I have two things to mention before I lead on into this post’s yummy recipe. First, I just wanted to explain that I haven’t lot interest in my blog or anything. You may have noticed that I haven’t been blogging as much as usual. I am currently making some exciting adjustments to Miss Best ) and I have also been busy working on a lovely free product for you (more details on both of these things shortly). So I do hope you’ll forgive me!

I also wanted to announce the results of the prize draw to win a copy of my e-book ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts’. The winner has been chosen at random from those of you who entered into the draw after recently taking part in my survey. So a big congratulations to ‘P.L. Maples’! I hope you will love the recipes and the desserts that you make from them! And a big thank you to the rest of you who so kindly took the time to give me your feedback, and let me know how I can tailor my gifts to help you. I have also drawn the winner for the slightly different survey that I announced in my newsletter, and will be announcing the lucky recipient next week.

Now, I know that many of you have said that you enjoy my raw food recipes, so I hope you wont be disappointed when I share this cooked recipe today.

The reason why I am sharing a cooked recipe is that I, like many of you, am not 100% raw. It is often easy to overlook the cooked side of food when we spend so much energy and attention on figuring out what raw food to eat.

So I love to explore what cooked food can help support my high raw diet. This recipe has been doing just that.

As I am sure many of you will agree, bread and wraps are a really convenient food. You can make a sandwich or a wrap in a few minutes and have something tasty and satisfying to keep you going. Now, unless you are disciplined and productive with your dehydrator, (ahem – I can’t say that I am!) then you are left with choosing between perhaps regular bread/wraps or a lettuce/cabbage leaf if you want something sandwich-like.

(If you would like a recipe for yummy raw, dehydrated crackers, you can find one here)

On some days – especially in cooler weather – I really don’t fancy a 100% raw wrap. Well I would if I had a raw dehydrated wrap to hand! It’s just that I don’t always fancy a lettuce leaf around my lovely raw filling. Sometimes I want something more bread like, and I don’t want to eat a regular wrap or bread as I do my very best to avoid gluten.

So this is my solution to the problem. A yummy, gluten-free, quick and easy crepe, which can be made either as a savoury wrap or as a yummy dessert crepe that can then be filled with 100% raw goodies, giving you a high-raw meal.

RECIPE

Gluten free Crepes
Makes about 4 crepes
Feel free to double the recipe. Freeze any uneaten crepes!

Basic recipe:
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons potato flour or cornstarch
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
About 1 ¼ cups water

For extra yummy savoury wraps: add 1-2 teaspoons herbs such as oregano and basil. You can also add a little chili powder, and even ½ teaspoon each of ground coriander and cumin powder if you wish.

Sweet crepes:
Add ½ tablespoon maple or agave syrup and 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom or cinnamon.

To make the crepes:

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Heat your frying pan to a semi-high heat. If you are using a good quality non-stick pan then you don’t need any oil. If you are not using a non-stick pan then I suggest you use some coconut or rapeseed oil.

Whisk the water into the dry ingredients so that you get a smooth batter. You don’t want it to be too thick. Add the syrup, if making sweet crepes.

Pour in a little of the batter, and swirl the pan around. You are aiming for a nice thin crepe so that when you add your raw filling you will end up a meal that is mostly raw with just a little cooked!

When the crepe sets on top, gently flip over a fry for a few more minutes.

Repeat with the remaining batter. Eat immediately, if possible.

Here are my favorite fillings:

Fill with any of the following. I tend to go crazy and have a bit of everything!

Sweet crepes

These are wonderful for a weekend breakfast. Just promise that you will fill them with yummy healthy raw goodies!

- fruit salad or sliced fruit and berries e.g. banana and strawberries
- agave syrup or maple syrup
- fresh lemon juice
- raw chocolate spread (Mix raw coconut oil with agave syrup and raw cacao powder) or melted raw chocolate.
- raw Ice Cream such as my Chocolate Ice Dream
- raw vanilla sauce (see recipe in my e-book)
- yummy raw nuts such as pecans

Savoury crepes/wraps

- avocado slices or raw nut cheeze
- Parsley pesto (find the recipe here >>)
- salad leaves
- olive oil or nice raw salad dressing
- raw spicy salsa
- sliced veggies such as cucumber and bell pepper
- diced tomatoes
- yummy raw nut burgers with raw ketchup (I will give you a recipe for this very soon!)

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If you read my last newsletter then you will know that we have been redecorating our living room. Hardly front page news, I know, but the reason why I am sharing this with you is twofold. One reason is that the gorgeous colour of our walls reminded me so much of a recipe that I wanted to share it with you (see below), and number two is that doing something so ‘mundane’ as redecorating has triggered such huge changes in other areas of my life.

Even before we came to look at the house in December 2008 I took in instant disliking to the living room. The walls were an orange-salmon colour, and the wooden floor and ceiling had an orange tint to them from age, so that the overall effect was, well, rather orange!

However, since we had more urgent projects to take care of when we bought the house, changing this livable, but hideous, room wasn’t a major priority. I realize now that it should have been. Even though we used the room (mostly in the evenings) neither of us actually enjoyed being there, and if Christoffer wasn’t in there, then I would prefer to sit at my desk in my studio than sit in a boring orange room!

So one weekend, a few weeks ago, we could stand it no more, and by the following weekend we had already made a start on ‘project de-orange’. Even though we didn’t finished the project in one day, merely making a start sparked something in our lives. On a practical level, the little furniture that was in the living room (we hadn’t really made ourselves at home there, so there wasn’t much) was relocated during the renovations. But their new homes suited them so well, that suddenly our other rooms had a whole new feeling and function, and our house is consequently feeling more of a home.

But on a more subtle level, we noticed several changes. Firstly, we both felt that we had finally honoured ourselves and that we felt that we ‘deserved’ a nice room. This recognition of our self-worth has trickled into other areas of lives, and I know for sure that my tolerance towards things that don’t serve me well has reduced considerably, and I am making changes to ensure that I treat myself as well as I should.

Secondly, within the following few days opportunities somehow presented themselves to allow me to tick off several big things that had been on my ‘to-do list’ for months. It was really weird. I didn’t have to initiate anything all I had to do was accept the opportunities that we presented to me. And I am not going to even start on how good it feels, for example, to get my accounts in order, or get the car finally fixed and how clearing that mental clutter is allowing new things to grow.

And all these small things are in turn triggering other things inside me, so I feel that there are more exciting changes ahead, both at home and within my business!

The living room is nearly finished, but is still looking like a bit of a building site, so I can’t share any photo’s with you today. I admit that it is a bit trying living around a half-decorated room, but I have been using my techniques for making effective changes that I shared in April’s newsletter to keep me focused, and stop me loosing my enthusiasm.

What I can share with you, however, is that two of our walls are now such a beautiful colour that I just wanted to grab a straw and stick it into the paint bucket and slurp it all up. I haven’t become a paint junkie or anything, it’s just that it looks just like a gorgeous blueberry smoothie. Such a sexy, rich purple colour!

Blueberries are such brilliant a source of anti-oxidants and are just so tasty. I am very lucky because when they are in season, I can pick them from our neighbouring woods. I often munch on them during my walks with Pixie the dog, and she loves them too!

So, dear Reader, here is a recipe for a super quick, yummy and nutritious smoothie for you. Just remember to drink it and not smear it on your walls!

Blueberry Smoothie
Serves 2

2 cups nut milk (you can find a recipe for this in March’s newsletter)
1.5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 large bananas (you can use frozen ones for a super thick and creamy drink)
A pinch of vanilla powder, or a few drops of vanilla extract
Ice (if not using frozen fruit and berries)
Half an avocado (if not using frozen bananas and you want a richer smoothie)

Blend it all up and enjoy!

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A few weeks ago I managed to do something, I hadn’t previously achieved. Did I get through the day without eating a single avocado? Nope. Did I get round to finally sorting out that box of memories that I have moved from house to house to house for the past 10 years? Afraid not. But what I did do, for the first time ever, was to use up the contents of the organic veg box we get delivered in almost one go. Usually, after we have gleefully devoured the crisp lettuce and fragrant tomatoes, turned the firm green courgettes into raw noodles, and made something creative with the tasty mushrooms, there will be one vegetable that sits in the fridge until either I have found out what it is, and how to prepare it, (I had never come across Black salsify root for example), or I have the inclination to use up ‘yet another celeriac’, when we have received one a week for the past 6 weeks!

But on this day in mention, I was utterly delighted to open the box and instantly know what we were going to have for dinner that evening. In fact, when I emptied the contents on to the kitchen counter, I felt just like a chef from the TV show Ready, Steady Cook! when they are presented with a bag of ingredients and have to make something using all of the food, plus a few store cupboard staples.

The organic goodies we received that day were:

broccoli

onions

mushrooms

ginger

carrots

lime

apples

courgette (zucchini)

bell pepper

avocado (OK so I didn’t use that in the meal, but I NEVER need to think about how to eat those green beauties!)

lettuce – ditto

And since I had been craving sea vegetables of some sort, I thought it would be a perfect occasion to make an Asian inspired dish. Imagine a stir fry, without frying it. So, more of a ’stir’ than a ’stir-fry’ then!

So here is the recipe. It’s a bit of a bonus recipe, because you can use the various components in other dishes. Marinated mushrooms, for example, make an exceedingly good addition to salads or sushi (or nori rolls). The marinated broccoli makes a great side-dish or snack, and the marinated arame makes for a yummy way to include more mineral rich, cleansing seaweed into your beautiful body. The courgette (zucchini) noodles are fantastic in salads, or eaten instead of spaghetti or egg noodles.

Miss Best’s ‘Stir don’t fry!’
Serves 4

Marinated arame (see recipe below)
Marinated broccoli (see recipe below)
Marinated mushrooms (see recipe below)
Asian style salad (find the recipe here)
Courgette (zucchini) noodles (see recipe below)

Place the noodles onto plates. Mix everything else together and serve on top of the noodles. Top with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and a little fresh parsley or coriander.

To allow time for your veggies to marinate, I recommend you make this meal in the following order:

1. Start by putting the arame to soak
2. Make the broccoli dish
3. Make the marinated mushrooms
4. Rinse, drain and marinate the arame
5. Make the asian style salad
6. Make the courgette (zuchini) noodles

Marinated Arame

2 cups arame (not usually strictly raw, but still super healthy!) or raw sea vegetable or your choice
2 cm piece ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon tamari
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon (preferably an organic or unwaxed lemon)
1 tablespoon cold pressed sesame oil

Soak the arame in warm water for about 10-15 minutes (or until soft). You can leave it soak while you prepare the rest of the dish. Drain and rinse the arame, put into a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes. Keeps for about 2 days in the fridge in a lidded container.

Marinated Broccoli
This is a simplified version of my popular curried broccoli

One small head of broccoli
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Wash your broccoli. Cut off the stem and trim away any hard knobbly bits, then thinly slice the stem and the head. Place in a bowl and pour on the lemon juice, oil and salt and pepper and give it a little massage. Allow to marinade for about 30 minutes.

Marinated Mushrooms

1 box of mushrooms (about 250 g / half a pound)
Half a small onion, thinly sliced (optional)
½ cup tamari
1 clove garlic, crushed

Wash and dry the mushrooms and thinly slice. Place into a bowl together with the onion, and stir in the tamari and garlic. Leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes. Store in the fridge in a lidded container for up to 3 days.

Courgette (zucchini) noodles

Allow about half a courgette per person for this dish. Make into noodles using wither a special tool called a spiralizer, a mandolin with a teeth-like attachment, or by cutting into strips using a vegetable peeler. For the latter, stack the courgette ribbons on top of each other and then cut into noodle-sized strips.

Place in a bowl and drizzle on a little olive oil or sesame oil, a little salt and pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

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Oh, I am just crazy-bonkers about avocados. So rich and yummy, and incredibly versatile! I have heard some people state that they don’t eat avocados as they are high in calories and fat, and then they tuck in to a bag of crisps (chips)! Yes, for a fruit, they are rich in healthy fats and calories, but when you eat natural, raw, mono saturated fats, your body processes them in a very different way than the fats you will find in animal products or cooked, or processed food. Plus, they are full of goodness, and are a good source of vitamin E, potassium, B vitamins, vitamin K, beta-carotene, fiber and folic acid.

I usually eat about 2 avocados a day. We are all different, and some people may not feel energetic after so many, but (so far) I feel great from it, and love the different ways I get to use them:

In smoothies to make them rich and filling
In Life-Loving desserts (like the ones in my e-book)
On (raw) crackers or bread (with a little sprinkle of salt) instead of butter or cheese
In sushi or nori rolls
In a fruit salad
On it’s own with a little lemon juice
In salads to add richness and substance
In dips and dressings
On pizza, instead of cheese

Having avocados around really helps me keep to a high-raw lifestyle. If I don’t have something ’substantial’ in the fridge such as a raw pate, or nut cheese (and if I can’t be bothered to make one) then an avocado will really boost my meal in both the satisfying and the taste department!

Recently, I heard Kate Magic mention using cacao in guacamole, and in a shot I was in the kitchen fondling my lovely avocados to find a ripe candidate for surely such a perfect combination. I like her idea to not just use cacao in sweet foods, so that you can have the cacao goodness, taste and – let’s be honest – hit, without having a dessert, if you are not in the mood for one (yes, even I don’t always want a dessert!)

So, dear Reader, I share with you today a recipe for Cacaomole, and one for Guacamole.

I have split the recipe up here so if you don’t think you will fancy the cacao-spiked version, then you can enjoy the calmer version (also known as Guacamole) just as much.

Also, if you want to keep things simple, in both time, ingredients and effort you can eat this as it is. But I have also added a list of delicious extras that you can add to really boost this dish, in terms of taste, texture, and nutrition.

And finally, for those of you with access to superfood powders, there is a little suggestion of what you can add to this dish to add an extra whooosh!

Guaca/Cacaomole!
Serves one, maybe two, depending on if you are as greedy as we are!

Guacamole – Basic recipe:

1 large avocado
1 small clove garlic, crushed
¾ tablespoon lemon or lime juice, or to taste
salt and black pepper, to taste

Very yummy additions:

I add all of these, but feel to pick and choose and will!

1 small tomato, diced
Sprig of parsley or coriander, chopped
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds – mineral and protein rich with a yummy crunch!
2 sun-dried tomatoes (soaked in water, if not stored in oil), chopped
fresh or dried chili, to taste
4 olives, stones removed, and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed (or ½ teaspoon ground coriander)

Make mine a Cacaomole!

Add 1.5 teaspoons cacao powder

Superlove, me baby!

For a super-dooper nutritional boost, add any, or all of the following, which you will find in on-line raw food shops such as Råvarubutiken (Scandinavia).

½ teaspoon purple corn – high in antioxidants
½ teaspoon reishi mushroom powder – great for the immune system
1 tablespoon goji berries – high in vitamin c, contains B vitamins, and all of the essential amino acids
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes – high in B vitamins, also adds yummy savoury taste. (Not raw. Folks in Sweden can buy this online from Goodstore or at their store in Stockholm.)

How to make it

Mash the avocado with a fork, and stir in the remaining ingredients. If you are making a large batch of this, you can whizz up the avocados in a food processor, but stir in the extras by hand to maintain the contrast in texture.

Divine served in a nori roll with strips of cucumber, carrot, red bell pepper, apple and some green leaves and sprouts e.g. alfalfa or sunflower sprouts.

Or, you can serve as a dip with yummy raw veggies.

And, of course, you can serve with Mexican food!

** note, if your avocados are the not the best, and are a little pale and watery, you may want to add 1 teaspoon olive oil, to add a little richness. If using cacao, then ½ teaspoon agave syrup will help your naughty avocado regain a sense of roundness!

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As you may have gathered by now, I am pretty interested in food and nutrition. Hee hee…if you have been following this blog for a while, or see what I am up to on Facebook, then you will know that this is a bit of an understatement. Learning about food and nutrition, making food, eating food, loving food, and teaching others to make heavenly healthy, Life-Loving food pretty much fills up all my waking hours in the day – when I am not out walking with our dog and cuddling my boyfriend, that is!

So when I finally got round to reading Gabriel Cousen’s book Depression-Free for Life: A Physician’s All-Natural, 5-Step Plan, I gobbled it up almost as quickly as one of my yummy desserts. The link between nutrition and mental health is hugely fascinating.

On a basic level, I know myself just how much my enthusiasm, motivation, patience, creativity and positivity is affected by what I do and don’t eat.

There are many factors that cause depression, and as Cousens says, there is no magic bullet – pharmaceutical or natural – that alleviates all types of depression. But part of his natural, five step plan to cure depression, without the use of drugs, is to ensure that we are eating the right balance of the omega fats.

People often think, like I used to, that fat is not something you want on your plate; that healthy equals low fat. A slim person must be healthy; low-fat food always means healthy food, and all fat is bad and must be avoided at all costs.

There was a time that I would save my fat intake for desserts and junk foods. Although my main meals were pretty healthy and contained whole foods, they were very low in fat, which meant that if I wanted to treat myself to rich dairy ice-cream or refined, sugar-laden cake, then I could do so…

Oh, poor, silly Miss Best! I now know that a) good fats are essential for good physical and mental health, b) processed fats and refined sugar are not good for the body, and c) you can actually have healthy and tasty desserts! Yay!

I know I wasn’t alone in this thinking. One college friend told me one day that she had skipped her lunch-time sandwich and just ate a chocolate bar because she was on a diet! Someone else I observed would eat daily low fat versions of unhealthy snacks laden with salt, refined flour and sugar, just because the label screamed out that it was ‘less than 3% fat’!

But now, every day, I enjoy good healthy fats such as avocado, flax oil, cold pressed olive and coconut oils, nuts and seeds to provide me with the good fats needed for the function of my body and brain. I enjoy these essential fats even more when I can use them in a dessert! Some of the desserts in my eBook ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts’ are less than 3% fat (the Frozen Desserts, for example), but most are slightly higher in fat. However, the ingredients used in these desserts contain not only goodies such vitamins, protein, fiber and minerals, but also balanced, healthy, and essential fats.

We need Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) in the correct ratio for good mental health, sharp vision, cardiovascular health, and healthy skin and stomach. In fact, all our organs depend in EFAs. You have probably heard about EFAs, and that it’s important to eat foods that contain Omega-3, but what we also need to remember is that we shouldn’t eat a lot of food that is high in Omega-6. Many people consume too much omega-6, which is found in highly processed foods containing hydrogenated fats, and there is a risk that people who eat a low-fat diet of mostly refined foods are creating an imbalance in their bodies and minds due to the skewed ratio of omega-6 to omega-3.

So, to rectify this imbalance, we need to ensure that we avoid highly processed foods, and eat more Life-Loving Foods that contain Omega-3. Sea vegetables such as nori, hijiki and kombu contain a good balance of EFAs, as do the following foods, which also have the the highest levels of omega 3:

* Walnuts
* Pumpkin seeds
* Soybeans
* Kidney beans
* Flaxseeds

Flaxseeds (linseeds) have a particularly high concentration of omega-3s – a much higher concentration than those found in cold-water fish, for example. They are also one of the richest sources of lignan – a special fiber that is converted to compounds called lignans, in the colon. Lignans are great for the immune system, and are also antiviral, antifungal, and have been associated with reduced rates of prostate, colon and breast cancer. And if this wasn’t a great enough gift from nature, they are also packed with protein, B-vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and other nutrients such as potassium.

So, I think you will agree that these teeny flax seeds are mighty little powerhouses, and should definitely make a feature in our daily lives. But how do we do this?

One or two teaspoons of flax oil, or one tablespoon of ground flax seeds should meet your daily requirement of omega-3s. While flaxseed oil is a convenient way of consuming flax (on salads, and in smoothies, for example), it does not contain the beneficial lignan that the seeds have.

Flaxseeds are inexpensive, which is good news. You can buy them whole or ground: if you have a nut/seed mill or coffee grinder, then I suggest you buy whole ones and grind them yourself, as they quickly lose their healthful properties once milled. Ground seeds should be stored in the fridge.

If you are not used to eating flax seeds, it may be a good idea to gradually introduce them into your diet. If you eat a lot of them straight away, they may …er… have a bit of a FLAXative effect! So start with a teaspoon or two to begin with.

It’s a really great gift to yourself to get into the routine of adding crushed flaxseeds to your breakfast cereal, or on top of your food. I understand, however, that it’s not always very tasty to sprinkle ground flax seed on your dinner, so I have a tasty recipe for you to make sure you have no excuses for not eating your omega-3s

This recipe is inspired by Ani Phyo’s Coconut Breakfast cakes from her book Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen. I have built on her idea by adding pumpkin seeds, which are also a good source of omega-3, as well as being high in zinc, magnesium and iron. Ani’s original recipe uses only flax seeds, but I think the addition of pumpkin seeds makes them tastier, as well as boosting the nutritional value. Also, as I said, if you are not used to eating so much flax seed in one sitting, then this combination will better suit your tummy.

I have also added some yummy and nutritious goodies such as cacao, raisins and goji berries. If you can’t get hold of gojis, then just leave them out. If you don’t have a seed mill, just buy ready ground flax seeds, and process the pumpkin seeds in a food processor.

These are like a raw version of pancakes, and make a fantastic breakfast, brunch or dessert.

Chocolate OMG Cakes
Serves 2

1/2 cup ground flax seed (about 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whole seeds, ground)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, ground
2 tablespoons dried coconut
2 tablespoons raisins
1 tablespoon gojis (optional)
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/5 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons agave syrup or maple syrup
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons water

Mix everything together in a bowl and form into four patties. Place the patties on plates, drizzle with agave syrup or maple syrup, and serve with plenty of fresh fruit. They are also divine with one of my Raw Sauces and/or Frozen Desserts, such as Chocolate Chip Ice Dream.

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I don’t usually blog twice in one week, but I just had to share this with you. Yesterday, Christoffer and I received a little parcel in the post. Inside was a very pretty heart shaped box. Nestled inside this box were some beautiful, Life-Loving Chocolate Truffles.

Christoffer’s mum, Mirjam, had made these gorgeous, chocolatey balls of heaven from a recipe included in my e-book ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts‘, and sent them to us as a Valentine’s present.

Oh, I was so excited when I saw what it was, that I nearly wet myself! Even without the box, it is a true treat to receive Life-Loving Chocolate Truffles, that not only taste heavenly, but are also free from nasties like refined sugar, dairy products, eggs and additives! Presenting them in such gorgeous packaging is like adding, well, a little bit of heaven on top of heaven.

We tasted one each after lunch today, and they taste just perfect! I am very happy that the recipe works so well! Ahh, I feel so honoured to receive such a gift. It feels like I have blown a little kiss out into the world, and that Mirjam has caught it, added her own creative love, and then blown it right back at us.

The trick now, is for me not to nibble away at those little truffles before tomorrow. Although, if I did, I could make some more and sneak them into the box before Christoffer notices. I do have the recipe, after all!

Happy Valentine’s to you!

Oh, and don’t forget that the 20% discount off my e-book ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts: 43 delicious, but secretly healthy, recipes to make you smile’ runs out at 9am (GMT) on Monday 15th February. I am very happy to see that people have been using the discount code to treat themselves to these Life-Loving recipes. I hope lots and lots of people are enjoying tasty desserts from my e-book this weekend.

Remember to quote ‘Love20‘ at the checkout to pick up a copy for just $10.20 (excl. VAT for EU residents) or £7.99 (incl VAT). You can read more about the e-book and order it here >>

And if you want a little chocolate teaser, then take a look at this recipe for Chocolate Chip Ice Dream that I posted last week. This frozen desserts also appears in my e-book. Not only will it make a lovely dessert on any day, but with Pancake Day coming up on Tuesday, I can certainly recommend you whipping up some of this to smother on your pancakes. Oh, I have some lovely pancake recipes in the e-book too. Aren’t I just so thoughtful?!

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Anyone who walks down a high street, or uses the internet (or looks at a calender), can’t fail to notice that on Sunday 14th February, it’s Valentine’s Day.

Like Christmas, this day has become overly commercial, and many people feel the pressure to come up with some material goods to convince their loved one of their affection.

Well, like Christmas, you can indeed celebrate this day without having to spend a small fortune on expensive bouquets, chocolates, soft toys, champagne, giant greetings cards etc. Telling someone you love them costs just the price of the breath needed to whisper the words, or the energy needed to gently stroke their face, or to embrace them in your arms.

You don’t even need to have a romantic interest to celebrate this day of love. Why should the day of love be restricted to people from whom you would like to lick chocolate? Our friends and family need to hear that we love them too!

Whatever you decide to do on Sunday, please don’t save all your kisses and hugs just for this one day – show people you love them every day of the year! After all, just like a puppy is for life, and not just for Christmas, so is love for life, and not just for Valentine’s Day.

To help you create a love-filled day, I have two presents for you. The first is a very sexy 20% discount off my e-book ,‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts’ in which you will find plenty of love-filled recipes for either a romantic, or just a platonic, day of affection. To unwrap this present, please go to www.miss-best.com/LLLD.html, click ‘add to cart’ (you will notice that you can now pay in $US, should you wish!), then at the check out enter the following discount code: ‘Love20′. This offer is valid until Monday 15th Feb 2010. Do feel free to tell your friends about this discount!

The second gift of love is a yummy recipe for a dish that would go so well as a main course before serving one of my Life-Loving Desserts. This Asian inspired salad is deliciously fresh, and doesn’t leave you stuffed, which is a good thing, I think, because an overly full tummy can be rather a passion killer, don’t you think?

Asian-style Love Salad
serves 2

Salad
4 medium/large carrots
2 sticks celery
1 apple
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/4 cup nuts e.g cashew nuts
Sesame seeds
A nice marinated tofu (optional)

Dressing
1/2 cup cold pressed sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, crushed
Piece of ginger – about 1 cm, chopped
1 stick lemon grass, peeled and chopped
Pinch of dried coriander
Pinch of chili (optional)

Make the dressing by blending all the ingredients together until creamy. Thinly slice the carrots, celery and apples (preferably with a mandolin or a thin blade on your food processor). Cut the peppers into thin strips. Mix together and stir in the dressing.

Arrange on each plate, and sprinkle with the nuts and sesame seeds. You can also add some cubes of tofu if you like!

Follow with a sweet and sexy dessert from ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts’, like the truffles in the above picture!

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This morning I have been outside clearing snow off the driveway while our dog and her doggie friend scoot around the garden, playing, and sticking their heads in the deep, white fluff.

When I came in, I made myself a cup of peppermint tea and took two large Chocolate Crisp Truffles from the fridge. I sat myself at my computer to answer some of the very kind messages I have received following the launch of my e-book ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts’. I lifted one of the coconut and dark chocolate enveloped truffles to my mouth, and gently bit through the bitter sweet crispy shell into the sweet, mellow and chewy center.

I smiled. I smiled again. I thought of Christoffer, who has taken a box of them with him to work today; and I thought of the lovely people who have already bought the book, knowing what delights are in store for them when they try out the recipes.

Since it is soon the weekend, my thoughts turned to plans for the next two days. I decided that, tomorrow, I will treat myself to a new film on DVD, and cosy on up by the fire with a heavenly treat. Being a bit of a frozen dessert freak, I will make my divine Chocolate Chip Ice Dream for the occasion. I am going to freeze the bananas today, so they will be ready for whenever I decide to make it tomorrow. Then, in about five minutes, I will have a amazing, low-fat, quick and easy frozen dessert to indulge in while watching my new film.

‘Oh, Miss Best, you tease us!’, I hear you cry. Fear not, dear, and faithful but curious Reader. Today, I am actually going to reveal this recipe from my e-book, in the hope that you too can delight in how heavenly, yet ridiculously simple, and annoyingly healthy this dessert is!

So, here comes the recipe. If you have any tips on what film to buy this weekend, please do leave them as a comment below. Or indeed, if you have any other comments to make, I am always excited to read them!

If you are interested in the recipe for the scrummy Chocolate Crisp Truffles, plus more insanely good, and secretly healthy desserts, please take a look at what my e-book has to offer >>

Chocolate Chip Ice Dream
Taken from ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts’, by Johanna Best

Serves 2

6 frozen bananas (peel, slice and freeze for at least 12 hours)
2-4 tablespoons cocoa powder (depending on how chocolatey you like it!)
Small pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla powder / 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
2 tablespoons cacao nibs or chopped dairy-free chocolate

Allow the bananas to stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften slightly. Blend them together in a food processor with the cocoa powder, salt and vanilla to make a soft and smooth ‘ice cream’. This may take a couple of minutes, and you will need to stop the food processor a couple of times to scrape down the sides. Stir in the cacao nibs or chocolate chips, and serve immediately.

Passionate Chocolate Ice Dream – stir in the flesh from 2 passion fruit before serving for a sexy twist.

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So, here we are again. January. The new year ahead. The old year behind us. After enjoying 2 rather lazy weeks with family, I am excited to be getting productive again, as well getting back to my good eating habits.

I am not going to pretend that I was an angel at the Christmas table and kept away from cooked vegan food, or the odd glass (or two) of organic wine, so I can admit to feeling a little less than fantastic on a couple of occasions over the festive period. However, my guests and I did ensure that we added some balance to the festive feasting with green smoothies, salads, fruit and fresh juices.

While we did all ‘ohhh’ ‘mmmm’ and ’slurp’ over the Christmas food, I think that the most appreciative sounds came when we brought out the juicer and treated our slightly sluggish, over-fed bodies to some nourishing, tasty juice.

Since I had placed a somewhat over enthusiastic order for carrots from our organic veg box people, and because we still have plenty of apples left from our trees, and our veg box has been bringing plenty of treats in the form of oranges and beetroot we thought we would just juice them all up and prevent them going to waste.

It was certainly a fab idea. The juice was super tasty, revitalizing and refreshing. But it did have one downside…thanks to the beetroot the kitchen was left looking a little like a crime scene. Beetroot juice is far from discreet and our tinkering in the kitchen reminded us of something so much that we had to give the juice a name. So, we named it Dexter juice after the very engaging series about a likable blood splatter analyst working for the police department who turns out to be a bit of a naughty man and murders people. Read about Dexter here >>

The series messes with my head rather, as one can’t help but like Dexter, but obviously the whole killing thing is a bit disturbing.

Anyway, this juice is far less complicated. It’s yummy. It’s good for you. End of story. Well apart from the evidence left by those pesky beetroots!

So, dig out your juicer, and welcome the new year with grace, style, and a pink tongue!

Dexter Juice

Serves 2

500 g carrots – scrubbed, topped and tailed
4 large apples
2 large oranges – peeled
½ large cucumber
3 beetroots – scrubbed, topped and tailed
Fresh ginger – about 2 cm

Juice them all together and enjoy!

Tip 1: I juiced the oranges on a separate citrus juicer as our juicer did not particularly care for those oranges it seemed and wasn’t very efficient in getting the juice out.

Tip 2: Depending on the efficiency of your juicer, you may find you can significantly increase your juice yield by putting the pulp in a nut milk bag and squeezing to extract more juice.

Nutritional info:

Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A. In addition, they are a great source of vitamin C, vitamin K, dietary fiber (unless juiced) and potassium.

Beetroot is an excellent source of the B vitamin, folate, antioxidents (which help prevent diseases such as cancer) and a great source of manganese and potassium. Beetroots are also a good source of dietary fiber (unless juiced), vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus.

Apples are a good source of vitamin C and contain a long list of phytonutrients that function as antioxidants and support our health.

Ginger is great for reducing inflammation and alleviating nausea and tastes great!

Cucumber is a great source of silica which is good for nails and skin, is also very hydrating and is a good source of potassium, vitamins A and C.

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Well, winter is definitely here. The temperature dipped below 0 C here outside Stockholm about a week ago, and on Monday we had quite a bit of snow. The white blanket has made our days literally shinier but the chilly weather certainly brings challenges to us raw-food lovers. Brrrrrr!

Since the arrival of the cold weather I have found it much more tempting to want to eat cooked food, but while I am doing well at generally keeping high-raw (not because I ‘have to’ but because I know I feel better from it) I am going through a very picky stage. To keep off the cooked food, the raw alternative definitely has to be more tempting, with no tolerance towards any food that has gone past its best or that doesn’t appeal to my senses – no matter how healthy it is!

So I have to admit that the large head of broccoli that we got with the organic veg box had not been looking that attractive whenever I opened the fridge this week. And to be honest, if it hadn’t have come with the box, it wouldn’t have been lounging around in my fridge at all, as it certainly wouldn’t have found it’s way into my shopping basket.

But I couldn’t let it go to waste, so the other evening I thought I would marinade it. I am sure subconsciously I was thinking that it would put my mind at ease for another day: ‘if I marinade this then it can sit and tenderise in the sauce for a day and I don’t have to think about eating it now at least!’ Sneaky Miss Best!!

However, I am blessed with magic culinary fingers (ha ha, I but jest, I am not that conceited!) so I accidentally turned the unappetizing broccoli into something so yummy that I even got a bit possessive when Christoffer wanted some! It didn’t even make it to the next day as we ate it all that night. And it was so surprisingly tasty that I had to make it again the next evening, so that I could enjoy it once more and so that I could write down the recipe and take a photo to share with you! After all, broccoli is so amazingly good for us (full of vitamin C, vitamin A (mostly as beta-carotene), folic acid, calcium, and fiber), that if I can inspire at least one other person to ’squeeze’ down a generous portion this week, then I shall sleep well at night!

What I really liked about it (apart from the fact I felt really good and balanced after eating it) was that it had all the characteristics of a naughty cooked snack: crunchy, oily, salty, spicy and full of flavour; so it really hit the spot!

So here it is, dear Reader. Do enjoy, and if you are still chilly after eating this (despite all the warming spices), then do make yourself a nice cup of herb tea to warm you up!

Curried Broccoli
Serves 1 as a main meal / 2 as a side dish

One small head of broccoli
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
Chili powder to taste
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
250g cherry tomatoes

Wash your broccoli. Cut off the stem and trim away any hard knobbly bits, then thinly slice the stem and the head. Place in a bowl and pour on the lemon juice, oil and salt and give it a little massage. Add the remaining ingredients and give it a little rub to make sure all the bits of broccoli are coated. Allow to marinade for about 30 minutes and serve with halved cherry tomatoes.

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