Carol Alt Interview Now Available!

Carol Alt Interview Now Available!

Our much anticipated interview with supermodel turned raw food author Carol Alt is now up and ready to be heard!

Interview Length: 1 hour, 6 minutes

In this interview, Carol answers questions submitted by our mailing list subscribers. Carol answers some of your most burning questions. Find out:

• If she is 100% raw.
• Inside information on her new book, The Raw 50.
• What she eats on a regular day.
• If she has her own raw food chef.
• How she solved the problem of being too thin.
• Why she eats animal products.
• How she travels and stays raw.

And of course...more!

Set aside some time or download it to your iPod.

This is one interview you will not want to miss!

~ Raw Food, Right Now!

P.S. Please note that we had some technical difficulties with Carol's interview. She slowly gets out of sync as the interview progresses, but is still listenable. We will have this fixed in future interviews.




Related:

• Carol's Main Site
• Carol's Raw Site: Raw Nutrition
• Get her book: The Raw 50
• Our Review of The Raw 50
• Raw Pizza Recipe from The Raw 50
  
• From WLIR: Carol to Appear on Season 7 of The Apprentice

Raw Holiday Survival Guide

Photo by petithiboux

The holidays are here! The holiday music is playing in every store, and people seem to be coming out from no where to go to their nearest mall and shop till they drop.

But for us raw foodies, the holidays aren't always joyous. For years after finding raw food, I felt like the month of December was always about other people. It is their holiday. It never felt like I had any holiday spirit any more. And then, last year, something changed inside of me, and I got excited about the holidays!

What I Discovered About the Holidays

I discovered some things out that changed how I looked at the holidays forever. And I can't hold in my excitement any longer. That is why I decided that I wanted to reach out to you. You read this blog, but you might want more than just the posts we write!

Together, we are going to take charge of this holiday season, and make it our best one ever! I mean it!

After all, what if you made the holidays whatever you wanted them to be? What if the holidays means you eat green smoothies everyday...because you like it?!

I want 2007 to be a year we all can remember as the year we made our dreams come true!

So I decided that I wanted to do something special for anyone and everyone that wants to join me on an adventure - a raw holiday adventure. I've never done anything like this...but I'm goin' for it --- I have created what I am calling the Raw Holiday Survival Guide!

What is the Raw Holiday Survival Guide?

The Raw Holiday Survival Guide is a compilation of a lot of helpful information, tips and tricks and other goodies to keep your inspired to stay raw during the holidays! I've been working on recipes I'm giving away for free, as well as some really helpful tips and tricks on staying raw during the holiday season, and a whole bunch of other stuff too, including helpful gift ideas!

You never know what I may think up next.
With me, there is always a lot of variety!

As always I have lots of ideas, and there is even more stuff I'm not going to talk about now, but I just want you to join me in the fun!

All of this is going to happen via email, in the form of daily email messages sent from me directly to your inbox. Some messages will be short and sweet, others will be full of information or articles to get you thinking. From today until January 1st 2008, I'll be sending off emails of raw holiday inspiration.

And to be a part of the fun...the cost is FREE. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Nada! This is my gift to you. I just want us all to have fun with this!

Are you ready for a daily dose of Heidi?

Where do I Sign Up?

All you have to do is click the link below!

Take the Red and Green Pill and Click Here!

Love,
~ Heidi

p.s. If enough people like this whole daily thing, we may offer daily emails for everyday in 2008! If you want daily emails from us you can show your support by trying out the Raw Holiday Survival Guide!

What is Happening at RFRN: The Rest of 2007

Thanksgiving is over, and the "holiday season" has begun. What will the rest of 2007 look like?

We know many people tend to get a little more relaxed with the rest of the year. After all, many people just want to spend time with their families, or spend time avoiding their families. (We just became Auntie Heidi and Uncle Justin, so we're very excited about spending time with our family this year!)

We just have to tell you that we're not getting comfy watching TV on the couch; instead we will be in the kitchen creating new recipes and in the photo studio taking photos of scrumptious, delicious, mouth watering raw food...and lots, lots more!

What are we working on, you ask?

Here's a sneak peak of what is coming up here in the last stretch of 2007:

• We have more articles that will help you eat raw food, right now
  
  
• We have more fun foodie posts coming
  
  
• Before the end of 2007, the Ice Cream ebook will be released! We have just finished our last recipe, and now it is time to have the book edited, formatted and finalized. If you liked our Thanksgiving ebook, you won't believe how new and different this book is going to be! If you haven't signed up for the Ice Cream eCourse, make sure you sign up now!
  
  
• Speaking of ebooks, we are working on some other ebooks designed to help people who have written to us with problems that have kept them from eating raw and staying raw.
  
  
• We are happy to say that we purchased a brand new digital camera! Right now we are getting used to the new features, and soon we will have bright shiny new photos to share on the blog! Look for an upcoming blog post about our new camera.
  
  
• A new Raw Food Right Now Radio podcast will be uploaded this weekend!
  
  
• This last one you won't want to miss.... we have been working on something special for months that we will be releasing on Monday. It's not an ebook, it's not a product, it's not something to buy. It is something we created as a way to give back to the raw community. Check back on Monday to find out the surprise!
  

We are holding back our excitement with everything we're working on..we just might burst!

Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday!

~ Heidi and Justin, Raw Food Right Now

Our Thansgiving 2007

What did we do this Thanksgiving?

Here is a recap:

Last year we spent many, many days working on recipes and writing the Thanksgiving ebook, and responding to the hundreds of people who wanted to make their own Raw Thanksgiving. When it came to Thanksgiving day 2006 we ended up making all of our recipes twice...in the span of a week!

This year we wanted to simplify. Instead of the three days it can take to make all of the Thanksgiving dishes in the ebook we wrote, we spent two days instead. How did we do it? Instead of making ALL of our recipes that we love, we decided to focus on the recipes that we could not live without. For Justin it meant having raw stuffing, and for myself it meant having my deviled egg spread and my Waldorf salad.

The day before Thanksgiving we bought all of the ingredients we would need. Then we made raw stuffing and had a delicious pre-Thanksgiving raw dinner with Justin's Mom. I think the salad that night was the best, with thin apple slices on top of a bed of mixed greens, drizzled with a raw vinaigrette.

On the day of Thanksgiving we made cranberry relish, waldorf salad, some other raw recipes, as well as helped make the other typical Thanksgiving dishes for the rest of the family.

Green Drink on Thanksgiving?

We added a new tradition this year to our Thanksgiving festivities, as we had a delicious green juice before we started eating all of our Thanksgiving dishes. It was refreshing to start with something so light and nourishing, and then proceed to eat the other food we had made. It also helped curb our appetite, and at the end of the day we both felt satisfied although we had probably eaten half the amount of what we would normally eat in a typical cooked Thanksgiving meal.

Due to technical difficulties, we were not able to take photos of our meal, but I assure you it was colorful, beautiful and vibrant this year!

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you blog about it? Share your experience in the comments!

Happy Day After Thanksgiving Day! Hope you're not out there shopping until you are dropping! (Personally, we love cyber-shopping.)

~ Heidi

5 Easy Ways to Make Your Thanksgiving Raw and Your Family Happy

5 Easy Ways to Make Your Thanksgiving Raw and Your Family Happy

When we first went raw, we didn't know how important it would be to create raw versions of holiday recipes. We thought we would bring a green smoothie, some nuts, and maybe a raw pie. We believed that just because we were spending time with our family, it was enough to please them.

We were wrong.

It didn't work out that way. Our families were confused and hurt. They thought we were betraying their traditions. After trial and error, we came up with solutions that made Thanksgiving not only a comfortable and happy day for our families, but one that helps us feel, for just one day, that we aren't the black sheep of the family.

Raw Food Right Now is here to present:

5 Easy Ways to Make Your Thanksgiving Raw and Your Family Happy


1. Make Raw Versions of Thanksgiving Recipes

When we finally sat down and thought about it, we realized if traditions were so important, we needed to meld raw foods with classic holiday traditions. After making raw versions (and better tasting, in our opinion), our families felt much more comfortable knowing that we had made an effort to keep Thanksgiving traditions alive.

Once we got these recipes perfected, we put it together in one easy PDF ebook. You can get a copy by going here: Our Raw Thanksgiving Recipes.

2. Eat With Your Family

Do not eat your food before or after your family. It's very important to eat at the same time they are eating. Go with the tradition, just add raw food! If you are really hungry for a green smoothie, have a little raw something before you leave so you won't feel as tempted to eat what you wouldn't want to eat. But if you make raw Thanksgiving recipes, you're not going to need that smoothie.

3. Do Not Pressure Your Family to Eat Raw

If your family thinks you are judging every bite they eat, they are going to be very uncomfortable. Talk about how beautiful and tasty their food looks. Talk about the aesthetic value of your food, try to steer clear of the nutritional value (unless they are interested).

Try to focus on the other aspects of the holiday - the fresh flower centerpiece, the glowing candles, the festive plates, and Grandma's new sweater. (Yes, Grandma's new sweater has a giant turkey on it and you think it is hideous, but it makes Grandma feel good.)

4. Make Your Food With Your Family, if Possible

If you can, don't just show up with everything made, make your food with your family. Not only will they be fascinated, but they will feel a deeper connection to you. Perhaps bring ingredients for a big salad, and show everyone how you make a fresh salad dressing with flax seed oil and apple cider vinegar. Or show them how you make your mashed potatoes - it's really quite easy and so much less work than the original!

5. Help Do The Dishes

Don't laugh at this one, this can really be important. Those who do they dishes after Thanksgiving are considered Holiday Gods. You will be the hero of the dinner table! Not only that, but with all the extra energy you will have, you can show your family how even a heavy raw food meal won't knock you out. You will also avoid watching football, with snoring Uncle Bill on the couch. (He farts a lot too!)


So there you have it! Five easy tips to have a successful raw Thanksgiving with the Fam'.

If you need recipes, don't forget to order a copy of our ebook. We have it at a special price until Thanksgiving night at just before Midnight.

Heidi's favorite recipe is the Deviled Egg spread (and she never liked deviled eggs until a few years ago?!) Justin's favorite recipe is the raw Walnut Pecan Stuffing. He even asked Heidi to make him a double batch so he can eat more than one serving. What's your favorite recipe that you make on Thanksgiving?

No matter what you do on Thanksgiving, we hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving!

~ Heidi & Justin

P.S. Let us know how the big day went! We want to know details!! And photos, if possible!

P.P.S. Is anyone blogging about their Thanksgiving? Let us all know in the comments.

This Week Is Thanksgiving!

The holidays have arrived! Perhaps you may have noticed as you have been travelling around your town. Grocery stores are now full of Christmas cooked food delights, and all the big box stores have all the holiday decorations out.

But really, it all starts with Thanksgiving. That's when the holidays start to get out of control. Or is it that the holidays begin to have control? Either way, it feels like the holidays are a month and a half rocket ship of adventure. Or for a raw foodist, they can be a nightmare roller coaster ride...

It was a year ago when we first created the Raw Thanksgiving ebook, and now, a year later, it's more popular than ever! People are still talking about Heidi's recipes; it's enough to make her blush! (Of course, it could just be her cheeks tinted from the sweet raw cranberry sauce.)

The excitement continues, as people want tested recipes that are delicious to make, not only for themselves, but for their family members too.

So we are dedicating this week to Thanksgiving 2007! Besides our ebook, how can we help support you?

Here is what we plan on talking about this week:

• We will share our own personal experiences of being raw on Thanksgiving week
• Our thoughts about past Thanksgivings
  
• Fun Thanksgiving facts
  
• Tips and tricks on how to survive not only Thanksgiving, but all the holidays ahead.

After you go raw, one of the first things you will notice is how much holidays are about food. Food food food food food!

Imagine all of those years that you saw your family members on the holidays. How many Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners? How many talks with Uncle Bill over Grandma's fudge? How about when your Aunt Judy makes you a ham casserole..."It's your favorite, dear!"

We've found that with a few good tweaks, you can make the holidays raw and easy! And your family members won't mind a bit!

In fact, we wrote an article in this month's Pear Magazine about this very issue called Can You Have a Raw Thanksgiving?.

So. Can you? Can you really have a Raw Thanksgiving?

You bet you can!

Together, let's have the best Thanksgiving ever!

~ Raw Food, Right Now

Best of Raw Food Blogs This Week

Here are some of the top blogs and blog posts in the raw food blogosphere for this week:

Philip: The Raw Man of the Day

For an excellent real world example of the amazing power of raw food, take a look at Philip. Philip is the creator of the website LovingRaw.com. Philip is sharing the joy of his raw food success story, and what a story it is - he lost 135 pounds from eating a raw food diet. 135 pounds! He was at Raw Spirit Festival earlier this year, and in addition to his well written blog posts, he has started to post video blogs on YouTube. And through watching his videos he shares a very real world approach. Philip is a great example of showing real results.

Freshtopia: Vlogging and Blogging!

Also sharing some real world results is some exciting news from the team over at Freshtopia. It seems that our friends Oscar and Tanja took heed to our request of the 5 people who should start a raw food blog. They felt inspired, and now both Oscar and Tanja are now blogging on Freshtopia, as well as working on some exciting videos that we all love. What is very special about the Freshtopia team, is that Oscar wrote an amazingly honest blog post about his experiences with brain cancer. He shares his honest feelings with dealing with cancer, and the positive outlook on his cancer treatment.

But their blog is not all about cancer. They are highlighting Tanja's culinary skills with two fantastic blog posts of recent dinner parties they held in their home, complete with a gorgeous photo gallery! They also recently posted about the humorously sad situation at the It's a Small World ride at Disneyland. It's a highly entertaining post, with a hint of the sadness of the situation neutralized by Tanja's humor. What will they blog about next?

Why Aren't You On Twitter?

Dhrumil over at We Like It Raw wrote an excellent post this week regarding the awesome-ness of Twitter. Lately in the Twitter world, we have been noticing a community of people connecting with each other. People are getting recipe ideas, getting support when feeling homesick, and feeling connected to their raw friends who live all over the world. If you think you don't have time to blog, but yet you spend hours at the computer all day, go read Dhru's post, and get yourself a Twitter account.

Ultimate List of Raw Food Blogs Update

Ultimate List of Raw Food Blogs Update:

The Raw food community continues to grow.

There are now over 175 blogs on the Ultimate List of Raw Food Blogs! The raw food community is growing, and people are continuing to share their stories of how raw food has changed their lives.

People are getting real. Although some people have chosen to remain anonymous, there are others who have gone public with their raw food success. Either way, people are looking to raw food blogs for information and support.

Here are some highlights of raw food blogs that have been recently added to the Ultimate List:

• Ceres Kitchen
  - Ceres Kitchen is a great example of a raw food blog from someone who is just starting to eat a raw food diet. Both Ceres and her husband have decided to go raw together. Over the past summer the blog has some beautiful photos of food gathered from their CSA. What will they talk about next?

• Raw Around the World - Marissa is a world traveler, sharing her love of raw food wherever she goes. She started her blog last month, and in her first blog post she talks about her experiences living in Berlin, Germany. This is definitely a blog we are going to be watching for exciting updates!

• Raw Endurance -Raw chef Frank is currently working over at the Tree of Life center in Patagonia, Arizona. His blog is full of beautiful photos of the landscape around Arizona, and some scrumptious looking raw dishes too!

• Raw Goddess Healthy - Raw Goddess is quite the raw chef, and her blog is full of a variety of free raw recipes for all to enjoy. As any good blogger should, she tries to include lots of pictures.

As always, you can check the Ultimate List of Raw Food Blogs for updates. Recently added blogs will have a bright shiny New! next to the title of the blog.

How to Cut a Pomegranate With Free Juice Recipe Inside!

It's pomegranate season, and if you've never had one...now is the time!

Pomegranate's are native to the Middle Eastern areas and are in season in North America from September to November.

If you've never had one before, you are going to be surprised. They are very different than any fruit you've probably ever had.

So, instead of spoiling the surprise, join us on our journey as we teach you how to cut and eat a pomegranate! Without further ado, Raw Food Right Now is proud to present:

How to Cut a Pomegranate

Step 1: Cut the Top and Bottom

First thing you want to do, is cut a small slice off the top and the bottom of the pom (as they are often called from those that love them.) The reason you want to do this, is because it will be easier to stand up and cut the rest of it.


Now you are starting to see the mystery that is the pomegranate. What is that stuff in there? What part do you eat? Read on to find out!

Step 2: Cut it Into Quarters


Yow! That's a funky looking fruit!

As you can see in this picture, Justin is cutting the pom into four pieces. The mystery deepens, as we see some crazy looking seed things inside there.

The seeds, known as arils, are what is eaten from this juicy fruit.

Step 3: Separate the Arils from the Pulp


Now here's the tricky part. You want to get a bowl and fill it up about halfway or a quarter with water. Now you are going to pull out all the seeds from the surrounding pulp.

If you don't do it in a bowl of water, you are going to stain anything thing that the juice touches. Just pretend you don't see that little stain on our white tablecloth there...

Step 4: Scoop out the Seeds!


The other reason we do it in a bowl of water, is because the seeds will sink and the pulp will float.

Now you can just scoop out the pulp and strain the water to get the yummy seeds!

Step 5: Eat 'em Straight Up or Juice 'em!

You can eat the arils by themselves, or juice them...or both! If you eat them alone, you are going to get a lot of seed. That's why a lot of people like to juice them.

When you do juice them, combine it with something like apple. Pure pomegranate juice is good, but really intense. Intense in a good way. Sadly, juicing one pomegranate can make a very small amount of juice. If you mix it with apple, you are going to extend the flavor out further.

Here's a favorite raw juice recipe of ours that highlights the full flavor with the pomegranate with the delicate sweet flavors of ripe juicy apples!


Pomegranate Apple Juice
by Heidi Ohlander

Serves 2

Ingredients:
Seeds from 1 Pomegranate
2 red apples (Cortland, Honeycrisp, etc.)

Directions: In a juicer, juice the seeds from the pomegranate as well as juice the apples. When you are finished juicing, stir the juice to combine the flavors. Pour into glasses.

If you decide to use this recipe, it will be oh so good.

So there you go! Now go grab yourself some fresh pom's and give it a whirl. They are perfectly in season right now and will widen your raw food repertoire!

~ Raw Food, Right Now!

Related:

• Pomegranate: On Wikipedia. Some great pics and a well written article.
  

Transcript of Markus Rothkranz Speaking at Raw Spirit Festival Now Online!

While you may not have been able to attend Raw Spirit Festival this year, there continues to be people filing their reports of what they saw, heard, and experienced at the festival and in the city of Sedona. One of the most talked about events of the festival was the speech that Markus Rothkranz gave on the main festival stage.

Markus has just posted the transcript of his speech online for everyone to read.

For now, it's as close as you can get to experiencing what Markus is passionate about. That is, until the Raw World Tour hits your home town sometime in 2008.

Here is an excerpt from the transcript:

For many of you, I don't even need to be here. You know who needs me? The people out there!

We're just a small group. Most of the people out there are "normal" people who have hectic lives, don't care what they eat as long as it tastes good, trust doctors and drugs to take care of their medical problems, and make decisions based on comfort and instant gratification. If I walked up to some truck driver in Iowa and said "let's meditate and drink wheatgrass" what do you think he'd say ? Much of the raw/spritual healing community is like a college campus of students speaking some esoteric language that only the raw/spiritual community understands... and we wonder why the rest of the world isn't catching on. That's where I come in. I'm out there on the street not afraid to get dirty. We need to speak a language these people understand !

Yes I definitely promote raw food. I’m even putting together a world tour to inspire and wake people up.

But all the raw food in the world is useless if your soul’s not alive.

Markus, we couldn't have said it better ourselves. The "normal" people out there need us. And we all need each other, as a community.

Take a moment and read the transcript. You can even imagine Markus is saying the words inside your head. Get really dramatic with it, and let Markus pump you up!

Now go out there into the world and show the world what it means to be raw!

Read the Transcript here:
Markus Rothkranz Speech Transcript from Raw Spirit Festival 2007


Related Links:
Markus Rothkranz: Latest Raw Craze?
Markus Rothkranz Go Raw Now Video 2 released

- Raw Food Right Now

p.s. Markus has not yet taken us up on our challenge to 5 people who we think should start a raw food blog. We'll let you know if he gives in, and starts a raw blog! Markus, we haven't forgotten! We want you to blog!

Share your Love - The Raw Tribute Page

Do you love raw food?

Has raw food changed your life?

Would you like to celebrate the joy of raw food with others who love raw food too?

We recently received a great email from one of our readers, Stephanie, who has created something for the entire raw community, and she wants everyone to get involved!!

We're going to let Stephanie explain her mission...take it away Stephanie!

"Hello! I've set up a raw food tribute that I'm trying to get people to contribute to - the point is to have a space where we can all tell our stories about how awesome a raw diet is, and then have a place to send people who don't believe that it really is amazing. A compendium of positivity is the goal, and it would be great if you would contribute and get the word out!"

- Stephanie

Stephanie has started the party with a selection of some posts, links to free recipes, and the popular Matt Amsden and David Wolfe at Google video, but she is looking for people to share their own stories and their own contributions. Art, music, YouTube videos, favorite raw recipes, and more! We think this is a great way to share raw food love.

Go check out the raw tribute page here:

http://www.gotribute.com/rawfood

(FYI...If you want to contribute, you'll need to log in and create an account. But that's no big deal, it's easy!)

Three cheers for raw food!

- Raw Food Right Now

Roxanne Klein is Making a Comeback in the Raw Food World!

Roxanne Klein in full chef garb, ready to return to the raw world

Has Roxanne Klein Disappeared from the Raw Food World?!

Has it been three years since Roxanne Klein closed up her gourmet, West Coast raw food restaurant that also had a popular take out option? And since that time it seemed that Roxanne was no where to be found. Her book that she co-authored with Charlie Trotter, RAW, continues to fly off the bookstore shelves, but her presence in the raw world seemed a mystery.

Obviously Roxanne has been taking her time getting ready for a comeback, and she is returning to the public eye...with some exciting new endeavors!

According to an article in the San Fransisco newspaper, SF Gate, Roxanne Klein is going to be launching a line of 37 snacks, entrees and desserts that will be available in approximately 30-40 Whole Foods along the West Coast.

Her line is going to include raw ice cream, made from almond milk and coconuts! (but we doubt her ice cream could taste as delicious, or as simple, as our ice cream recipes!)

We are very excited about her new deli project. The thought of being able to go to your local Whole Foods and grabbing a raw meal when you need food on the go is a dream come true!

Roxanne is helping make raw food, right now! For real!

You can read the entire story of Roxanne's return here:
The Inside Scoop: Roxanne's back with a raw food line for stores

- RFRN

P.S. Speaking of raw chef disappearances, where the heck is Matthew Kenney?!

Green Drinks, Dr. Oz and Oprah Part Two

In this post we are going to talk more about green drinks, thanks to the popularity of the Oprah Show entitled How to Turn Back Time Part 2 with Dr. Oz.... so keep reading!

Green Drinks are still being talked about all over the world, as people have had a chance to view their TiVo or DVR, or live outside of the U.S. who saw it the next day.

Oprah said it best in the show as she took her first sip of Dr. Oz's green drink:

"It's like a glass of fresh!"

Fresh indeed. There is nothing better than to have a green juice or a green smoothie in the morning!

For those that are unfamiliar with these green drinks, let us explain the difference:

Green Juice: green juice is usually a combination of a lot of greens (pounds of greens) and other vegetables like celery that are juiced together to create a green juice. These juices are usually very green in color. Some juices have carrots or other colorful vegetables juiced together with other ingredients, and they tend to have an orange or red color. Because they are juiced, the fiber from the ingredients are filtered out, and the end result is a very smooth liquid beverage. Some people feel that juicing is an excellent way to get daily nutrients. Wheatgrass juice is the juice extracted from wheatgrass, and is very popular in juice bars and health food stores.

Required equipment for juicing: a juicer.

Green Smoothies: A green smoothie is a beverage that is a combination of fruits and vegetables that are blended instead of juiced. All of the fiber from the vegetables and fruits are kept intact. Many people enjoy a range of green smoothies. Some have many vegetables and salad greens in their smoothies, and add a bit of fruit to make it palatable. Some people have green smoothies that are mostly fruit, with a few greens thrown in for extra nutrition.

Required equipment for green smoothies: a blender, preferably a high speed blender.

Free recipes!

Here are three examples of green juices and green smoothies:

This first recipe was posted yesterday but due to popular demand we are posting it a second time:

Begin With A Green Drink
by Heidi Ohlander

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:
2 big handfuls of Spinach
1/2 cup parsley
1 rib of celery
1 thumb of ginger, skin peeled
1 lemon
1 medium cucumber
2 apples
ice cubes (optional)

Directions:
In a juicer, place all ingredients except optional ice cubes in a juicer until juiced. Serve in your favorite wine goblet or other favorite glass of choice. If desired, add ice cubes for a refreshing cold beverage.

And now.... here are the same ingredients, but this time this is the recipe that Dr. Oz mentioned at the end of the Oprah show. His recipe needed a bit of clarification, so our changes have been added below to help you understand his recipe.

Dr. Oz Green Drink
Modifications made by Heidi Ohlander
Serves 1-2

Ingredients:
1 Cup Spinach
4 Celery Stalks
1 Cucumber
1 Large Apple (cored and peeled)
1 Lemon (juiced in a citrus juicer or by hand)
1 Lime (juiced in a citrus juicer or by hand)
1/2 Inch Piece of fresh Ginger (peeled)
(small handful of parsley)
water, to blend
ice cubes (optional)

Directions:
Mix everything in a blender and blend until smooth. If needed blend on high 2-3 times until fully blended. Pour into two tall glasses and serve with ice cubes if desired.

Bonus recipe!

Here is one more Green Smoothie recipe, this time with the addition of a banana. Adding a banana (or several) into a green smoothie gives it an unbelievable creamy texture, as well as helps the energy from the smoothie get absorbed into your body at a slower pace, which gives you released energy for hours!

Apple Lime Smoothie
by Heidi Ohlander

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:
5 medium bananas
2 apples - harelson, honeycrisp, granny smith or similar tart/sweet apple (cored and peeled)
2 leaves of lacinato (dino) kale
1 cup of spinach
juice of 2 medium limes
1/4 cup water
ice cubes to taste (optional)

Directions:
Place all ingredients in blender except ice cubes. Blend, adding ice cubes at the end while still blending. Pour into glasses.

Questions and Answers:

Here are some questions that we received that may help you understand more about these green drinks:

Q: Did Dr. Oz strain his green drink on the show? It looks very liquid-y?

A: We are not quite sure if Dr. Oz strained his green drink. It does look very much like a juice, and not like a typical smoothie. One theory is that he added quite a bit of water. In our modified recipe for his green drink (recipe shown above), water is added to his drink, otherwise it would be difficult to get it to start blending. Did he strain it? It looks like many of the ingredients had floated to the top of the drink, giving it a foamy appearance.

Q: So is his drink a juice, or a smoothie?

A: Good question. If you look at the description of his green drink on the synopsis of yesterday's show, there is no mention of it being blended or juiced. It is only if you watched the show that he mentions that he blends his drink. He uses a blender to make this drink.

Q: So I need a blender?

A: If you want a quick, easy and cheap way to start getting healthy, get yourself a blender. Smoothies are a great way to get lots of healthy, energy giving nutrients, as well as a daily dose of fiber without having to take a pill or some strange powdered formula. One surprising fact about blended green smoothies, is (if done right) they taste incredible! A great book to get started with green smoothies is Victoria Boutenko's Green for Life.

Q: Do you have to use all these ingredients?

A: Heck no! We use all sorts of different combinations! Sometimes we use lots of greens, and there are times when we just want fruit smoothies, which is a totally different topic for another time. The point is to use what you have, and to create combinations that taste good to you. In fact, if you feel these recipes are too strong, or taste bitter, you can always add more fruit.

Remember, you can always add more fruit!

And if you want more free delicious recipes, be sure to sign up for our newsletter! We offer articles, recipes, and helpful tips and tricks on how to eat healthy!

~ Raw Food Right Now!

Related Links:

Green Drinks, Dr. Oz and Oprah Part One
Kris Carr on Oprah - Kris shared her green drink with Dr. Oz!
Oprah.com - Turn Back Time With Dr. Oz

Green Drinks, Dr. Oz and Oprah

Green Drinks are on Oprah. Again!

You wanted to see healthy food go mainstream. What a better way to reach people than with the Oprah show!

Today on Oprah, Dr. Oz is back with part 2 in a series on how to "turn back time".

The biggest question we have received recently is: What is in Dr. Oz's Green Drink?

That is a good question! What is in Dr. Oz's green drink?

According to Oprah.com, here are the listed ingredients in the infamous Dr. Oz green drink:

• Spinach
• Apple
• Parsley
• Ginger
• Cucumber
• Celery
• Lemon

This is a lot of stuff to put in a green drink.

One of the things that is preventing people from starting to drink green juices is that they do not know any juice recipes. Since Dr. Oz does not give specific amounts, here is a free green juice recipe! This is just an example of what you could do with Dr. Oz's ingredients to make your own green drink:

Begin With A Green Drink
by Heidi Ohlander

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:
2 big handfuls of Spinach
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 rib of celery
1 thumb of ginger, skin peeled
1 lemon
1 medium cucumber
2 apples
ice cubes (optional)

In a juicer, place all ingredients except optional ice cubes in a juicer until juiced. Serve in your favorite wine goblet or other favorite glass of choice. If desired, add ice cubes for a refreshing cold beverage.

As always, you can adjust these ingredients to your own liking. Perhaps you really really like cucumber. Great! Add 2 cucumbers instead!

For a starter green juice, I recommend additional apples until you get used to the taste. There is no requirement to start out with swamp water that tastes like swamp water. Start with something fruity. Then over time if you want you can add more greens and less apples. That is why green smoothies are so popular - they are usually 60% or more of fruit, and 40% or less of greens.

The green color is a good indication that you have enough greens in the juice. As long as it is green, you know that you are getting the alkaline benefits of greens.

Want more free recipes? Be sure to sign up for the Raw Food Right Now newsletter, where we send out free recipes on a regular basis, as well as informative articles on how to start eating healthy right now! As a bonus you will also receive our ice cream e-course, so you can learn how to make creamy, non-dairy, better than dairy ice cream!!!

You can have your green juice, AND ice cream too!

~ Raw Food Right Now

A full report of Dr. Oz on the Oprah show will be posted later today. Stay tuned!

Raw DVD Review: Raw Nirvana

We recently received a review copy of a new DVD set entitled Raw Nirvana. Raw Nirvana is a series of DVDs hosted by Shama and Amandia; two young women who are enthusiastic about raw food.

Raw Nirvana features six DVDs that contains over 40 raw food recipes! Here is a breakdown of the content that is included in the full 6 DVD set:

Disc 1
Interview with Matt Monarch
Happy Soup
Carrot Wonder Soup
Living Curry/Macaroons
Walnut Raisin Cake
Hummus/Tabouli

Disc 2
Chard Salad
Spirit Spaghetti
Raw Pizza
Tuna Sandwich
Raisin Cookies
Cantaloupe Juice

Disc 3
Interview with David Wolfe
Raw Tacos/Avocado soup
Raw Tostadas

Disc 4
Citrus/Veggie juices 1 & 2
Raw Beauty 1, 2 & 3
Carrot Cake
Gazpacho Soup

Disc 5
Interview with Bruce Horowitz
Interview with Cosmo Meens
Interview with Scott McMahan - Cosmic Cacao

Disc 6
Olive Tapenade
Coconut Curry
Coconut Noodles
Almond Butter strawberry jelly
Fruit Pudding

Since we did not receive the full 6 DVD set we are unable to give a full review of the entire Raw Nirvana series. Apparently, with the full DVD set there is a printed recipe guide included. A printed recipe guide would be very helpful, as all of the recipes in the show do not have listings of the ingredients.

On one of the DVDs we received, there was an interview with Matt Monarch. If you've seen Matt speak before, he spoke about basically the same things as he does live. For example, he shares his experiences with shifting from a 100% cooked SAD diet to a 100% raw food diet overnight, as well as what he recommends to others on how to transition to a raw food diet and his views on how to do the diet right. He also briefly speaks about his new book, Raw Success, which we will be reviewing in an upcoming post.

We enjoyed the sleek colorful sets and a live studio audience that makes you feel like you are watching something on TV. Although Raw Nirvana has not yet found a TV channel, this is one step toward the raw food diet having its own show on national television.

They do quite a variety of raw recipes, which is really helpful for beginners who need to see how raw food is actually made and what recipes people eat.

There are a few things we would suggest for improvement, however.

For one, the music during the show is very loud (and very distracting!). In fact, sometimes you cannot even hear the hosts over the music, which is played continuously throughout the segments. Something more contemporary (i.e., hip) would help.

Even though they worked on having a quality DVD, it seems like they needed to do a few more practice runs before actually taping the show. There are moments between the two hosts where they seem a little unsure of what to do next and aren't sure who should be doing what.

But don't take just our word for it. In Shazzie's most recent newsletter, she had this to say about Raw Nirvana:

"If you're looking for a good-quality raw "TV channel" and great raw DVDs check out Raw Nirvana, the exciting company who are putting the word out there in a great professional way. I love their work."

For more information about Raw Nirvana, check out their website, www.rawnirvana.tv

But if you want a taste of what they have to offer, check out one of their previews, which includes a free recipe for Walnut Raisin Cookies.

~ Raw Food Right Now