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Newsletter September 2012
It's the back-to-school issue. But instead of the three R's of education (reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic), we're going to focus on the three F's of raw foods: fast, foolproof, and fun. Raw food is a great way to keep kids (and adults) nourished throughout a busy school day, with meals and midday/afterschool snacks that won't spoil their appetite for dinner. And because you don't use the stove or oven, even preschoolers can participate in preparing meals and treats that will instill a lifetime of love for the joy of raw food. |
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Learning that Lasts a Lifetime
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It's been a while since I was a student. But every year, when September rolls around, I find myself in back to school' mode, eager to start a new phase in my never-ending education in the world of raw food. I think it's good for everyone - kids and teens, and adults, alike -- to keep their minds active by mastering new skills. So I hope people will use the information in my book Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People Revised and on my website to broaden their horizons from a culinary standpoint and learn something new about food.
As an instructor at Living Light Culinary Institute in California and at other locations around the country, I enjoy meeting people and demonstrating raw-food preparation in person. But since everyone can't make a trip to the West Coast or get to one of my local classes, I've created a fun, friendly, online training called Ready for Raw that allows you to learn with me from your own living room or kitchen. In fifteen easy-to-follow interactive sessions, I elaborate on the concepts in Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People Revised to provide a deeper, broader foundation in raw-food preparation. You can make recipes right along with me, following step-by-step as I prepare my latest dishes.
The course will premiere in October, along with my new DVD Raw in a Rush. I'll also begin posting a new free series of online instruction videos in November, offering a different recipe to to try every 2 weeks, and be releasing a new DVD, Raw in A Rush. I'll keep you posted about all these new arrivals as soon as they become available!
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Fast Snacks
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 When the afternoon bell rings, kids of all ages head home for a time-honored tradition that is as venerable as education itself: the afterschool snack. Their minds and bodies have been hard at work all day and mid-afternoon is the perfect time for a delicious, nutritious treat that will stave off hunger until dinner time, and not spoil their appetites for the evening meal. The best snacks are quick to prepare (so that kids don't reach for junk food) and easy to transport (for kids who want a 'grab and go' treat). That's what makes raw foods snacks 'natural' choice in more ways than one.
Fresh fruit is a naturally delicious and simple snack that will quell the urge for sweets. Almost all kids adore apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, and plums. But don't stop there! Other tasty fruits that make great snacks include mangoes, pineapple, and kiwi.
Raw vegetables are another good choice because they are low in calories and high in fiber. To make a veggie snack more kid-friendly, go with carrots and red peppers. They're sweet and satisfy a kid's urge for crunchy foods. I like to make a big batch of sliced veggies every couple of days and store them in a container in the refrigerator so I can grab some whenever I need an afterschool snack myself.
For a more sustaining snack, go with protein-rich foods such as nuts or nut butter. Use nut butter as a dip for raw veggies. Try a banana or a celery stalk spread with cashew butter and topped with a few raisins. Or make an apple "sandwich": slice an apple thinly crosswise and remove the seeds and core with a paring knife. Spread one apple slice with almond butter and top with a second slice of apple. Delish!
Click here to get my nut butter recipe.
Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People Revised contains a chapter devoted to easy snacks. But the desserts in this new, expanded edition are great for snacks, too. In fact, every recipe you'll find is filled with flavor and nutrition and can be enjoyed at any time.
Learn more about the book here.
Spread the word and spread the nut butter!
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Foolproof Vinaigrettes
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I love variety in what I eat which is a major reason that I love raw food salads. One of my favorite ways of changing things up is with a tasty salad dressing. Salad dressings are so useful that I created a new chapter on them for my book
Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People Revised.
There are four simple steps I follow to make a foolproof vinaigrette:
* Step 1 - Build a flavor foundation. I like to experiment combining delicious ingredients such as mustard, honey, tamari, onions, shallots, herbs and spices.
* Step 2 - Choose your acid. Vinegar gives vinaigrette its name, and cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar are both tasty. But you can also use lemon or lime juice instead.
* Step 3 - Add the oil. Traditional vinaigrettes are 1 part acid to 3 parts oil. I prefer a lighter dressing myself, so I use a minimal amount of oil.
* Step 4 - Bring it all together. You can whisk your vinaigrette ingredients together in the bottom of your salad bowl or shake them up in a jar. For a thicker dressing, put your ingredients in a blender and give them a whirl.
Apple Vinaigrette is one of my standby dressings, because it highlights the delicate flavors of greens without overpowering them. And it's perfect at this time of year when apples are super-ripe and tasty.
Get my Apple Vinaigrette recipe here.
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That's it for this month. But before I go, I wanted to let you know that I've created an online archive of newsletters. So if you're a new subscriber and want to see what you've missed or are an old subscriber that has misplaced an issue, you're never more than a click away from what you need.
What I need right now is something delicious. I think I'm going to go make myself a smoothie. (Yum!)
See you next month.
Jennifer Cornbleet
Learn Raw Food
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Fun Tools
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 The phrase 'the right tool for the job' couldn't be more spot-on than in the art of preparing raw food. Gadgets make cooking fun, but they also make it easier to work with various fruits and vegetables and to turn raw ingredients into something that looks and tastes amazing.
When I go into a store such as Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I'm like a kid in a candy store. They have walls and walls of gadgets, traditional and new-fangled, and I can spend hours looking at them and dreaming of how I could use them to make my raw food dishes even better.
Some of my favorites include:
* Salad Spinner - This is a quick, easy, and fun-for-the-kiddies way to get the water out of freshly washed greens. Simply press the soft, non-slip knob to start the basket spinning and use the power of centrifugal force to spin out the moisture.
* Trigger Ice Cream Scoop - Ice cream scoops aren't just for frozen desserts. You can use them to scoop out the flesh of melons, mangoes, and other fruits to create gorgeous shapes.
* Squeeze Bottles - Squeeze bottles can do much more than dispense mustard and ketchup. Use them to 'paint' dessert plates with chocolate or raspberry sauces.
Be creative and have fun. For other great gadgets, utensils, and tools, visit my online store.
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