Rawsome 'Parmesan'!

I think I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE CHEESE! I don't get it from the dairy cabinet these days as I've found ways to fill that void with so many raw vegan alternatives. One of them is ‘parmesan’. This stuff lasts for months (if you don't put it on every single thing you make!) and really adds that delicious salty, cheesy tang to any dish. I use it on salads, pizza, and definitely raw pasta dishes! 

 2 Cups Of Pine Nuts

½ Cup Water

1tsp Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Sea Salt

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast/Savoury Yeast*

Process all ingredients in a food processor. Spread across a dehydrator sheet or baking paper in a thin layer (around 2-3mm). Dehydrate till firm- about 12 hours. Turn over onto another tray or fresh baking paper and dehydrate a further 24 hours. Remove, cool and break into shards. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, lasts months!

What is Nutritional Yeast anyway?

 Nutritional yeast is made from a single-celled organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae,  grown on molasses and then harvested, washed, and dried with heat to kill or “deactivate” it. So no it's not raw but it's vegan and a good source of b vitamins including that elusive b12 that everyone worries about vegans not getting enough of! It adds a great cheesy flavour to many dishes, I use it in a number of sauces. YUMMO!

Rawsome Berry Bliss Mousse

If you’re wanting something sweet and fresh (don’t we all!) on a balmy summers eve, you simply can’t go past a nice light berry mousse!

I’ve added raw coconut butter (the blended up flesh), you don’t have to, but it does make it really nice and creamy. You can also add the flesh of one coconut, or not, it's up to you! If you like it a little tangier, use fresh berries rather than frozen, or make layers with a fruit coulis (just fruit,coconut nectar and a squeeze of lemon) 

1 Cup Cashews – soaked overnight, drained and rinsed

2 Cups fresh or thawed berries, I like a mixture

¼ Cup Coconut Nectar

¼ Cup Coconut Butter

¼ Cup Coconut Oil

1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds

¼ Teaspoon Salt

Juice of 1 Lemon

Cacao Nibs and Fresh Berries for the topping

Blend it all up, minus the topping ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour into jars, add toppings, cover and refrigerate for around 6 hours and voila, there’s dessert!

Killing You Softly

As you know, our ambition here is to promote a raw, vegan lifestyle to people who want to create a healthier future, that's my absolute passion, but with my background in the food industry, I'm also deeply concerned with the other end of the spectrum, with people who are unlikely to ever hear or care about what we do, where it's just not as simple as saying 'but people need to be responsible for what goes into their mouths!' No. Some of that responsibility rests with the providers of the rubbish food that's making us sick. So while everyone reading this is part of a growing movement to know and grow your own food and take control of your health (and power to you!) there is a much bigger percentage of our population headed for our hospitals: which are being 'expanded' at an alarming and expensive rate.

This video is great, obviously the brand they use is fictitious but we can all insert the name of any well known fast food company. It really is an uphill battle for parents and individuals and most certainly here down under as well as in the USA. I completely agree that working with regulators and local governments will help address the exposure and availability of 'convenience' foods. I am still gobsmacked that fast food chains are allowed to open practically outside schools here and in low socio-economic areas when various cities throughout the world have banned them, even in LA!

25,000 Australians die from Obesity related illnesses each year, 10,000 die from Smoking. Compare that to say, car deaths or shark attacks…and the statistics on our children are absolutely frightening. Sickeningly frightening.

Houston, we have a problem!


http://foodmyths.org

Think I'm making up excuses for people who don't know better? Read this, a new report from the World Health Organisation directly links financial deregulation and fast food with increased BMI (Obesity).

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/02/03/free-market-making-us-obese?cmpid=foodinc-fb

“One possibility,” they write, “is that indiscriminate market deregulation favours global food chains at the expense of smaller farmers and local food systems.” (Ya think?!!) The global expansion of MANY fast food brands certainly supports that hypothesis.

“Unless governments take steps to regulate their economies, the invisible hand of the market will continue to promote obesity worldwide with disastrous consequences for future public health and economic productivity,” says Dr. Roberto De Vogli, of the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of California, Davis, and the lead author of the study. BRILLIANT.

De Vogli is quoted again in this article on the same report http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/government-attacked-over-deals-with-fastfood-industry-pure-illusion-to-think-this-approach-can-cut-obesity-9102820.html from the UK discussing the responsibility of governments to enforce stricter controls on fast food providers rather than cutting deals where they meet certain guidelines. The researchers said that a number of interventions would be needed in all of the world’s developed nations to slow the obesity epidemic, which they said would  also increasingly affect developing nations during the coming decades.

Policies that governments should adopt include subsidising fruit and vegetable growers’ economic disincentives for producers of ultra-processed fast food such as french fries, burgers, soft drinks, sweets and ready meals; and penalties for excessive use of fertilisers, pesticides, chemicals and antibiotics, the  report said.

Fast-food and soft-drinks companies should also be restricted in their advertising activity, particularly on promotions aimed at children, they argued.

“Governments should take steps to regulate the economies – not let the invisible hand of the market self-regulate the food system,” Professor de Vogli said. “That will only lead to more obesity in the future.”

Asked about the Government’s voluntary “responsibility deals” with industry, which the Department of Health claims “tap into the potential for businesses and other influential organisations to make a significant contribution to improving public health”, Professor de Vogli was scathing.

“There is no question,” he said. “Big corporations have a mission to maximise profit. If we hope and expect that profit-driven businesses will safeguard public health, it is pure illusion.” 

As I've touched on above, there are some uncoordinated approaches in isolated communities addressing this correlation, but we need more. Surely down here in Australia we can nip this in the bud? Do our law makers have rocks in their heads or blinkers on? YES, these global corporations cough up billions of dollars in taxes, but SURELY, the health of our nation deserves priority- especially when our sickness industry is under such pressure. Think of the savings we could make if the focus shifted to being well. Imagine (in a parallel universe) if every fast food outlet you know was replaced with a wholefoods alternative. People get hungry. People will eat what's available and of course affordable. Please, you can't tell me that a banana costs more than a Big Mac, it doesn't. The 'eating healthy is expensive' argument  is a cop out. There are so many layers and options to a healthy diet, just like an unhealthy one: Big Mac at one end, Duck A L'orange at the other. Banana vs Superfood Smoothie. There are choices and people need to have better ones made available. 

One step back, 10 steps forward. 

Rawsome Raw Class Details Feb-April 2014!

Here’s a taste of what to expect at our next series of classes starting in February! The menus will be pretty much what you see here pending issues with fresh organic produce and me possibly having an even better idea the week before!

All this series of classes will be held at St Andrews Hall, Sydney Parade in East Geelong.Enter around the side where you'll see a big Yoga sign.  By May, we will hopefully have our Raw Ambition kitchen finished, fingers crossed! We’ll be taking a break till about August/ September while we get ready for the next stage of our quest for world domination. Nyahahahaha.

Please email info@rawambition.com.au  to register for a class.

(Please note: All recipes are Gluten and Dairy Free, some contain NUTS but NO PEANUTS).

Feb 15^th : Summer Harvest

In this class we’ll be making the most of all those summer goodies and our menu will include:

Juicing and Smoothies (to start you off for the morning!)

Zucchini Fritters and Tomato Chilli Jam

Kale and Hemp Power Bowl

Broccoli Bounty Bowl

Sprouted Buckwheat Pizza

Chocolate Mint Slice

Something very delicious with sprouted Quinoa

Something else very delicious that I haven’t created yet that involves figs!

There will be heaps to eat and plenty of discussion, tip and tricks for including raw food in your diet, any concerns etc..

This class is about 4 hours long and starts at 10am

Cost is $100pp. SOLD OUT

March 1^st: Summer Harvest (as above) STARTS AT 9.15! SOLD OUT

March 15: Introduction to Raw Foods SOLD OUT

Yes, we make this. Yes, it's yummy.

This popular class covers the fundamentals of  going raw, plenty of question time and discussions and will include:

•   What is raw and why do it?

•   An easy method of juicing

•   Smoothies

•   Some savoury dishes including pate, bread, pasta and tomato sauce

•   A few desserts including cheesecake and treats!

This class is about 2.5- 3 hours long and costs $80pp and starts at 10am

March 27^th : Introduction to Raw Foods - SPACES AVAILABLE!

As above but this class starts at 6.30pm!

April 5^th : Autumn Gatherings SOLD OUT 

This special class will help prepare you for the cooler weather ahead, we’ll include the following:

Pumpkin and Olive Fettucine

Spicy Coconut Soup

Macaroni Cheese

Apple Crumble

Fried Rice

Pizza and spicy chipotle sauce

And a few other things I am working on in the lab!

This class is about 4 hours long and starts at 10am

Cost is $100pp.

 

The view from the Raw Ambition kitchen- very…rustic.