A Live Foods Workshop

Bob Vaccaro

The flyer says "...Live Foods-Intro to Un-Cooked Foods..." 
 Hmm, I am intrigued by this flyer that I've been seeing at the local Health Food store. Several times I've picked it up and tucked it in my pocket meaning to look further into it, but for whatever reason I never do.  Then my friend Lady Di sends me an email asking if I have registered for the Raw Foods Workshop.   Well, that's all it took to get me off the fence...Let's do it I said and registered that day.  
 Since I've been Juicing and eating a plant strong diet now for over a year (time flies), I want to know more. I want to see what other people do. This seemed like a non-threatening way to do it and since it was called "workshop" it wasn't as intimidating sounding as some of the others I've come across. 

I have the cook books, and I watch the videos' on YouTube, but having a "live" workshop to go to sounds interesting. So yesterday I went.  And I have to say it was really a treat. 

Curried Bean Soup

Here's my problem.  If I don't have a plan for eating when I get home, there is a good chance my brain is going to say, oh well eat something quick.  Fortunately for me, in the last year+ I no longer have "bad" food in my refrigerator or cabinets. So I may end up eating an apple or a banana, or celery stick where a year ago I would have pulled out Cheese and Crackers.  Anyway,  making soups I have found is a great way to have something always available and you can make it in large batches for freezing. 

Curried Bean Soup (chicken optional) - I like Bob's Red Mill Grains. They are readily available at our local grocery stores and even our Local Farm Stand carries them.  I like the mixes that they sell at the store, such as this particular Soup Mix. So far I buy the Black Bean Soup Mix, Soup Mix, Flaxseed, Chia, Red Lentil, Whole Wheat Flour (GF), Rolled Oats(GF, *Gluten Free).

This recipe is sooooo simple.
1 1/2 bag of Bob's Red Mill Soup mix
8 cups of veggy broth
1 onion chopped
2 celery chopped
1 large carrot chopped
(In my opinion you can add what ever veggies you want)
1 Tsp Curry Powder
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
(Salt/Pepper to taste)

Saute veggy's for about 7 minutes. at same time you can start the broth and add the soup mix. Just before you add the veggies to the soup mix, add the curry and garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or so, don't burn it.  Add this to the broth and beans and bring to a boil then simmer for at least 2 hours (if you soak the beans the night before - which I always forget to do, the cooking time is less - but you'll know when it's done when the beans are soft.

This taste great and it's even better the next day.  Serve it with a salad and your good!

*Gluten Free.  There is a lot of talk about Gluten Free these days.  What's it all about?  I came across a couple of videos on the topic I want to share:  The first one Dr. Peter Glidden  on the subject about Gluten explains (in a more technical way) why Gluten (found in Wheat, Barley, Rye and Oats and most processed foods) is bad for a good percentage of the population.   If you are curious about it watch Dr. Peter Gliddens lecture below.



Another good one is Dr. Mark Hyman who in this video gives a more user friendly talk on the subject of Gluten and how it could be hurting you.



No Gluten here! Every Day I Juice - Super C (1 Beet, 1 Red Bell Pepper, 3-4 carrots, 1 orange), and Mean Green (Cucumber, Celery, Kale (or spinach),1 Granny Smith Apple, 1" fresh ginger, 1/2 lemon).