What do YOU feed your child? PICTURES PLEASE!

[GypsiAnsara]

Here's the link!

Raw "Cheddar Cheese" Sauce/dip

It's incredibly versatile, too :)

[GypsiAnsara]

Just thought of a time saver I've been using - Hazelnuts and Brazil nuts are the only nuts that don't have enzyme inhibitors - so no soaking required! You can make nut milk very quickly if you suddenly find you've run out. Other nuts I will soak/sprout then dehydrate to have on hand for recipes and snacking.

[DharmaGirl]

gypsi,
how long to you soak and dehydrate your nuts before refridgerating? Thanks in advance!

[eachpeachpearplum]

I adapted this recipe from the book Living Cuisine by Renee Loux Underkoffler. I do not like the taste of buckwheat and substituted almond meal instead.

This recipe makes a LOT but it's worth it!

Fig Newtons:

Dough
2.5 c. almonds (pref soaked & dehydrated)
1.5c. whole oat groats (soaked 1-2 days or more, changing water every day)
1.5.c. pitted soft dates (soak in 1c. water till soft)
2T.oilve oil
1T.vanilla
1.T. cinnamon
pinch salt
wax paper or parchment with a bit of oil rubbed on

Fig Filling
3c. dried figs, cut into quarters hard stem removed
1.5c. raisins
1T. lemon zest

To make the dough: In food processor(FP), grind almonds into flour. Set aside. In FP, chop oats, dates, olive oil, vanilla, cinnamon and salt into a paste. Transfet to a bowl. Mix into paste the almond flour by hand. The dough should be sticky but dry enought to hold shape when pressed.

To make the filling: Drain figs and set aside the soak water. This can be used to sweeten a smoothie or in marinades & sauces. In a FP, chop the figs, raisins and lemon zest into a smooth paste.

Split the dough into four equal parts, set aside. Make two or four equal sheets of wax paper sized to fit you dehydrator screens. Place one Teflex (or wax paper if no Teflex) onto hard counter, not on dehydrator tray. place 1/4 of dough in center. Cover with one sheet of wax paper and gently press down with hands when flat enough use a rolling pin and roll out to edges fairly thin but not too thin(see pic below). Cut off excess and use to fill in gaps. You want to reach all corners. Depending on size of your dehydrator you may need more or less of the dough. Just remember you need two equal parts for each tray of newtons.

There are two ways to complete this.

#1. Spread the filling over entire base leaving a 1/2" seam allowance. Roll out 2nd dough like the first and gently invert over 1st dough & filling.
#2. Spread filling over 1/2 of dough flipping uncovered 1/2 over filling side.

I personally prefer the the first way. Finish off remaing dough & filling. Dehydrate 108 12-20 hours until crust has formed. Invert an empty reay & screen over cookies and flip, carefully removing Teflex sheet. Gently cut into desired shapes and continue to dehydrate until crust forms but still moist inside. Yum!

These keep forever if well dehydrated.

[eachpeachpearplum]

Inspired by the recipe Come Bite The Apple Cookies from Matt Amsdens book RawVolution

Oaty Apple Cookie:

2 lbs red apples, 5-6 apples, such as gala, fuji etc.
1c. agave
1 3/4 almonds ground to rough not fine flour (if soaked & dehydrated use 2 1/4c almonds
1c. oat groats, rinsed, drained & processed in FP until creamy like porrage
1 1/4c. raisins
1/4c. cinnamon

almond butter: optional, add as needed if not holding together well.

In a FP, slice half the apples with the slicing disc. Transfer to a bowl, set aside. Slice remaining apples in FP with the shredding disc. Add to bowl of sliced apples then add agave, ground almonds, ground oats, raisins, & cinnamon. Mix with hands untill well incorporated. Add almond butter if needed. I used a molding ring to shape them.

Shape into cookies double the height you would want the dehydrated product. Dehydrate at 105 over night or until desired firmness.

[eachpeachpearplum]

Inspired by a recipe from Living Cuisine By Renee Loux Underkoffer

Raspberry Peach Torte:

6 peaches, pitted, peeled & sliced then freeze (I used pre-frozen, sliced)
1pt. berries, frozen
4T. agave/honey
1T. Vanilla
1pt. blueberries

Orange Creme Whip:

1.5c. cashews, soaked in 2c water for 30min.
.5c. pitted dates, soaked in OJ below
.5c. Orange Juice (have extra on hand if needed)
2T. vanilla

To make raspberry-peach torte base: Process peaches & raspberries, agave & vanilla in a FP. Flod in blueberries. Press into a 10" pie plate and place in freezer.

To make orange whip: In a VM add all orange creme ingredients and blend until smooth adding more OJ if needed. Spread onto frozen fruit base and re-freeze. Defrost for 10-15 min before serving.

[BeadedGraces]

the pics help so much....as a newbie some of them scare me but I am ok... thanks for the insight though...my kids are gonna love doing some of these!

[coco]

the newest research shows that enzyme inhibitors on nuts are not a digestive concern. sorry i can't link you to a reference for that, i read it on rawfoodsupport where it was posted and referenced by one of the sciencey people. i believed it. soaking is good to soften and add water to nuts and seeds which makes them more digestible but this is not applicable if the nuts are then dried out again.

[eachpeachpearplum]

the newest research shows that enzyme inhibitors on nuts are not a digestive concern. sorry i can't link you to a reference for that, i read it on rawfoodsupport where it was posted and referenced by one of the sciencey people. i believed it. soaking is good to soften and add water to nuts and seeds which makes them more digestible but this is not applicable if the nuts are then dried out again.

Thank you for the info, I'm sure your article has merrit. Unfortunatly for me though I have great difficulty digesting some unsoaked nuts & seeds especially almonds; I suffer from bloating, gas & cramps when I eat them unsoaked. Soaking and dehydrating them really makes a difference for me.

Intersting; I wonder if your info applied to all nuts and seeds?

Thanks for sharing:)

Cheers,
EPPP

[GypsiAnsara]

I have not come across that information before, so have only my only experience to judge by. I find soaked (whether dehydrated or not) nuts much easier to digest and I don't ever feel weighted down after a meal with them. It feels totally different when I eat unsoaked nuts. My almost 5 yr old daughter loves the soaked and dehydrated almonds, but not the ones I have not "processed". She can tell the difference!

By following the time guides in Alissa's book (and they are listed in others as well) I can soak, then sprout most nuts before using or dehydrating, which according to what I have read, increases and changes the nutritional content.

[eachpeachpearplum]

I recently had a an email from a new to raw parent wondering what to feed their toddler and thought I should post it here too.:)

Hi!

I’m so glad you are enjoying my threads and posts. My son has been raw from birth and is now 3 ½. And my daughter has been for three years now because of sever digestive issues. I strongly recommend you purchase the e-books about feeding kids by Jinjee at www.thegardendiet.com she and her husband Storm are raising FIVE beautiful raw kids and the youngest was born just last year (2007). Other books are:

Introducing Living Foods to your Child By Beth Montgomery (I like this little booklet if you can find it!)

Raw Kids by Cheryl Stoycoff

Baby Greens By Michaela Lynn & Michael Chrisemer (good for the science of feeding a little one)

http://www.rawbabyalex.blogspot.com/ - this is a great blog about what a mom feeds her little one

When I first started my son on solids I was still breastfeeding; I breastfed until he self weaned at about 2 ½ years. I read in Victoria Boutenkos book green for Life that the first few months of eating solids sets the body mindset to those foods and that is what your child will gravitate to as they grow up. I have two kids who strongly support this theory.

Here is a list of starter foods I used:

· Green smoothies : water, banana, orange, pear, spinach (is the mildest tasting & most nutritious)

· Mashed avocado: I like to add a tiny pinch of sea salt for the minerals

· Mashed banana

· Mashed avocado w/ banana

· Almond mush – soaked almonds blended with water adding what you like to flavour like banana, soaked raisins, soaked dates. Don’t introduce spices (cinnamon) to early. Also do not include too many nut too early

· Udo’s oil: 1t. a day quickly followed by a sip of smoothie; the earlier you introduce this the better as it does not taste great! My son loves it.

· Whole orange juice: combine water and 1 whole peeled orange in blender and blend till smooth.

· Apple sauce: just apples in a blender with skin. Feel free to add dates, banana, pears etc.

· Fruit salad: great finger food

· Nuts: the soft ones like macadamia, cashews, pecans. Most say to steer clear of giving young kids nuts. I wanted my son to be able to eat this healthy snack without worry of choking so I introduced them young with me in attendance until he became confident with them.

· Finger salad: get them used to eating veggies. Include finger sized veggies, celery, grape tomatoes, baby carrots, mung bean sprouts, etc.

· Dressing & dips: start experimenting with recipes for these so they can dip the veggies in

· Nut milks: these are great. I love to do combos like 1T. of pecans, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds and fresh water plus one date for a great taste. Add fruit of your choice for a fruit milkshake!\

· Apple slices dipped in nut butter

I suggest you do not feed your baby straight juices for many reasons. They are too concentrated and sweet and they will not drink anything else if you get them started. Perhaps when they are older you can introduce veg juices. My kids drink water, green smoothies & herb/fruit teas only – NO juices.

If you can swing it please buy a Vita Mix blender. It’s a lifesaver, truly! Try to keep the foods simple no complicated recipes, just not needed.

I hope this gets you going!

All the best,

Erin

[Radiantly Raw]

Wow Erin, you never cease to amaze me! That is an incredible post!!! You've done it again. WOW!!!! Great info, really. Thank You!!!

[coco]

whew, that's a terrific post! i'll copy that into my files.

i forgot to mention that, good point, about the nutritional content in nuts/seeds and grains going up with soaking/sprouting. for sure, the nutrient balance changes. that may well be what makes them more digestible, i do prefer them soaked as well. just thought i'd mention that about the enzyme inhibitors as i was surprised to find it out myself. it's worth it to know these things though, it certainly gives us more creditbility when talking to doubters or newbies to raw if we aren't telling them the wrong things!

[eachpeachpearplum]

I JUST HAD to post this gem. my son had just grabbed a cookie from the dehydrator.

The cookie is the same a the one in post # 96 , same bowl of batter I had not yet dehydrated. However for these I put half the batter back into the FP and blended a bit, then added to the remaining batter and stirred together. This made the cookies hold together better.

As you can see a satisfied customer!

EPPP

[piyush]

Beautiful pics of beautiful kids.