Today there is more buzz about “re-wilding” and it is not just about stripping down to your free self and bounding through the Forrest. Although that is much needed! Adding more truly “wildly grown” foods into your daily meals will take your raw food meals to the next level. So how do we re-wild ourselves while in the city habitat? Well, here is what I did today and I am certain you can do the same.

I live just outside Santa Cruz in a small neighborhood and have a large untamed yard. Our space around our home was just dirt when we moved in nine months ago. We have not sprayed, dumped any yuck into the soil or used city water. Aside from planting our own garden beds, we let what wanted to grow just GROW for it! We had kamikaze tomato plants under the deck, wild roses springing up next to the kale and huge thistles the size of Christmas trees bushing out amongst the peppers. It was like a treasure hunt.

Wild greens are easy to find when you consciously look and notice they are everywhere for the grabbin’! Thing is, most people today pull up, burn or spray these nourishing plants because they don’t recognize them as food or even “pretty” for their landscape. It is a shame we have been programmed to snub our noises at these wild foods commonly referred to as pesky “weeds”. Wild edibles are free food! These amazing plants do not need to be cultivated in order to offer abounding health benefits. Unlike our average food supply that would not last in the wild, these “weeds” are far more superior when it come to nutrition.

Wild greens are packed, I mean super pumped with protein and other medicinal properties from the wild. This is great news for women and mother’s to be especially. Here are some examples of wild greens even you could find right this nano-second by rooting around in your back yard or un sprayed hiking trails.

Meet the Mighty Mulva: This “weed” grows like wildfire! The petals are all sizes and resemble a Lilly pad. Malva Leaf is said to help loosen and expel phlegm and congestion from the lungs. It aids the body in expelling excess fluid and mucus, and because of its soothing, demulcent qualities, it not only removes phlegm, it also acts to soothe and relieve inflammation of the larynx and tonsils, dry coughs, sore throat, hoarseness, lung catarrh, bronchitis, asthma, emphysema and irritation of respiratory passages.

Lovely Lambs quarter: Sometimes growing as high as waist high with thin branches, this very common walk way snack strengthens our immune system. The only weed that round up cannot kill is you guessed it! Lambs quarter! This tender leaf is high in Vit A and C and calcium.

King Daddy Dandylion: The leaves amongst this ever famous yellow flower use to be used to treat liver issues such as jaundice, gall stones. This thin bitter green works wonders for a congested lymphatic system, breast sores and swelling, and ulcers. Good news for breastfeeding mother’s! The dandylion can help with suppresses lactation, as well as come to the rescue with delayed menstruation.

With all the magic that awaited in these free greens, who can turn down a delicious wild green smoothie everyday to support your health?

Here is the recipe or the WILD smoothie I made today.

Wild thing smoothies Served 2 or 1 very hungry yard snacker

2 c tree ripened organic mangos

1/2 c local frozen strawberries

1/2 c organic blueberries

2 loose cups of back yard kale with stem

3 palm sized mulva leaves

2 c pure water

½ loose cup lambs quarter leaves only

1 TB truly raw honey (for optional sweetness)

Step 1: Place all ingredients into blender. Blend till smooth.

Step 2: Pour into your favorite recycled glass jar and enjoy! Snap on lid for safe keeping in fridge up to 3 days.

Melissa Mango

For 112 more recipes visit www.MelissaMangosGreenCuisine.Blogspot.com

Bok choy is high in Vitamins A & C, beta-carotene, calcium and Vitamin B6. Sesame oil has both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids and is actually less prone to oxidation than flax oil because sesame oil contains sesamol and sesamin which are natural antioxidants. The ginger in this recipe acts as a digestive aid, and garlic has innumerable health benefits ranging from antibiotic to cold preventative to promotion of healthy cholesterol levels.

Marinated Bok Choy Salad
by Andrea Livingston of Phytofoods in Portland, Oregon www.phytofoods.blogspot.com

5 baby bok choys
1/4 c sesame oil
1 tbsp nama shoyu or wheat free tamari
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1-2 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
optional:
1 garlic clove, minced
shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes or other vegetable
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Keeps in refrigerator for 3-5 days. Serves 4

1/4 cup chia seeds
2-3 cups coconut water (or filtered water)
meat of one young Thai coconut (you could also use a tablespoon of your favorite nut butter)
1 vanilla bean (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1 tablespoon raw honey (or agave, maple syrup, or other favorite sweetener)
pinch of sea salt

Blend coconut water and meat, vanilla, honey and sea salt in a blender until smooth. Pour over chia seeds and let set in refrigerator for thirty minutes to two hours (the longer the better). Once again…you can make this recipe using any ingredients that make a smoothie like texture. Sometimes I add fresh or seasonal berries, apples, pears, almond butter, lucuma, carob powder, cacao powder…..etc.
Good luck! Let me know if you try it and what your favorite chia recipe is.

This an all time favorite with my family and friends. It is very easy to make, kids love it and its a great dessert to wow people with that aren’t familiar with raw food! Any nuts can be used for the crust. I prefer to use pecans. Be careful not to over process the crust as the nuts will release oils and it will become too greasy. Enjoy this torte topped with fresh fruit (strawberries or raspberries) or sprinkle shredded coconut on top. Keep it refrigerated until serving so that it is nice and chilled. If left out at room temperature for too long it will soften (still yummy but not as much like a pie, more like a pudding). Enjoy!

Crust:
2 cups pecans
½-1 1 cup pitted medjool dates (or enough so that when you squeeze the crust it holds together)
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Pinch of sea salt

Pulse nuts in food processor until slightly crumbled. Add dates and pulse a few more times. Add coconut oil and sea salt. Pulse until uniform and crust holds together when you squeeze it between your fingers. Press into bottom of classic 10 inch tart pan.

Filling:
2 cups cashews (not soaked)
¾-1 cup cacao powder
1 ½ cups water
½ cup coconut oil
¼ cup agave (or to taste if you like it sweeter, less for more bitter)
½ vanilla bean seeded
Pinch of sea salt

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour over crust and refrigerate until firm (1 hour in refrigerator, ½ hour in freezer)

For more great recipe ideas see Andrea’s Phytofoods blog at www.phytofoods.blogspot.com

*Recipe adapted from an idea by Chef Bruce Horowitz at www.thesunkitchen.com

On Saturday, I got to speak with the founder of Tiger Mama on the Santa Monica Promenade. Evita Ramparte is herself having her pregnancy while eating a plant-based raw food diet. She explains the benefits of this and why she believes in in so strongly. She has been eating a raw foods diet since 2004. She healed herself of ovarian cancer around that time though the process of cleansing and alkalinizing her body. Raw foods proved to be an important part of this process.

Terces Engelhart owns 5 raw cafes in the Bay area along with her husband Matthew. They had experiences owning restaurants in the past. Upon completing a 30 day experiment eating a 100% raw food diet, something shifted for them. They instantly decided that their new cafe would be a raw food cafe. This new venture, however, was never about food alone.

The concept for the cafe was based on a board game that Matthew and Terces created called the Abounding River. The game provides an opportunity to see what comes up in your life when you focus on various concepts and ideas. For example, if you focus on what you are thankful for in your life, you will experience a richer relationship with yourself and even find more to be grateful for. This idea put into practice became a great hit. They then applied it to the relationships with the restaurant employees!

Before each shift, the employee has a chance to say what is troubling them, what they are thinking about that could possibly interfere with their ability to be present. Instead of commenting on their issue, or trying to solve it, other employees and supervisors simply listen. This act of witnessing allows the person to express themselves, but also provides an opportunity for them to be free from their perceptions about their "issue." It is simply a perception about a problem that can make it good or bad, troubling or freeing, according to Terces.

Employees are then asked to name one thing what they are grateful for. Along with this, managers are encouraged to recognize and verbalize positive qualities in the staff. By naming them, this allows people to step further into these greater qualities which maybe are at a seedling level, but could grow given the right environment and nurturing.

During this interview, Terces says to me, "I could recognize your commitment to the planet. Now I don't have to know very much about you to recognize some of this commitment. When I name it, it allows you or anyone else to step more fully into it." That was very powerful, and I believe this is true. Many of Terces' ideas that have been put into practice at Cafe Gratitude are described more fully in her book Sacred Commerce.

I was fortunate enough to be able to interview Terces out on her family farm in Vacaville, California. This farm is all organic and now supplies about 35-40% of the produce utilized by the 5 Cafe Gratitude restaurants in the Bay area. The farm itself is quite impressive. There are trays of wheatgrass and sprouts in the greenhouse. There is an abundance of newly planted fruit trees including apples, plums, plucots, oranges, figs, and many many more. The farm itself is quite sustainable. The Engelharts share the land with several others who work on the farm. There is no official housing at this time. Everyone on the land lives in yurts. There is an outdoor kitchen, a sauna, and a fresh water pool. There are only composting toilets, and Matthew is able to use (yes, get this) human compost in a way that it is safely incorporated into soil compost. Though they are connected to the electrical grid at this time, they have plans to incorporate a significant amount of solar power on their land.

There is much more to the interview with Terces than this 10 minute clip. However, I think you will find this first part very compelling. She describes the philosophy of Cafe Gratitude, the community of employees, and how both raw food and the principles of witnessing and giving thanks all come together to make a business that is successful. This success is in the classic financial sense, but much more important to the Engelharts is the richness, healing and upliftment it has brought to the employees and customors of Cafe Gratitude.

Thank you so very much to Terces and the Englehart family for welcoming us into this special place. Thank you to Aya, Terces' personal assistant for helping us to schedule this important interview.

Please share your thoughts with us about the ideas of Sacred Commerce. Do raw foods and business based on kindness and caring about the health and well-being of customers and employees go together well? Let us know!

And of course...what are you grateful for today?

One month ago, she went completely raw and has lost 15 pounds to date. Lisa’s story is very inspring. Also uplifting is the message she is spreading to others. She teaches at-risk youth about Green Smoothies. In her work, she introduces the elderly to raw granola and other treats.

Collard greens are so high in calcium! 1 cup of collard greens has as much calcium as one cup of milk.  They are also high in vitamin A, which is important for your immune system. Green vegetables and green powders (like spirulina and chlorella) are alkalinizing. What this means for you is that minerals are not leached from your body when your pH is alkaline.  This is good for maintaining bone density. When a person eats acidic foods, the minerals are leached from the body, including the bones in order to keep the pH balanced. This is a more likely cause of osteoporosis than not getting enough calcium. Collards, though, are high in calcium, they are alkalinizing and the have one more great vitamin for bone density.  That vitamin is vitamin K.  Studies have shown that vitamin K can increase bone density in osteoporotic people and can prevent fractures. Collard Greens are a Women Go Raw approved food for building healthy bones!

Enjoy these delicious wraps and thanks to Andrea Livingston for a wonderful demonstration of her recipe!

Greens:

8 leaves swiss chard, kale, or collard greens, thick stem removed, washed and spun
1 lemon, juiced
sea salt

Pate:

1 c sunflower seeds, soaked 2-4 hours, drained and rinsed well
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 limes, juiced
1 tbsp red onion, chopped
¾ c cilantro, chopped
½ tsp sea salt
pinch of cayenne or jalapeno pepper (optional)

Wrap:

1 avocado, thinly sliced
1 mango, thinly sliced
1 red pepper sliced
optional: sprouts, shredded carrots, chopped cilantro