Winter Warmers

[Jax]

With autumn picking up it's pace :rain: and winter drawing in soon, has anybody got any lovely yummy recipes for winter warmers? :cold:

I have a couple of soups which I'll add below, but I wondered if there was anything else, although I absolutely love quick and easy soups at the moment, so please do post any more yummy recipes ;)

The Vita Mix Thai Soup - you can play around with the ingredients for your own tastes very easily with this soup.

1 carrot
1 spring onion
1 tomato
1 stick of celery
1 sprig of coriander
Slither of ginger
Handful of cashews
Some veg stock or a cube (depends on how raw you are for this)
Cold filtered water (to the amount you are making the soup for)
Coconut milk (again making up to the amount of soup you want)
* I also add in some green thai curry paste about half a dessertspoon for 2 people

Whizz in the Vita Mix for about 3-4 mins, I do it until the jug feels hot, but you can measure the temp with a thermometer for rawness.

Jax Tomato Soup

Fill the vitamix jug half full with tomatoes and a few fresh basil leaves, add some water and coconut milk (or cream or soya milk depending on your path ;) ) to the amount of soup you want, add a pinch of Himalayan salt and some tomato puree to taste if you eat it. Whizz up in the Vita Mix to the temp you want and serve.

[ani]

have you checked out Roger Haeskes savoury veggie stew
being made by a 2 year old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JysrqmxGAU

[Shmi_Skywalker]

I was reading just yesterday in Gillian McKeith's book "12 superfoods" that it's "impossible" to be 100% raw in the UK or a cold climate, which I found a bit discouraging and pessimistic :( so I'm appreciating warming recipes!

I'm wondering if you have to get the coconut juice straight out of coconuts or is there anyway you can buy it without additives or pasteurisation?

[Jax]

I was reading just yesterday in Gillian McKeith's book "12 superfoods" that it's "impossible" to be 100% raw in the UK or a cold climate,
OOOOOOOO that's sounding like a challenge eh?? :D

At the last Southampton Potluck we had a warming fruit juice, it was lovely with all the spices in, but I completely forget what was in it :o However hopefully it will give some inspiration for some lovely mixes here :tea:

As for the coconut juice Shmi, I have absolutely no idea as the only juice I've had is either out of the coconut or the different ones in tetrapaks :noidea:

[Ruth]

To encourage you: I have found over the past (almost) 2 years raw that the more raw food I eat, the warmer I feel when outside. It is a side effect of the raw food diet being able to tolerate extremes of temperature, and one that now I would not live without during the winter months in England! It is added impetus to me to stay as raw as possible, for I used to be in pain from the cold. Paradoxically if I do eat or drink something warm like conventional soup or hot tea I get much colder afterwards. Green smoothies, raw soups, and warmer vegetables dishes really do create an internal warming effect...especially using bitter green leaves! Using herbs and spices also works...and exercise! Oh and hot chocolate with raw cacao, blended until warm, with maca, chilli, cardamon, cinnamon... or anything really! Let's send Gillian Mc Keith that recipe with some love.

As Henry Ford said,' Whether you think you can, or that you can't, you are usually right.'

[Jax]

Karen Knowlers (http://www.totalbusinesscart.com/app/?af=1034046)* Fruit Punch Recipe has just come out - I think this might be similar to the lovely warming one that we had at the potluck at Karen Benetto's, so obviously 2 Karen's minds think alike!! http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Makes about 1 pint of punch (serves 2-3 people).

Ingredients:
* 3 apples
* 4 oranges
* ½ lemon
* Cinnamon (to taste)
* Five spice (to taste)
* Slices of lemon and orange for decoration

Directions
1) Juice the apples, oranges and lemon (including lemon peel) and pour into a blender jug.
2) Add in the cinnamon and five spice to the jug and blend until spices are thoroughly mixed into the juice.
3) When fully blended, pour into pretty glasses and serve with fruit pieces floating on top.

RAW COACH'S TOP TIPS:

* If you'd like to, you can gently heat this drink in a pan on a very low temperature. It won't necessarily make it taste any better, but if you're used to hot drinks or love them, then this will really perk you up!

[Debbie Took]

Shmi, I'd be interested to know what these twelve things are that Gillian McKeith thinks it's impossible to be raw through a UK winter without.

Anyhow...:-), I'm now in my fourth winter of raw (100% raw) and hope that this article will be helpful:

http://debbietookrawforlife.blogspot.com/2008/11/yes-you-can-stay-raw-this-winter.html

(PS I've done a quick google, and while I can't find the whole list, looks as if it contains 'blue-green algae'. Well, what a surprise... Honestly, it's really not necessary to eat dried pond-scum to be raw through a UK winter.)