And the winners are?!!!!

It's finally feeling like Autumn!  Yes!

 

This has been a bit of a delayed post being that the giveaway for The Raw Food Diet e-book giveaway, written by Hilary Greenleaf,  ended a couple of weeks ago but there has been a bit of an upset in our lives.   My husband lost his job.  He wasn't the most happy where he was but it's always easier when your the one to say goodbye and have another job ready to go to.  Anyways, we are trying to keep a positive outlook on things.  The love and support we are getting and the people who are looking out for Dave has been wonderful!  He's already had a couple of interviews and we know he will be back to work in no time.  As we are dealing with this and seeing all of the people who have called and are concerned for us I realize something.  With so many people, friends included, that have lost their jobs and are struggling,  these things have brought all of us closer together. Friends and family are what help us pull through these hard times.  That along with the necessity of staying as positive as possible.  I'll keep you posted on the job!

 

Now let's get to the winners of the giveaway.  Congrats to these ladies!!!!

Mandee @ Cupcake Kitteh

LittleMonsttersx14 @ Simple. Easy. Vegetarian.

 

Next up....Vegan Eating in San Francisco!

Yay for raw food!...Global Gardens- olive oil club

One of my goals this year is to try to make more raw food meals. Like raw lasagna, pasta, etc. I don't have a dehydrator yet, that's down the road. When you think of it though, just eating a salad, it's all uncooked, that fruit and those nuts, raw! I guess again it goes back to whole foods.
Also I think in the summer, at least for me, eating more raw foods will make more sense because of the heat, who likes feeling weighed down by a warm and heavy meal. blah!

I usually eat Kale cooked or juiced. At our local health food store, New Frontiers, they have a great deli area with some of the tastiest salads. I tried their raw kale salad and it was sweet and delicious! Now I'm hooked and tried to make one like theirs. I chopped up kale, added cranberries, raw sunflower seeds, carrot pulp, lemon zest. For the dressing I used a
Green Apple Ginger Golden Balsamic Vinegar(see down below for more info on this), agave and sesame seed oil, just a tad. Poured it over and wallah! A light, tangy-sweet salad with a crunch.
Served right along with my kale salad are some Carrot Falafals from Choosing Raw . Now they aren't like the authentic falafals but these are so good! I didn't make the tahini sauce because I didn't have time but I will be making these again and again. I used the oven set at 175 with the door open like Gina mentioned if you don't have a dehydrator.

Regarding the vinegar I mentioned up above. There is this great little olive oil place in Los Olivos, CA called Global Gardens. The olive trees are located throughout the local area. The owner and the employees are very warm, friendly and informative. They do olive oil and vinegar tastings, which is pretty cool! They also have an awesome walnut oil that is so rich and buttery and they have some great tasting spreads and dips. All of their products are pesticide free and mostly organic. You can also join their club and 4 times a year get a different bottle of olive oil, vinegar and a spread, spices, etc. Last time I received(picture above, cat not included) an olive oil, vinegar, a spice mixture and a trail mix using the spice mixture they sent. So if you are a cook it's a great club to join and try different olive oils and vinegars. The bottles everything comes in are also very nice looking. They make great gifts as well. Also if you join the club and happen to have any type of issue they are so quick to resolve the problem. Check out the website clicking here. Let me know if you try them out and what you think!