Strawberry Shortcake Pie that's vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free...need I say more?

Strawberry shortcake is a decadent dessert, but you can make it a healthier option with whipped cream from our beautiful friend, Ms. Mac Nut. The Macadamia Nut Whipped Cream recipe is for all the whipped cream lovers out there.

On a nutritional level, macadamia nuts are manganese powerhouses. Manganese has some beauty-causing reactions on a cellular level for our bodies. It helps initiate the production of our skin and joint loving friend, collagen. It also helps our mitochondria (powerhouse of the cells) work better - hello, metabolism.  

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Macadamia Nuts (chopped or halved)
• 1 cup of Coconut Milk (creamier the better)
• 3 tablespoons of Sweetener (your choice - honey, agave nectar or sugar)
• 1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice
• 1 tablespoon of Pure Vanilla Extract (or a scraping from the inside of a vanilla bean pod...divinity!)
• Pinch of salt

Directions

Combine all above in a high-speed blender until homogenized (fully incorporated ingredients). Add 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil. Blend again until smooth and dollop away!  

Please note: this is an extremely high-calorie food, so you can't eat the whole bowl, but at least you won't have a tummy ache if you are sensitive to dairy. 

Props to Carmella's Sunny Raw Kitchen (thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com) for inspiring us to make our own modified version of her genius recipe and thank you, Linus Pauling Institute (www.lpioregonstate.edu) for the wealth of information on manganese.

Let's Uber It!

Uber is a German word originally made famous by the punk rock 80’s band the Dead Kennedys and it means the “ultimate, the best, going beyond” according to several online dictionary sources. The word uber, before the for-hire automobile transportation industry took over, was one of my favorite words. Unfortunately, it doesn’t pack the same punch anymore, but let’s revisit it pre-Uber and Lyft days.

Need an Immune System Lift?

Ubering something, or making anything better, gets me excited! Today we are going to explore some 'uber' ways we can use our daily food choices to boost our immune systems.

The first day of Autumn has come and gone in most northern and western states. One day it’s sunny and hot and the next day it’s snowing - you never get bored of the weather. However, this intense change in temperature can put a strain on our immune systems. Add in the following UBER superfoods to give your immune system a boost!

Replace Water with Bone Broth

Bone broth has all the good stuff that we should be getting from animal products without the challenging strain animal flesh puts on our digestive system. It’s like a dream come true for the Paleo people out there. It’s full of minerals, vitamins, elements, collagen and some of the more UBER brands add turmeric, glucosamine, chondroitin and additional probiotics. One more way to up your nutritional intake with bone broth is to add a scoop of it to your grains (rice, barley, quinoa, amaranth or whatever grains you cook regularly) while they are cooking.

Add Lemons, Lemons, and More Lemons - WE LOVE LEMONS!

Lemons UBER everything you can put them on. Think outside the lemon box...it’s just not the juice we love. The rind and the pith (the white stuff) actually contains more Vitamin C than the inside. However, it’s important that you use organic lemons if you are going to zest or incorporate the peel into your smoothies, salad dressings, stir-fries or sauces.

Lemons are obviously full of Vitamin C, but there’s so much more! They initiate a cleansing effect for our livers and they are one of the highest alkalizing substances we can put in our bodies. With our sugar-infested holidays right around the corner, it’s good to be able to cleanse our precious systems with some alkalizing foods especially since watermelons (the other highly alkalizing food) is out of season and harder to find now.

The simplest practice I invite you to try is just adding some freshly squeezed lemon juice to your water first thing in the morning before any other beverages. Also, if you drink green tea, a squeeze of lemon juice will exponentially increase the antioxidant power and it’s also a lovely flavor combination. 

Sprinkle in Some Rose Hips

Rose hips aren’t just a by-product of pretty flowers and they can be found on the shelves of your local, natural grocer! Rose hips main claim to fame is that they are the most UBER form of naturally occurring Vitamin C on Planet Earth. In fact, if you purchase non-synthetic Vitamin C supplements, they are most-likely made from rose hips. They don’t taste particularly yummy on their own, but they do hide well in smoothies and linger well at the bottom of your teacup.

Immune Boosting Green Smoothie

Ingredients

• 2 cups of Water (replace with Bone Broth for extra goodness)
• 2 cups of Frozen Fruit (berries or whatever you prefer)
• 1 banana
• 2 Medjool Dates (pitted)
• 2 quarter-size slivers of fresh Ginger Root (another UBER ingredient)
• 1/4 of a Lemon (include the peel and all!)
• 1 handful of Dried Goji Berries (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of Dried Rose Hips
• 1 cup (or a huge handful) of Baby Spinach
• 2 tablespoons of Hemp Seeds (UBER food)

Directions

Blend all ingredients together until homogenized and enjoy! Please note, it’s easier for your body to assimilate the nutrients if you chew your smoothie instead of sucking it down! For an added nutritional bonus — sprinkle some nuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, almonds, cashews, shredded coconut, raisins, or whatever small chewable items you can toss into your smoothie to encourage chewing. We want to make sure your body absorbs all the uber goodness!

The Uglier the Better

What I like about the lilikoi is the uglier they are on the outside, the sweeter they are on the inside!  What a great metaphor for us ladies as we embrace the aging process. They drop from their extensive vine system when the ripeness is just commencing. They ripen even more on the ground but you'd better snatch em up before a chicken starts pecking away at it and compromises their protective skin barrier. There is nothing that holds more promise culinarily speaking, than a giant basket filled with ripe, freshly harvested lilikoi.

Late Summer Feast

Lilikoi season is late summer thru mid fall here in the tropics. They are dropping constantly and have an extensive ability to take over (almost invasively so) choking out other plants as they wind their tendrils around unsuspecting hosts. Sounds ominous, but I can assure you, this lovely, exotic fruit bearer not only makes gorgeous sauces, lemonades, curds, pies and marinades, the flower is not so shabby as well!  Love yourself some Lilikoi today.  

Prepare Marinade Ingredients

• 1/4 C Soy Or Tamari/Nama Shoyu
• 1 Tbsp Minced Fresh Ginger
• 1 Tbsp Minced Fresh Garlic 
• 1 Tbsp Agave, Brown Sugar or White Sugar
• Juice of 2 Lilikoi (Seeds Included)
• 2 Green Onions (Cut into Small Ringlets)
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil (Can Be Omitted)
• 1/2 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper or Sambal Olec (Garlic Chili Paste of Thai Origin) 

Directions

Combine all ingredients and whisk together. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the marinade for basting tofu blocks, chicken or even beef!  Let marinade overnight. Baste with remaining marinade during the cooking process.

Purslane is a very prolific "weed"  that is happy in almost any place!  This nutritional superstar is known as "'akulikuli kula" in Hawaiian and grows in forests in places where challenging growing conditions exists for most plants, but not for this one. It has a zingy lemony flavor. Add to your salads, smoothies or make a pesto with some.  

Purslane consumption cranks up our immune system with its high amount of Vitamin C and Zinc, boosts our brain power, regulates metabolism, loves our hearts and much more with Omega 3 Fatty Acids and some Vitamin E in all it's glory too (skin, eyes, immune health, etc.). Purslane contains more Omega 3 Fatty Acids than any other food, including salmon!  So, feel free to indulge and load up on nutrition! I'll take my medicine today in the form of a Purslane Peppy Pesto, please! 

Ingredients

• 1 Cup of Loosely Packed Purslane (Leaves and/or Stems)
• 2 Cloves of Fresh Garlic
• 2 tbs of Healthy Nuts (Walnuts, Pine Nuts, Marcona Almonds, Pecans, Pepitas - Experiment!)
• 1/4 tsp of Sea Salt
• 1 tbs Olive Oil

Directions

Gather a decent handful purslane. The leaves have a more lemony flavor, but if you enjoy the flavor of the stems, include them in the mix. Remember to rinse well! Purslane tends to get dirty living so close to the ground. Gritty pesto - no, thanks! Toss your purslane harvest into a food processor with the listed ingredients. Blend together until you have a decadent, zippy condiment to smear on fresh bread, add to pasta, or to enjoy any other way! Either way, you will up the nutrition of your plate and excite your taste buds!