This fresh tasting dish is quick and easy to put together. The tomato and cucumbers have edible covers, so there is little waste … and it looks pretty too!

Tomato, Cucumber, Pine Nut Salad is:
- dairy free
- diabetic friendly
- raw
- vegan
- wheat free

Ingredients (per person)
1 ripe Tomato
¼ – ½ Long English Cucumber
¼ cup Pine Nuts
Olive Oil
Rice Wine Vinegar
Tarragon (or your favourite savoury herb)

Directions
1. Chop Tomato and Cucumber into bite size pieces
2. Place in bowl and sprinkle with equal amounts of Olive Oil and Rice Wine Vinegar
3. Add Pine Nuts and chopped fresh Tarragon
4. Toss together
5. Enjoy!

Its cold and flu season … just in case you hadn’t heard about it in the news … and I’m surrounded by people in various stages of sniffles and coughs, and plenty of people who have been down a few days and recovered.

With all this going on I’ve been thinking about how to fortify my immune system the low crap way.

So I started blending up a small clove of garlic with my morning smoothie.  I don’t do it every day …  just the days that I wake up with a little tickle in my throat (which is a sure sign my immune system is under serious strain.)

I’ve discovered over the years that when my body needs a garlic boost I am not bothered by the unpleasant smell normally associated with eating raw garlic. When I start to smell garlic coming through my skin, then I know that the garlic has done its job in fortifying my immune function and I won’t eat it for a few days.

If you really don’t like the taste of garlic in your smoothie (its actually quite subtle) then you can take deodorized garlic tablets (1 or 2 per day is plenty) and achieve the same results. Remember though, processed garlic tablets are not low crap … what with all the packaging and processing that goes on to make them.

Garlic is worthy food medicine to keep on hand. It has antibiotic and antiviral properties and it is excellent for both preventing and treating respiratory conditions such as colds and flu. While you are keeping away colds and flus you will also be doing your heart good as garlic will lower cholesterol. Be aware though that garlic is a natural blood thinner; so use caution if you have a bleeding disorder or are using pharmaceutical blood thinners.

Fresh raw garlic is truly low crap, self-packaged goodness.

Quinoa (pronounced “keen wah”) is a super-nutrient grain-like product that comes to us from high in the Andes Mountains of South American.

Botanically speaking, Quinoa is a member of the Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae). Other distinguished super-nutrient members of the Goosefoot clan are Beets, Swiss Chard, Spinach, and Amaranth.

That’s quite a line-up of stars from one family!

Quinoa seeds cook up quickly and are as versatile as any food I know.

I like to keep a cooked pot of either Quinoa or Brown Rice on hand in the fridge to use as the base for breakfast cereal, super salad, or as a quick snack on its own splashed with a little Tamari sauce.

Quinoa supplies nutrition and bulk to soups and stews.

The uncooked seeds can be ground up and used as gluten free flour.

If you are into the raw lifestyle, Quinoa can be soaked and/or sprouted and incorporated into raw recipes.

Quinoa is an excellent source of protein, calcium, iron and B-vitamins

Cooked Quinoa is:
- low alkaline forming
- dairy free
- diabetic friendly
- gluten free
- vegan

Ingredients
1 cup Quinoa seeds
2 cups filtered water

Directions
1. Put Quinoa seeds into a fine mesh sieve and rinse with cold water
2. Add rinsed Quinoa seeds to water in medium sized pot
3. Turn heat to high just until the water starts to boil, then turn heat to simmer and place lid on pot.
4. Let simmer with lid on for 20 minutes.
5. When 20 minutes has passed, gently lift the lid and tilt the pan slightly to the side. If the Quinoa holds in place, it is ready. If the Quinoa starts to slide, there is still too much moisture in the pot, so put the lid back on and return it to the heat for a few more minutes. But watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn.

See Brown Rice for Breakfast for ideas on how to use cooked Quinoa as a breakfast cereal and simply substitute Quinoa for rice.

For lunch, dinner or untraditional breakfast, use cooked Quinoa in a super salad … tomorrow’s entry.

As a quick and nutritious snack, toss cold cooked Quinoa with Tamari soy sauce, or your favourite spices, and enjoy. 

Cooked Quinoa will store in the fridge for up to a week.

Frozen berries are a wonderful low crap food staple to have on hand. (See yesterday’s post to learn how to freeze berries for later use.)

Here are 10 ways to enjoy your berry bounty.

1. quick, cold snack eaten right from the bag
2. mix into plain yogurt 
3. fancy up Sunday morning pancakes
4. add variety to fresh made muffins
5. have a jam making adventure on a snowy day
6. smoothie muse
7. throw into green salads (blueberries and Saskatoons are best)
8. makes fresh fruit salads extra juicy
9. flavouring for home made salad dressing
10. scones and biscuits become unboring

I’m avoiding the stores today. Its too frustrating to see all those beautiful fresh berries packaged up in plastic baskets and bags. Tomorrow I’ll go to the Farmer’s Market to restock my fridge. At least there I can buy bulk fruit in cardboard boxes or fill up my own bags.

So instead of shopping for fresh fruit today, I decided to dig into my freezer and see what I could come up with for an afternoon treat. There wasn’t much there except frozen grapes and cranberries. That started me thinking about how refreshing the combined flavours of sweet and sour are.

Wow! Did I ever come up with a wonderful recipe! In fact it was so good that I didn’t want it to end … so I made a second batch …

Cranberry Grape Cooler is
- Dairy Free
- Gluten Free
- Raw

Ingredients
2 cups frozen grapes
½ cup frozen cranberries
1 tsp honey
Splash of Vanilla Extract
2 cups water
1-2 tsp Maca Powder (optional) Maca, the powdered root of a South American plant, is known as a ‘super food’ that provides a vital energy lift.

Directions
1. Put all ingredients in blender.
2. Blend on high until the cranberries are thoroughly broken down
3. Enjoy … in a wine glass of course

Today I’m taking a respite from the plastic insanity to bring you this raw food tidbit and low crap recipe.

Have you ever wished there was a way that you could get all the goodness of a big salad everyday without the fuss?

You wish is about to come true!

I’ve been doing some serious lurking in the online raw food movement for almost a year, experimenting on myself to see if eating raw food would make any type of significant difference in my health. The answer to that question is “absolutely”! And I will be blogging more about raw food in the future.

For today I want to tell you how you can ingest a full days worth of raw veggies and fruit in one sitting … without a fork. The way to do that is by making a blended salad, where all the salad ingredients, including the dressing, are blended up and served in a glass.

Sound gross? … only until you try it.

The trick is to put in one sweet fruit such as apple, pineapple, peach, etc and a little bit of something acidic such as lemon, lime or apple cider vinegar, and then go wild with the rest of the ingredients. I also like to include a clove of garlic for its health giving and protective properties.

Making a blended salad is much faster than making a regular salad because you don’t have to chop anything – the blender does all the work. Which also makes clean up a breeze. A quick rinse of the knife, cutting board and blender when your done, throw the produce trimmings in the compost and your good to go! Another great thing about blended salads is you can easily take them with you in a ‘go cup’.

Below are some guidelines for making a blended salad, but don’t be afraid to experiment with what you have on hand.

Ingredients
1-2 handfuls of leafy greens (spinach, beet greens, cilantro, lettuce, kale, chard, etc)
1 tomato
½ – 1 sweet pepper (red, green, or orange)
Cucumber (long English, field, etc)
1 clove garlic
½ – 1 cup sweet fruit (pineapple, apple, peach, mango, etc)
½ lemon or lime OR ½-1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
½ – 1 cup Filtered water (depending on how thick you like your blended salad)
Optional: 1 or 2 pitted dates; ½ tbsp honey or maple syrup; ½ carrot; ½ beet; fresh peas or beans; fennel or celery stalks; other salad ingredients

Directions
1.Place all ingredients in blender
2.Blend until smooth. You may need to use the blender’s plunger.
3.Serve in a wine glass, over ice if you like your salad cold.

Remember that pineapple I bought last week. It wasn’t ripe when I bought it, so I let it sit on the counter for a few days. On Friday I realized that it was ready to eat, but I wasn’t ready for it, so I put it in the fridge to slow down the ripening process.

Today was a hot sunny day in Calgary and I spent some of the afternoon helping friends plant their garden and the rest of the day trying to catch up on the little chores that didn’t get done last week.

Late in the afternoon I started to get hungry so I did what most people do …. opened the fridge and stared … hoping that something quick, tasty and nutritious would appear to eat.

That’s when I saw the pineapple … patiently waiting to be chosen … knowing its days were numbered before it would be too ripe to eat and end up whole in the composter. What low crap food wants that fate?

“Perfect!” I said. “Fresh juicy pineapple for dinner. What could be better?” I contemplated making it into a shake with some nuts for protein; or mixing it into yogurt; or putting it on a salad.

But by the time all those thoughts went through my head I had already cut off the bottom and was enjoying the first piece … heaven … low crap food at its peek of perfection!

According to Low Crap Diet’s mission: I need to question everything; take nothing for granted; eat sacred cows (poetically); compost century old habits; seed revolutionary idea; and grow action from within.

So tonight I challenge the centuries old habit and sacred cow of Sunday Night Dinner. Who says Sunday Night Dinner has to have a certain amount of this or that or be covered in sauces or fussed over all day?

Go ahead … eat a pineapple or any other fruit this Sunday night for dinner … it will only take seconds to prepare (just wash and cut) and seconds to clean up.

My grandmother may be turning over in her grave at the very thought of Sunday night dinner without roast beef, mashed potatoes and cherry pie. Sorry Grandma … change happens … and there will be another Sunday next week …

Quick to prepare, this raw dish is perfect for those last minute potluck get-togethers.

Garlic Broccoli Offering is:
- Medium Alkaline forming
- Diabetic Friendly
- Gluten Free
- High Fiber
- Raw

Ingredients
2 stalks broccoli
6 garlic cloves (adjust to your preference)
½ tsp sea salt (adjust to your preference)
¼ cup hemp or olive oil
Juice from two limes
Handful of chopped cilantro and/or parsley (optional)

Directions
1. Finely chop broccoli and garlic
2. Mix all ingredients together
3. Enjoy with a friend

Orange Juice with a Fresh Green Twist

Do know where orange juice comes from?

Ok that’s a bit of a smart-ass question … but to make a point I thought I would ask.

Of course orange juice comes from oranges. But most of the orange juice for sale in supermarkets has been pasteurized and hot packed in plastic bottles. So you are buying an inferior product in non-degradable packaging. Sure it’s inexpensive and convenient, but at what cost to our health and our environment?

Why not make your own orange juice with your blender. (A VitaMix is ideal for this task.)

And while your at it, throw in some fresh greens and you’ve got a high fiber super drink at a fraction of the cost of purchasing powdered green super food, which by the way, is also a processed food housed in a pesky plastic tub.

OGJ is:
- Neutral Alkaline forming when made with spinach
- Medium Alkaline forming when made with Kale
- Diabetic Friendly
- Gluten Free
- High Fiber 
- Raw

OGJ is best enjoyed fresh and it will keep in fridge for up to 12 hours.

Ingredients
1 orange peeled
1-2 handfuls of any leafy greens such as spinach and kale
¼ lime peeled
¼ – ½ inch fresh ginger (optional)
2 cups water
Ice (optional)

Directions
1. Wash all ingredients under running water.
2. Place all ingredients in blender (put leafy greens in last)
3. Add 2 cups filtered water
4. Blend until all ingredients are well pulverized (30-45 seconds in a VitaMix) and the OGJ is a frothy bright green
5. Serve over ice