Vanilla Macadamia Banana ice cream   

no dairy RAW and vegan! 

6 ripe bananas, peeled and frozen, 2 tablespoons honey, ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder, ½ cup coarsely chopped Macadamia nuts. Place the frozen bananas and honey in a food processor and process until smooth.   Add the vanilla and process to mix well. Add the Mac nuts and pulse lightly to mix. Enjoy immediately, or transfer to a container and place in freezer to firm up for an hour or two. Will keep for several weeks in freezer.   A perfect Summer recipe - add fresh fruits too!

   Happy Earth 

Day 2014!!!

Why Eat More Raw in 2014?  

"Food sustains us, yet what we eat may affect our risk
for several of the leading causes of death for Americans, notably, coronary heart disease, stroke, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, and some types of cancer. These disorders together now account for more than two-thirds of all deaths in the United States." -former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop.

It is estimated that 60% of disease is caused by the SAD diet (Standard American Diet). If food is the culprit, I believe that food can be the answer. As we become mindful about what we eat, we can start to make choices that promote our health over illness. Food is consumed for nutrition but it is also consumed for pleasure. What happens if we learn how to satisfy our pleasure receptors with healthy food?  Our lives improve.

What do our bodies need to eat raw?

What are the building blocks that our bodies need to function? Enzymes, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, protein, essential fats and fiber. These are all provided by our food and are involved in growth, repair and maintenance of the body. Let's take a quick look at each of these and what they do for you.

Enzymes  

Enzymes convert the food we eat into chemical structures that can pass though the membranes of the cells lining the digestive tract and into the blood stream. Their job doesn't end there. Enzymes are the living proteins that direct the life force into our biochemical and metabolic processes. They help transform and store energy, make active hormones, dissolve fiber and prevent clotting. They have anti-inflammatory effects. Enzymes help balance and restore the immune system, and heal many diseases. Enzymes even help repair our DNA and our RNA.  When we cook food, we destroy many of the enzymes that help us naturally digest it.

Vitamins      

 Without vitamins our cells would not function properly and thus our organs would suffer and eventually we would no longer be able to survive. Vitamins help regulate metabolism, help convert fat and carbohydrates intoenergy, and assist in forming bone and tissue. Guess what happens when you cook food? You got it, a large percentage of the vitamins are destroyed.  Viktoras Kulvinskas in his book, Survival into the 21st Century, estimates that the overall nutrient destruction is as high as 80%. Tests have shown that we will lose 50% of the B vitamins while B1 and B12 can lose up to 96%. 97% of folic acid is destroyed
as well as 70-80 % of vitamin C.

Minerals  

Seventeen of the thirty elements known to be essential to life are metals. Mineral deficiencies cause disease in humans. Minerals also have a synergistic relationship with vitamins. They help each other help us. When foods are cooked, many of the minerals are destroyed or altered, rendering them useless and also unable to assist our friends the vitamins.

Phytonutrients  

Phytonutrients are what give fruits and vegetables their color. Phytos protect the body and fight disease. They also fight cancer and help your heart. Phytonutrient are at leading edge of research on nutrition. They provide medicine for cell health. And once again, Phytonutrients in freshly harvested plant foods can be destroyed or removed by cooking.

Earth Day is one of the popular global observances. 
In fact, this day is used for 2 quite similar global observances. Some people celebrate it around the March Equinox, while others will celebrate
Earth Day 2014 on 22nd April. The primary goal of  Earth Day is to inspire awareness and appreciation for the environment.  The first Earth Day was celebrated on 22nd April, 1970.  
It was specifically designed as an environmental  awareness program. Its aim was to educate participants about the importance of conserving the environment.  
In 1990,Denis Hayes organized a global Earth Day. 
 

It was observed in more than 140 countries by 200 million people. Celebrate good clean food!

Leeks are cousins to the old, familiar onion, but the flavor of leeks is sweeter, more delicate, and reminiscent of garlic or chives. Leeks are delicious no matter how they're cooked, and they're often considered to be a gourmet onion because they are less commonly used and harder to find than onions. 

Leeks contain generous amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, making the vegetable a wise addition to a healthy diet.
Quick Fried Leeks—1-2 leeks- sliced thin, 1 tbsp. coconut oil, 3 tbsp. Minced ginger, ½ minced garlic clove.  Quick fry the leeks- stirring frequently- until they become crispy and golden brown.  Place on greens, fish or potatoes…delicious!  (Alternatively, place a lid on the pan and the leeks will cook without browning.)

Watermelon-Cucumber Juice -   4 cups organic watermelon, wash outside rind,  4 organic lemons,  cucumbers or 1 large cucumber, washed.  1.  Prep juicer, watermelon and cucumbers.  Cut watermelon in half, scoop out chunks of watermelon flesh with a spoon.  Cut lemon cucumbers in half, them into pieces that fit into your juicer.  Juice the cucumbers then watermelon.  

Serve immediately, drink as is or pour over a small amount of ice. Enjoy! 

Chocolate-banana ice Kream with Hazelnuts & organic strawberries!
This is a simply recipe that you can enjoy right away! 
6 ripe bananas, peeled and frozen, 2 tablespoons honey, ¼ cup cacao powder, ½ cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, fresh berries!  Place the frozen bananas and honey in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the cacao and process to mix well until smooth.  Add in the hazelnuts with a quick pulse only. 

Enjoy immediately, or transfer to a container and place in freezer to firm up for an hour or two. Will keep for weeks in freezer.  Feel free to blend any fruit or nut with this recipe.  Simply take out the Cocoa if you don’t want chocolate and add in some vanilla paste.
                                D e l i c i o u s !

Special Savings for our healthy friends! 
What’s happening for April & May 2014? 
We want to help you - help your friends - to EAT HEALTHY!!
If you are trying to convince your friends to eat healthy like you –
save some bucks by spreading the organic eating options with Off the Vine!  
Refer a friend and get $10.00 off your next
Mixed or Juicing box!

Call JEN at 850-374-2181 or email us at support@offthevine.org and connect us with your friend and when they purchase their MIXED or JUICNG OTV share, you will get a $10.00 credit on your next MIXED or JUICING share.  A great way to eat healthy, save money and spread the ORGANIC goodness!
Offer good April 1 – May 31, 2014.  Boxes must be purchased and redeemed during this time.

The power of organic.

We know that fruits and vegetables that should be eaten
with EVERY meal.  Organic is necessary because the daily consumption 

of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, not to mention the genetically modified component, creates a real health risk long-term. These pesticides are not only carcinogenic but they also interrupt your natural hormone balance since pesticides are actually xeno-estrogens. These means that they increase bad estrogen's in your body leading to a host of symptoms including weight gain, low libido, hair loss and memory loss. As for fresh fruits and vegetables, we are all well aware of their importance in health. This is where we find the TRUE cancer and disease-fighting components that keep us healthy and young. Not to mention, we also find a bulk of our minerals here (especially in GREEN leafy vegetables), which keep our body ALKALINE. And we all remember why being alkaline is so important right? Alkaline equals TISSUE OXYGEN, and a DISEASE-FREE body.

Steamed, boiled, sauteed, roasted, grilled--asparagus takes 

on different qualities ,however you cook it. Roasting and grilling turns asparagus almost sweet. Steamed or boiled, asparagus retains the vegetable's natural flavor. Pencil-thin spears are even great raw or blanched--use them in salads or serve them as an appetizer alongside a dip of your choice. In case you're wondering where asparagus comes from, it's actually related to the lily. The spears emerge from a rhizome below the soil level and are harvested typically thin and young. Mediterranean in origin, asparagus is now grown in almost every corner of the world, including Mexico, Peru, Chile andthe USA!

Romanesco Salad
(RAW or a steam....)

This was inspired by a thought of a pasta salad or a couscous salad but we didn't want to cook with the grains. So you can use your Romanesco cauliflower as the main ingredient!

Begin by pulling off the small florets from the cauliflower.  Either lightly steam or prepare RAW.  ( a simple quick boil for this dish or GREAT RAW!! )

add 20 or so Sliced kalamata olives

Small amount of chopped capers (1 tablespoon per 4 cups florets ...)

Chopped onion: Green onions, red onions, shallots, whatever you've got.

S & P to taste, Lemon juice, freshly squeezed,
Olive oil:  use a light hand

Fresh herb: I use basil, parsley, cilantro... Chopped. 
You can top your salad with toasted sunflower seeds or another nut might also be delicious.   Enjoy!