The All Natural Way to Cook

freshfruitveg

Everyone at some point in their life has eaten raw foods. All natural foods are extremely healthy for you and are so simple to prepare. There are so many ways to incorporate them into a daily diet. Natural foods are filled with nutrients and vitamins the body craves.  Raw foods also are a time saver. They don’t require a great deal of preparation which allows for more free time. Here are a few basics about all natural foods.

Raw Vegetables

Lettuce it can be used in salads or added to a sandwich as a healthy addition
Broccoli can be used as a dipper with ranch dressing or just eat it plain
Onions can be used to add flavor to any favorite dish
Tomatoes can be added to salads, sandwiches or almost anything

Raw Fruits

Apples can be eaten just as they are, used for fresh toppings or in a caramel dip
Oranges make any breakfast a treat and can be placed in drinks or on cereal
Grapes add a little extra to chicken salad, fruit salads or as a snack
Bananas make great toppings for cereal, smoothies or added to a peanut butter sandwich
Strawberries well they just speak for themselves
Berries such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries make great toppers or snacks

There are many more fruits and veggies that are great in their all natural form. Combine any fruits and vegetables to make drinks, main courses and even dessert. The sky is the limit when cooking with raw foods.

All of these fruits and vegetables are healthy and very filling too. Blend them up and suddenly you have a delicious smoothie. Throw a couple berries on your pancakes pr waffles in the morning and spice up that breakfast.

Something you should think about getting is a juicer. This will open a window into the world of raw liquids. What a name huh? Well it exactly explains its meaning. Take an apple or lemon and put it threw a juicer and BAM just like that you have the makings for a wonderful drink to go along with your meal.

Using a juicer will lend an extra hand in helping your children eat healthier. Kids are pickier then adults so adding something fresh they like will help in getting them to eat healthier.

Raw foods are very easily preserved. All you have to do is put the fruit or veggies into a freezer tight bag and pop them in your freezer. You can find bags just about anywhere which makes dealing with raw foods that much easier.

There are ways to take foods that aren’t originally raw and turn them “raw”. It’s a process called dehydrating and it can take foods and give them different tastes and textures and give us more varieties of healthier foods.

Though raw foods are very healthy for you they are not easy to come by. Yes, you can cook them all day and all night in your home but trying to go out to a restaurant and get a raw food platter could be a little tougher than you might think. Most restaurants even though they tell you the food is raw, have probably soaked or cooked the foods in some shape or form.

All natural foods are a great way to incorporate nutritious foods in our diets. It’s one way to get those children to eat the foods that are necessary to help their bodies grow. It’s also a great way to save money and time. Sink your teeth into an apple and see just how great those all natural foods can taste.

White Raspberry Muffins

minimuffins

minimuffinsIngredients:

2 C baking mix
1/2 C white chocolate baking chips
1/3 C + 1 T of sugar, divided
2/3 C of milk
2 T canola oil
1 egg
1 C of fresh raspberries
2 T of butter, melted

How to Cook It:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
With a non stick cooking spray generously spray 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.
Toss together in a large mixing bowl the baking mix and baking chips.
Add 1/3 C of the sugar and toss until blended in well.
Pour the milk and canola oil into the dry mixture.
Break the egg into the mixture and stir until all the ingredients are blended together and moist.
Fold the raspberries gently into the batter.
Each muffin cup is filler 2/3 full with the batter.
Bake the muffin 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Brush the top of each cooled muffin with the melted butter.
Place the remaining sugar into a shallow bowl and dip each muffin into the sugar to coat the top.

For a special treat drizzle the top of each muffin with melted white chocolate instead of the sugar. Any berries such as blueberries or blackberries taste great in these muffins.

Makes 12 muffins

Preparation Time: approximately 5 minutes
Baking Time: approximately 15 minutes
Cooling Time: approximately 2 minutes
Total Time: approximately 22 minutes

Approximate Nutritional Value per muffin:
195 calories; 9 g fat; 3 g saturated fat; 20 mg cholesterol; 300 mg sodium; 26 g carbohydrates; 1 g fiber; 3 g protein

Granola Apple Smoothie

brown-smoothie

brown-smoothieIngredients:

2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 T of water
1 C of prepared custard vanilla pudding
1/2 C of milk
1 granola bar

How to Make It:

In a small saucepan over low heat, stir together the apples and water.
Cook the apples 3 minutes or just until they are beginning to soften.
Drain and slightly cool the apples.
Place the apples in the blender.
Add the pudding and pour in the milk.
Break the granola bar in half and place one half of the bar into the blender.
Blend the mixture just until combined.
Pour immediately into glasses.
Crumble the remaining one half of the granola bar over the top the smoothie before serving.

Add a few blackberries, raspberries or blueberries into the blender along with the granola to make a special treat.

Makes 2 servings

Preparation Time: approximately 15 minutes
Total Time: approximately 15 minutes

Grilled Mixed Fruit Compote

plums

plumsWhat You Need:

4 plums, sliced thin
2 nectarines, sliced thin
1 C of fresh blackberries
1/4 C orange juice
1 tbsp sugar

How to Make It:

The grill is set for low temperature.
Divide the fruit between 2 large pieces of foil placing it in the middle of each piece.
1/8 C of the orange juice is drizzled over each packet of fruit.
Seal the fruit into the packets tightly so the juice does not run out.
Put the packets on the grill for 18 minutes or until the fruit has softened, turning once.
Open the packets carefully over a bowl so the syrup will drain in the bowl.
Place the fruit into the bowl, sprinkle with the sugar and toss gently.