Wheatgrass has well over a hundred vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and enzymes when juiced properly.  It is one of a few super amazing completely natural foods that fully supports the body.  Many don't enjoy the taste of it, as it does taste quite a bit like grass, which it is.  Here's our favorite recipe for a sparkling wheatgrass juice cocktail that delivers the greatness of wheatgrass while turning it into a energizing and refreshing beverage.  

This recipe comes from our book, I am Grateful (the recipes of Cafe Gratitude)

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeno -  remove seeds
• 1/4 cup ginger juice
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbl. tamari
• 1 Tbl.. salt
• 1 Tbl. agave
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/2 bunch basil
• 1.5 cups almond butter (or peanut butter if you don't mind it not being raw)

Blend well in vita mix or high speed blender

Here is the recipe for our special Valentine's day item we had at the cafes on Wednesday!  If you missed it's one night only appearance at Cafe Gratitude, then try making a special meal with this rawesome recipe here!

Ingredients:

I first experienced the joy of kale massages at a retreat for student food activists on an anarchist farm in Sebastopol, CA, in 2010. Yes, I fell in love with it so head-over-heels that I still remember exactly where I learned it, and who taught it to me (an adorable deadlocked girl from San Luis Obispo named Anna).
Why did she teach me to knead these dark green spiky leaves? When kale gets a massage, it releases oils that help lubricate it and make it delicious to eat raw (untouched and uncooked it can be a bit abrasive). When you add lemon juice and olive oil, these soak into the leaves, since they’ve been punctured by your kneading. This means every bite of kale is covered in flavor!

Ingredients

This fresh fruit parfait is a hot item at our cafes - selling out just as soon as it hits the dessert case. Try this recipe with your favorite fruit, or try just the coconut meringue on top of a piece of pie or an ice cream sundae.

Recipe by Chaya-Ryvka Diehl

www.theLivingVision.com

Chaya@theLivingVision.com

The following is a simple and simply delicious recipe - perfect for this season while we still have an abundance of strawberries available. Use it on your favorite yogurt, ice cream, fruit salad....the possibilities go on, on and on. I first created this recipe when playing with raw ice creams and ice cream sunday’s. When I tasted this strawberry sauce the carefree fun feelings of childhood were instantly re-awakened throughout every cell of my being! It’s so easy and so good. I hope you try it out for yourselves and love the outcome as much as I have!

By Heather Haxo Phillips

Makes 2 cups

·         2 cups almonds

·         1 cup Rejuvelac (or 1 cup water with 2 capsules of probiotic powder)

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         1 tablespoon lemon juice

·         2 teaspoons miso

·         a pinch of nutmeg

·         dried or fresh herbs and spices to garnish such as  basil, parsley, rosemary or cracked pepper

 Directions:

1. Blanch the almonds by bringing approximately four cups water almost to a boil and turn off the heat. Add the almonds and allow to sit for 3 - 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the almonds in cool water, then slip off the peels.
2. Place the almonds and Rejuvelac in a high-speed blender and process until smooth, adding more Rejuvelac if necessary to form a smooth, creamy texture. 
3. Pour the mixture into a nut milk bag or cheesecloth-lined strainer (such as a strawberry basket or colander). Allow to strain and ferment for 12-36 hours, until desired tartness is achieved. 
4. Remove the cheese from the strainer and add the salt, lemon juice, miso and nutmeg.  Adjust the salt and lemon juice to your liking.
5. To create a typical chevre-style log, place your cheese as a ball in the middle of a large piece of wax paper.  Roll the sides of the wax paper until you have created a tube shape with your cheese.  Place your cheese, in its wax paper, in the refrigerator 8 – 24 hours so that it can set and thicken.  Just before serving, sprinkle the herbs/spices on all sides of the roll until well covered. Then roll it off the wax paper and onto a plate.  Cut and serve as desired.
6. To mold the cheese into a thick chevre-round, place a nutmilk bag or cheesecloth over your favorite round mold.  Firmly push the cheese into the mold.  Refrigerate the cheese until ready to use, 8 – 24 hours is best.  Plate it by turning over the mold and removing your cheesecloth.  Decorate with your herbs and spices.

Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, the “Chevre” will last for up to one week.

Have you ever found yourself in the position of needing to loose more than 100 pounds?  Have you ever taken a leap of faith from a secure, successful career to choose your own freedom and fulfillment?  Do you know what it is like to loose the weight, leave the job, and learn to fly?

Well, Alison Ottaway does.  As far as miracle stories go, I believe Alison has lived through 3 or 4 of them, and is still going strong.  It all began in her early twenties, when she refused some chocolate raisins offered her by a friend.  One small step gave her the courage to become the woman she knew she was meant to be, exercising at home, shifting her diet, and ultimately loosing over 140lbs.  A year and a half later, she felt like a new person, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

By her late twenties, she was leading a life that by most accounts could be termed 'successful.' She had a stable marriage, a mortgage, and a highly lucrative job at Microsoft. However, her BMW, expensive lifestyle, and nights spent out drinking did not satisfy her, and she found inside herself a growing desire to feel vibrantly free and alive. Again, it was time for

Picnic ready side dish!  Here's a recipe that I've been digging lately.  I found it on the Raw Food Talk forums, which I suggest you peruse !  This is a raw take on the traditional coleslaw recipe and a pretty amazing rendition of raw vegan mayonnaise, if you ask me.  I have a jar of this homemade recipe in my fridge at this very moment, and I've been using it on everything lately.

First, you need to make the mayonnaise: