Aya & Isis

Deliberating on who's ride is more awesome.

Exploring Riga's old town.

Harvesting organic apples for Aya's Pura Vida raw food bread range.

Aaaand THIS is where we stayed! Aya's wooden hut is in Mersrags, a 1.5 hr drive from Riga.

Beach on one side of Aya's hut, while the woods are on the other.  Paradise? I think YES.

Pura Vida bread on tap!

3 cups almond milk
2 cups shiitake mushrooms (about 150g)
3 stalks celery
juice of 1 lemon
½ red onion
3 garlic cloves
1½ tbsp liquid aminos

Leave a couple of shiitake mushrooms for garnish if you like and transfer the rest along with all other ingredients to a blender.
Blend on high, until the soup begins to warm up.
Serve straight after blending or add boiling water to the soup to warm it up at a later stage.
Enjoy with Tanya’s Onion Bread (pg. 26 of Nourished), Crunchy Croutons (pg. 32 of Nourished) or any of Pura Vida's ready made raw food breads.



Did you like this recipe? It was featured in 'Nourished- Comforting Raw Foods for Winter'. This gorgeous full-colour eBook contains 39 of my most carefully selected recipes to feel warm, comforted and Nourished during winter and beyond. Everything is as always absolutely free from gluten, dairy, soy and wheat, but definitely not the taste! Take a look around>>

It's no secret that Elliot and I are getting married next year, but we are not done with the high of being fiancés just yet! As we got engaged in the middle the coldest winter UK has experienced since well before we were even born, it only made sense to wait for the summer to celebrate outdoors.


We hired the lawn bowling club next door, ordered some props online, put together a canapés menu and recruited the best looking helpers in town...

DIY decorations in the making the night before.

The gorgeous Californian beauties and their funny mini man.

Raw pizza and salad for the helpers.

And the #1 prize goes to my #1 helper and bestie! Gina- you are a little cupcake of awesomeness!

When you are preparing raw food, it shouldn't actually take you any longer than preparing cooked food, however you must always start ahead of time to allow for the dehydration process.

The great news about dehydrating is that you literally- pop in your trays full of food and walk away for the next 12-24 hours or so. No need to check up on anything, no need to worry about anything getting burned, and no crazy energy bills either! Have you checked out what dehydrator I use and recommend? See my entire suggested equipment list here>>

Here's a sampling of what I made...

Everybody's favourite- these Marinated and Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms never stick around for long, they are the best addition to any picnic and you can even serve them as a main course with a side salad.

Dessert was surprisingly tricky to organise, as I knew it'll be sitting out in the sun, while so many raw food dishes require a fridge or a freezer. That's why I opted for Chocolate-filled Macaroons (they are usually chocolate covered and I teach the recipe in my Raw Chocolate 101 class) and Chocolate & Caramel Coated Cookies (recipe is just like these Dutch Stroopwafels, but with added cacao powder).

Raw Food Pizza- a party must-have! The base is a classic nut-free version I always make, then goes the tomato paste, then the spreadable cheese and finished with any toppings you have in mind (or in my case- something that required minimal prep time was the winner- olives!) I also teach the making of it in my Raw Food Tastes of Italy class>>

Dips and Dippers. ALWAYS have Dips & Dippers. For simple dippers- carrots, runner beans and celery sticks will do the trick if your dips are tasty enough, but it's always good to add some flaxseed crackers to the mix. For the Dips- I made extra Pesto while doing the stuffed mushrooms, extra Creamy Cheesy Sauce while making the pizza sauce and Guacamole.

These mushroom nut balls and tomato ketchup are a delicious idea, possibly best kept for a more intimate dinner occasion. They take quite a long time to first soak and marinate, then process, then roll into balls and then dehydrate, but disappear in record time. Serve them with toothpicks to pin and dip or over courgette noodles if you are having them as a main meal.

Like any host will know- there is always something to do last minute, there is always something that gets overlooked and there is usually something that doesn't get done at all. However the great thing about it all is: nobody knows, but you!

I mean, just look at these guys... does anyone look like they know I may have forgotten a thing or two?

Describe your typical day of eating and drinking.

This is a pretty typical day with the addition of some cooked beans or quinoa a couple of times a week, a cooked vegan meal in a restaurant on weekends and some gourmet raw foods prepared by our students at lunch.

6am: 1 cup jasmine green tea
7am: 12 ounces warm water with lemon
8am: 3 ounces E-3 Live Brain-on
9am: 12 ounces fresh fruit smoothie (orange juice, bananas, blueberries, peaches, kale and VitaMineral Green )
10am: green juice (kale and other leafy greens, cucumber, celery, apple, lemon, parsley)
1pm: full meal salad bar (spring mix, sprouts, tomatoes, shredded root vegetables, veggie kraut, 1/2 avocado, seaweed, pumpkin seeds, vegetarian support formula nutritional yeast, dressed with Liquid Gold (see page 151, The Raw Food Revolution Diet)
3pm 12 ounces water
4pm 12 ounces water
5pm: 12 ounces water
5:30pm: My favorite Vitality Soup with chopped tomatoes (see recipe below)
7pm: 12 ounces water infused with peppermint oil and or ginger juice


What (or who) inspires you to eat well and stay healthy?

I inspire myself. I want to be the best that I can be so I can set an example for others and show people what is possible if you take care of yourself.


What is your biggest weakness when it comes to food and how do you deal with that?

I don’t have any food addictions. I am addicted to feeling good. And, I am not afraid of eating cooked food when I want it and it serves me – I eat well chosen water-cooked foods like steamed broccoli, legumes, and quinoa, which are health promoting and add to my enjoyment. I do not consider it a weakness.


Complete these sentences...

Improving your diet is an ongoing journey.
Staying healthy while travelling is something that takes planning and determination.
Detoxing is important from time to time.
Immunising is not for me.


What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you?

“You will never know what an inspiration you have been to me.”


If you got to keep only 3 of your belongings- 1 thing from your kitchen, 1 thing from your garden, 1 thing from your bookshelf - what would they be?

My favorite chef knife. The rich soil I have spent years building.  My most recent book, Raw Food For Dummies, which I coauthored with my husband, Dan Ladermann. It was a labor of love that people tell us is making healthy living easy and delicious for them! Our goal in writing it was to give people everything they need to make tasty raw food meals for themselves and their families. We included how to travel raw, how to find restaurants and other raw food enthusiasts, how to set-up your kitchen and I even created a 31-day meal plan with advanced preparation instructions, so it reminds you when to soak the oat groats to make the oatmeal in time for breakfast! It’s the compilation of my years of experience and the most complete raw food book ever written.


Why do you believe that life is Better Raw?

I advocate a whole food, plant-based diet that is fresh, ripe, organic and mostly uncooked. Some water-cooked (steamed or braised) vegetables, legumes and non-glutinous grains are more health promoting than some raw foods that contain condensed fats and sweeteners. A balanced, health-promoting diet can contain some water-cooked foods (not fried, baked, grilled or sautéed), providing that nutrient dense raw vegan foods make up the majority of the diet. Whether cooked or raw, I recommend nutrient dense foods that are delicious (or people won’t eat them). My goal is to make food that is both healthy and delicious.


Our Master of the Month shares her favourite raw food recipe...





1 cup orange juice
2 cups stemmed and chopped kale or other dark leafy greens
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
1⁄4 cup fresh parsley, basil, or dill weed
1 tablespoon light miso
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic, crushed (1 clove)
1⁄2 green onion, chopped
1⁄2 avocado, peeled and pitted
Filtered water as needed for desired consistency

- Combine the orange juice, kale, cucumber, herbs, miso, lemon juice, garlic, and green onion. Blend the mixture until smooth.
- Add the avocado and blend again — no more than 1 minute — until smooth.




For more about Cherie Soria and the amazing Living Light International, take a tour around http://rawfoodchef.com.

To see Cherie LIVE in action, check out her UK event in September! I am definitely not missing this opportunity and have my ticket already! Come on by and say hi to me too...

Have a beautiful February. Green hugs and sunshine, Michelle Aurora x

So here's what you'll need...


For the essentials
Blender
Food processor
Mandolin

For the ravioli pasta
2 round courgettes/ zucchini

For the ravioli filling
150g oyster mushrooms
150g or 5 medium portabella mushrooms
3 tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1.5 cups sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
1 tbsp white miso paste

For the soured cream
1 cup cashews, soaked overnight
1/2 cup pure water
juice of 1 lemon
pinch salt

For the pistachio pesto
2 packed cups basil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup shelled and non-salted pistachio nuts
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/3 tsp salt





Peel the courgettes and slice them on the thinnest possible setting of your mandolin. They must be able to bend freely and be easily folded in half. If the courgette is too wide for the mandolin, slice the edge off, just as I've done in the picture above.

Prepare the soured cream by blending all ingredients in a high speed blender. Use a tamper or the pulse function, blend until creamy.

Prepare the pesto by blending all ingredients in a high speed blender until fully broken down but not smooth. Alternatively use a food processor.

To make the mushroom filling- transfer marinated mushrooms (30-60 minutes should do it) to a food processor, add the sunflower seeds and miso paste. Process until slightly chunky.

Lay the courgette slices onto a non slick pan, scoop a teaspoon full of mushroom filling and fold in half.  Assemble the ready ravioli onto the plates, drizzle with each sauce and serve.

Tasty, right?
Enjoy!