babysitting duties and will be away for a little while...I just dropped you a line to say Ciao!

XoXo.

A Cured Gift

Hello hello lovely beings! Hope everything is going great with you all. My Sweety mother in law sent me the two jars on the left. It is always nice to receive home made treats. We are still enjoying the gifts from last time, she made sure we get pure raw honey in cute jars, sealed Jordanian green and red Zaatar and some other grandma goodies.
The home cured olives are just a delight! The curing process takes 2 weeks. The organic olives are preserved in their oil with sea salt, lemon juice and quartered whole lemons."They will be just right in 5 days" she said.
The other jar is Makdous, which is cured eggplants, they are stuffed with walnuts, chilli pepper and garlic, fermented in olive oil and sea salt. both olives and eggplants need 2 weeks to be perfectly ready.
Makdous is often eaten in Lebanon with plain yogurt. I will be adding it to tomatoe,greens or pepper salads. The combination of chilli & garlic in this savory condiment will give any salad or sandwich... a nice kick!
 Makdous is an important element of the lebanese Meze and can be enjoyed in many ways.
If you are interested in making it. You can find the recipe here with the exact amount of ingredients needed.

 Lemony olives & choosen eggplants that have been stuffed with chilli peppers, garlic and walnuts! What's not to like about it?!

The two other jars on the right have a different story. It is my attempt to make Kimchee. The magazine Health named it in the list of the top 5 healthiest foods, for being loaded with vitamins and probiotics.

I followed The Live Food Experience recipe to make it. I used a medium green cabbage and adjusted the seasonings amount to the cabbage size, it came out delicious. I didn't manage to fill both jars though!

This picture was taken soon after I made it. The ideal was to fill both jars to the top with no room for air at all. but hey! It's my first experience with fermenting! the half empty/full jar ;-) will not be consumed, it was just a part of the whole experience.

The empty one is just a jar that I like!!

I will be using these condiments in my raw meals. More to come! I am also excited about my first valentine gift-away, to show appreciation to my dear readers and bloggy friends.

Stay happy healthy and tuned.

XOXO

Best Bio Buy Baby!

Ciao Ciao Amore! Hope you are all happy and enjoying your week end! This time I want to share what is in my organic goody bag. first of all because it's fun and 2 because I was jumping like a cheerleader when I saw the Vitamin Code stand! Thank's to BIO BEST, none of the organic & health stores (in Riyadh) carries them and I never hoped that my favorite shop would bring them to the shelfs! Youpi!! They did it!

I couldn't leave without a new coco oil jar, raw brazil nuts, the scrumptious chocolate covered greens bars and the dates. I also got some lollipops for the kids but back home the whole family had a white plastic stick sticking out of their mouth;-]

Best buy of the week

Raw vitamins![;-o-) You see! even their pic makes me smile!

1st time I grab these! We attacked the box in the car! Delicious!

Best lunch of the week

Spinach, basil, lettuce, cherries, sundried tomatoes, mixed olives, orange peppers & shredded zucchini

dressed with basil olive oil, balsamic & sea salt.

Worst lunch of the week

I don't know why the mix of fresh tomatoe, provence herbs, basil, capsicum, garlic & sea salt came out so unapealing on shredded salted zucchini. I can't blame any ingredient! so I blame them all!Lol!

Best & only dessert attempt of the week

Antony @Antony in London inspired me to make Ani Phyo's Raspberry Ganache fudge cake along with evergreen @The happy raw kitchen. I was salivating over this cake and now I know how it taste like! It IS really good!! I will certainly make it again when I feel like biting into a rich sweet fudge filled with fresh juicy raspberries.

Love & Health to all.

XoXo.

To Tea Or Not To Tea

@TeaGschwendner in Riyadh. KSA

I was trying to convert lately from a coffee girl to a tea girl! but it's still not working well. My desire to drink coffee is way too strong that I don't have even a desire to fight it..So I went hunting for a good cup of tea. A cup that would have to seduce me enough to give up the coffee one!

I do enjoy tea in the evening sometimes, but some how it's not a habit. I like YogiTea  ,they offer a wide range of flavors and effects.The quotes written on the bags paper is always a bonus! but a cup of yogi has no chance to cancel the coffee moment. The ideal would be to have my am wheatgrass or lemon shot, 1/2 hour later my veggie juice and then 1/2 hour later  coffee a nice soothing healing cup of tea.

I think one of the most fabulous projects (related to Tea) is The Giving Teas Project. Lots of tea blends and a wonderful mission.

I took a tour of the place trying to figure out which one to pick. Intimidating when you are not a tea pro! I decided to go back to the place without the kids and take the time to pick the right one to try.

The smell in the store was amazing, that's a good sign I guess! I might give up the cup of joe!

Every blend is unique among all the categories! That's a lot to choose from when you have no clue ;-]

 The tea below is from my last family vacation, I found the exotic flavors quiet strong. I still have to try the geranium and the malay treasure pandan, and Tongkat which is an aphrodisiac!! The one I enjoy sometimes is the familiar cinnamon, warming but doesn't smell like coffee!

Click to enlarge

Mint tea after a well dressed salad is always nice when I remember to make it

 Organic mint (from my garden ;-) with raw manuka

I leave you with this cup of tea and I would love to hear if you are into coffee? tea? both? or none?!

XoXo

Olive Oil Love Story

@Oliviers&Co in Riyadh. KSA

Hello! Hope you are all well! One of the things I can't live without is olive oil! In addition to the popular internal health benefits and some medicinal propreties, external use is popular too.It is no longer a staple of the mediteranean, olive oil became the universal oil! I love this oil! so I took pictures this time when I passed by my favorite spot for mediteranean flavors Oliviers&Co. I usually use local organic brands but sometimes I would grab a treat from this shop.

Lots of Mediteranean indulgences..

The " Rameaux d'or" collection

This top choice is packaged in a beautiful gold bottle.

The "Grand cru oils" collection

Treated like wine & bottled to preserve warmth & flavor

The "Reserved Harvest" collection which are the oils from the country of origin

& The "Specialty oils" which are made with basil, mint, chili pepper, mandarin or green lemom Mmmm!

Olives Love

The balsamics

What they call "The vegetable collection" is the tomatoe, carrot, chickpea, fava bean, leek, zucchini...irresistible spreads and all green pestos.

Vinegars, condiments, salt, herbs, spices & savory crackers

Hope you enjoyed!

XoXo

Happy 101 Award

Yay! I feel so grateful to receive this lovely award from the Raw goddess Heathy, thank you gorgeous! Mandy and Lauren put it out there too,

 thank you.

Here are The Rules:

"List 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day. For those 10 bloggers who get the award, you must link back to my blog!"

Ten things that make me happy:

Being with my family

Praying

Taking care of my garden

Cooking & preparing raw foods & juicing & juicing

Going back to my childhood home every year

Singing birds

Dancing Salsa

Giving something to someone

Traveling

Doing Body balance

 2 of my heros & me

18 July 09 big hero birthday

Dec 09

My garden story

Since I was feeding the homeless cats, they started to feel too comfy..and turn my organic tiny heaven into a public toilet....I put this net all around both squares, some cleaning was done, soil changed...etc.

 and was sad to throw most of the ocra...cats make me happy too ;-]

Daily Ruby Red juice

There are many bloggers that brighten my days in many ways, some of them received this award already so I am passing it to:

1. Antony Heaven at Antony in London 
2. Neeta Bali at Integral Dynamic & The Healthy Plate
3. Aimee at Sunday is for lovers & Aimee's nasty fruit blog
4. Barefoot and Frolicking
5. Lisa at Conscious Cravings
6. Christine at Fresh Local and Best
7. Isle Dance
8. Stephanie at Purple Frog
9. Raw Hiker
10. Michelle at The Garlic Chronicles

"But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?"
Albert Camus.
XoXo.

Vibrant 2010

Wishing you a Vibrant Beautiful Healthy Radiant Peaceful Wonderful Brilliant Strong Honest Kind Spiritual Human New Joyful Positive Free Exceptionnal Green Happy New Year to all of you.

Life have been full of blues...but you know blues comes and goes! It has been full of greens too! Those I always make sure to drink or/and eat daily. Making Tabbouleh is one of the easiest way to get the greens down, (nothing can beat smoothies!) you can find many versions of tabbouleh recipes on the web, sometimes I add a grated carrot or beet to the mix, playing along is always fun.
But if you want to make Tabbouleh, the signature salad of Lebanon the authentic way, below the simple easy recipe, trust me I am married to a lebanese! and no matter how popular this salad is the Leb way is the best way.
Makes 4 servings
1 Bunch finely chopped parsley
1 Tomatoe ( semi ripe) finely diced
3 Spring oinions finely diced
1/2 cup Bulgur (presoaked in warm water for 1 hour)
Organic olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
Sea salt
Mix, let marinate few minutes and serve on lettuce leaves.
Ps: You can use a food processor but don't let the parsley turn to a puree! like I did years ago.
Enjoy lovelies and stay tuned, more to come.
XoXo.

Some Raw Goods & Services

Ciao ciao bellissima, hope all you are having a wonderful, beauty-full time, waving hands to 2009!

I can't believe that year is over...I have never taken a new year as an excuse to make resolutions, thinking the mind power combined with free will would be enough, at any moment chosen to make a change in the self.

I decided to do so for 2010! Because it's an important year spiritualy and my lucky number is 3!

That is what I am working on right now, my new year resolutions.

I am also enjoying being a juicy Homemaker and the 1st time I heard this word, I had to check it out:

@Wikipedia & I liked the part: " providing goods & services within the household..."

I was providing goods & services within my self as well as the household!!!

& I wanted to share what I have have been enjoying the most lately.

Soup for breakfast

Because it's when I like to have it

1 cup fresh carrot juice

1 avocado

3 stalks celey

2 dates

Sea salt

Sprouts or grated zucchini on top.

Extra blending for a warmer effect

Miam!Miam!

Kristen Suzanne's Harvest Soup

which I savour few times a week

Tamarillo Smoothie

 Previously I was impressed by the red Tamarillo but didn't expect to bump into the yellow 1z.

I was curious to try them in a smoothie!

2  Scooped yellow tamarillo

1 Banana

1 Yellow apple

Juice of 3 oranges

I don't know if I was supposed to scoop the seeds but I did and the taste was banany mostly

Kiwi giant smoothie

4 Kiwi

1 Banana

1 Cucumber

2 Oranges

2 Dates

1 Tspoon barley grass

Persimmon salad

1 cubed persimmon

1 grated zuchini

Cherry tomatoes

Any lettuce

Sprinkled with raw sesame

Juice of 1 orange & sea salt for dressing

or dressing of choice

Berries smoothie

Some strawberries & blueberries

1 banana

1 cup water

Often enjoyed in the evening...

An attempt to recreate a thinner version of Raw Orange Chocolate "Cheesecake"

Delicious!

Getting back to work on my 2010 rawsolutions!! Wish you a great week-end...