[Giveaway] Daily Raw by Nadia Petrova

Today, I have a lovely giveaway for you that is a treat for both your eyes and your tastebuds: the artfully and lovingly created eBook “Daily Raw” by Nadia Petrova. Nadia's book oozes with class, calm and beauty while being full of delicious recipes for both the budding and the experienced raw foodist. According to her, “meals have to be tasty, easy and feast the eye the same way they nourish the body. ”

Nadia is honest about the trials and tribulations she went through. Her first recipe is for nut milk, the fantastic dairy-free alternative to cow's milk. She recalls having to make nut milk because her favorite store-bought coconut milk had been discontinued, but her first attempts were not very successful. She stuck with it and came up with a recipe that is different from the nut milk recipes commonly found in raw cookbooks – hers (plain or with cacao) is richer, with a fuller flavor.

She then goes on to discuss liquid meals, which in my opinion are perfect for breakfast. In fact, most of my own breakfasts are 100% liquid. I will sometimes have oatmeal, or raw cereal, but they leave me feeling less than perfect (and less than perfect isn't acceptable, right? :-) ) Nadia has recipes for smoothies, infused waters, lemonade (sweet or bitter), and more.

The next section is on salads and dressings, and covers basic salads like kale salads and more elaborate ones like cucumber salad with fancy nut dressing, or a gorgeous salad with fruits and flowers. To round off the meal, she has many cheese recipes as well as lasagna, pasta, guacamole and more.

I wish I had had time to try them, but soon after I got the eBook, we moved into a tiny appartment while we put our home on the market and packed everything up to go to Oregon. As soon as we're settled down in Portland, I'm getting the book out and trying her Hazelnut Delight with Olives and Feta for sure!

And finally, she covers desserts – delicious creations ranging from chocolate mousse to carrot cake, without forgetting ice cream and fruit crumbles. Nadia completely won me over with her statement about figs, because they are my favorite fruit when they're perfectly ripe and sweet. She recalls:

“In my childhood years, I was never very interested in figs. I remember that the figs sold at the market were only small, bad looking ones that did not seemed appealing at all. My first encounter with the real big, juicy and sweet figs was during my years in university. I studied in the south where it was much warmer, even during the winter months. The fruits and vegetables were different there, bigger, sweeter, more delicious. I remember the first time I was at the farmer’s market and saw the figs. They looked so huge compared to what I was used to that I did not recognize them at first and had to ask what this fruit was. The seller was so amused by my question that she gave me a couple of figs to try for free. It was truly love from first bite. Even 15 years later, I am still crazy for figs.”

“Daily Raw” by Nadia Petrova is a beautiful eBook, and it is clear she put a lot of love and time into writing it. If you can't wait to get your hands on her book, you can support her work by purchasing it here (you can get a sample of the eBook here as well). Otherwise, try your luck in our Raw Mom giveaway!

How to enter:

Leave a comment telling us what your favorite fruit or vegetable is, and why, in a comment below.

Want another change to win? Join RawMom Club and leave a separate comment to let us know you did.

Want another change to win? Join RawMom on Facebook and leave a separate comment to let us know you did.

Want another change to win? Join RawMom on Twitter and leave a separate comment to let us know you did.

Want another change to win? Sign up to get our new posts sent to your mailbox (see the box on the upper right corner of your browser) and leave a separate comment to let us know you did.

Good luck! The giveaway ends April 30^th.

Congratulations Therese T., you won the giveaway! Contact me so that I can have the eBook e-mailed to you.

Come back on Monday for a new giveaway! :-)

We're in Portland!

Hi guys,

We arrived in Portland yesterday and are just getting caught up. Come back soon for a new giveaway and to find out who won the previous one! Sorry for the lack of posts lately :-)

Joanna.

Sh*t Crunchy Mamas Say - Part I and II

Many of you know that I long to be in a community of like minded mamas. We'd blend green smoothies together, work in the garden with our little ones, go on Spring Water Gathering excursions, and more. How fun would that be? I'm hoping to have something like that in Portland.

A few weeks ago, my friend Lauren shared the first video below on Facebook. Wow! This is so me :-) If you're a crunchy mama and haven't seen these videos, you'll get a good laugh out of them!

Sh*t Crunchy Mamas Say - Part I

Sh*t Crunchy Mamas Say - Part II

Raw Apple/Pear Crumble with Vanilla Creme

When Franklin was born, I was not at all prepared for what was ahead of me. I didn't have a support system in place, and I had completely unrealistic expectations. I thought that I would give birth easily, put Franklin a sling, and go about my business as usual. I was so wrong, and it pains me to know that there are moms-to-be out there with the same ideas.

Suddenly, I went from being a self-sufficient, active woman with little to no need for friends to someone I described as "lonely yet never alone". I had almost no me-time as Franklin was always with me and he was such a fussy infant. I could never put him down, and he almost never napped. It was so difficult, and I longed for other mothers out there to join me so we could make food together and chat.

Exhausted, I decided that we should go to Lebanon to see my family and rest a little. My husband and I had had very little quality sleep and needed a break. Unfortunately, a lot of bad things happened to me in Lebanon in the past, and the reminders of those hard times coupled with the fact that Franklin still needed me 80% of the time as I know how to care for him best led to a near breakdown.

I decided that things had to change, and I swore that everything would be different the next time around (I still sometimes think I could handle Franklin and a baby on my own since I have all this experience under my belt, but I quickly figuratively slap myself to get real). I looked for like minded people and found the local Waldorf playgroup. I immediately joined, and when they learned I was a raw food author, they said they looked forward to my snacks (we each pick a couple weeks where we're in charge of snacks).

What to make was a no-brainer. I was going to pick something from Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw for Dessert: Easy Delights for Everyone, and chose the Apple Pear Crumble coupled with Vanilla Creme.

Apple Pear Crumble and Vanilla Creme

It was out of this world delicious, and super easy to make even with a toddler hanging on your pants. If you haven't tried Jennifer's recipes, I highly recommend them. You can read my review of  Raw for Dessert: Easy Delights for Everyone here; everything I've made from that book has been a success. My husband even said that The Cafe (a local restaurant which makes real, delicious food using organic and local ingredients whenever possible) would pay me to make something like that.

Franklin also went nuts for it! This is him licking the spatula. Thank you Jennifer for your recipes that are as simple as they are tasty.

I'm sad to be leaving the Waldorf playgroup but I find comfort in the fact that what I found in this lovely group of isolated individuals will be found in a big part of the Portland culture. All I will need to do is get out of my comfort zone (the walls of my house) and get out there to meet people. I'm going to create an online group to advertise this community I want to build, so expect a blog post soon about that. You can then help me spread the word :-)

[Giveaway] Traveling in the Raw by Robyn Law

Today, I have a special treat for you: one (1) free copy of Robyn Law's new book, Traveling in the Raw!

Robyn was a flight attendant for many years, so she knows what she's talking about. Do you think it's tough to eat raw while you're on the road, or on a 6 hour plane ride? Imagine how things would be if being on the road, or on said plane, was pretty much how you spent your day, every day?

But you can relax, Robyn's here to share her best tricks with you. In this 50 pages eBook, she discusses meal planning, equipment, eating out, and more. She shared many tips I had never even thought of. For instance, she recommends getting the Veggie Passport book or smartphone application to explain in a large number of languages that no, you don't eat meat, or dairy, or anything non-veg*an. Robyn also advises you on equipment to pack (which water bottles are most convenient, safest, what to do if you need a blender but don't want to lug the Vita-Mix, etc.)

The eBook isn't meant for single-scenario vacations. She covers trips lasting only a few days to more than a month (she actually had to live in a hotel room for over a month, and tells you all about eating healthy without a kitchen on hand). And, you don't need to be 100% raw for her tips to work for you.

Robyn's book was so inspiring that I almost felt like going on a big trip just to test out her advice! Hopefully there won't be long, 20-hour plane ride like the one we went through in December, but I know that we'll be going on excursions with Franklin in Portland's beautiful forests, and thanks to this handy book, I know that eating healthy away from my kitchen doesn't have to be a drag.

If you can't wait to get your hands on Traveling in the Raw, you can purchase it here. Otherwise, here are the rules to win your own copy!

As usual, if you did any of these things in the past, let me know and you'll get your entry. For multiple entries, leave multiple comments.

Entry #1: "Like" the Raw Mom Fan Page on Facebook and follow Raw Mom on Twitter and leave a comment here saying you did (= 2 entries),
Entry #2: Join the Raw Mom Club (free!), introduce yourself briefly in the forum AND leave a separate comment here saying you did (= 1 entry)
Entry #3: Let others know about this giveaway on your blog, Twitter or Facebook page and leave a separate comment here saying you did (= 3 entries).
Entry #4: Sign up to get my new blog posts sent straight to your inbox and leave a separate comment here saying you did (= 1 entry).

The contest is open until March 16th at midnight. I will randomly pick a winner on the 17h. Open worldwide.

Impressions of Portland (We've moving to Oregon!)

I have exciting news! My husband got accepted at Lewis and Clark Law School (the best environmental law school in the whole country, and he got a scholarship too!) So, we will be relocating to Portland, Oregon in the next couple of months.

To be honest, Portland was very different from what I pictured. I knew it rained all the time (it really does), so that wasn't a surprise. However, I imagined a big city with all the advantage of one, but divided in such a way that wherever you decided to live, you could still do everything on foot, or use the transportation system and get wherever in 10-15 minutes flat. Not so. As my husband pointed out, it's still an American city, and you still have to drive. Giant bummer there. I don't enjoy driving, and now I will have to drive even more, and on more difficult roads.

Beautiful Nature, Friendly People

Still, I really loved Portland because people are incredibly, amazingly friendly, the city is very green (even in February!), the parks are gorgeous, and it's a very progressive town. The photo to the left shows the beautiful moss which covers nearly every tree there --- it's an amazing shade of green, and I wish you could see it better. And I thought people were fairly nice in the Midwest, but Portlanders are even nicer, and they smile all the time. I felt like a total grouch there, even though I like to think I'm pretty friendly and smile often!

Food, Delicious Food

One thing for sure is that the food there is great. There are many vegan and vegetarian restaurant, and the ones that aren't clearly label everything so you know if your food is dairy free, gluten free, meat free etc. And if you're having meat, you can even find out where the meat comes from! I was pretty amazed by that.

One of my favorite restaurants there was Laughing Planet Cafe. There, I had a bowl of quinoa/barley with tempeh, shiitake, broccoli and Swiss chard (they call it Soylent Green!), and another time I had a black bean/sweet potato/plantain bowl with brown rice and pico de gallo. It was all delicious, filling, and inexpensive. I highly recommend this place.

Frank and Kevin found a hut

Another great restaurant was Nicholas, where they serve Lebanese food. We had hummus, eggplant dip, and the usual fixings. I had read that it was the best Lebanese food in the country, and yes, it was great, but I don't know if it was the best. I guess I'm pretty spoiled because my grandmother's housekeeper (in Lebanon) makes the most amazing food. She's now starting her own catering business and I'm pretty sure it will be a success!

Talking about Lebanese food... We had the pleasure of having lunch with Jim Dee of Pure Jeevan at Tarboosh! This restaurant had been recommended to me by 2 different people, but let me tell you... It wasn't good at all. The service was great, and they turned a blind eye at Franklin's antics (he had no interest in sitting at the table, so I ended up walking him up and down the stairs there.) And I thoroughly enjoyed spending a little time with Jim as well as Todd, my husband's client (I hope we'll spend more time with both after we're settled down).

But the food... First, I ordered a blended yogurt drinks for Franklin (he does not have molars and still chokes on food, so smoothies are usually a good bet for him, as well as guacamole, black beans, soft pieces of sweet potato, etc). Well, it was so salty, I could barely drink it! I chugged half of it, then poured water in the cup for Frank, who still couldn't stand it. I then ordered a cooked vegetarian dish I had tried once and loved, but hadn't been able to make at home, and it was so dry I couldn't finish it. My husband got the mezzah platter, and found everything to be good but not great. All the while, I was kicking myself for not ordering the fattoush, a salad which Jim got, because it looked absolutely awesome. But, I wouldn't have been able to eat it considering I had to wrangle Franklin the whole time.

Onto raw foods! We went to both Prasad and Blossoming Lotus. At Prasad, Franklin had a strawberry, banana, mango smoothie in almond/hemp milk (he looooved it!) and I had the Fiesty Toastada (jalapeno cashew cheese, fresh spinach, avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, scallions & green chili sauce on pumpkin seed pesto raw crackers, served with a side of hot sauce & yam rice salad with garlic tahini dressing). At Blossoming Lotus, I wanted the raw pizza but they were out of mushrooms, so I got the falafel wrap, pictured left, (walnut & brazil nut falafel, tahini-cilantro pate, cucumber, onion and fresh tomato, wrapped in a leafy green, served with cashew sour cream) which was very good. Franklin got the Peaches n' Cream smoothie, and liked it OK (maybe he was not in the mood). Yea, that's an awful photo of me, and I have the nastiest haircut currently, so be nice :-)

I'm excited to be moving to Portland because of all the wonderful opportunities for Franklin, and all the potential fun we're going to have. Finally, my only 2 choices won't be "send Franklin to public school" or "homeschool". I won't be saying much more about it as I have not visited schools yet, but I will keep you all posted! And, I love that I'll be able to gather rain water for my garden (which will produce year round!!) and get spring water to drink. Yay!

Have you been to Portland? What did you think of it?