Posts Tagged ‘raw mom’

Little People With Big Things to Say: An Interview With Almost 10-Year Old Mika Botkin

Monday, May 31st, 2010 by admin

I’ve interviewed a lot of incredible people in my day, but recently I had the opportunity to interview a courageous young woman about her thoughts and feelings on the subject of “raw food” and “Raw Moms”.

At the end of this short 10 minute interview, I asked Mika what advice she had for moms listening to this call. I think you’ll be pleased with her response. She certainly surprised me with her answer to the questions: “When you are a mom, what are you going to feed your kids?”

We put a lot of attention on what the grown-ups have to say about food and eating and we figured it was about time we put some attention on what the little voices have to share. The more we understand how they view their experiences with the meals and food we prepare, the better equipped we are for understanding them.

Mika has sage advice for parents, so listen in and let us know what you think of this little interview.

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More Great Stuff for Kids Coming Soon

We’re currently working on our Monkey Mike website so that kids will have more opportunities to inform themselves about fresh food and healthy living. Watch for more about that this summer.

Raw Mom Director, Fiona Hollis and Raw Mom Kristen Froelich are also working on producing a series of lesson plans that moms around the world will be able to bring to their local schools to help educate and inform school children in a fun and playful way about the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables. There are some exciting things coming, so stay tuned.

What Do Your Kids Have to Say?

If you’d like to take the time to interview your little ones and find out what BIG things they have to say, we’d love to hear from you. Whether on video, audio or even an in-print transcript of your cozy conversations. Let’s work together to understand how they feel so we can find the right tools and solutions to get the whole family on the fast track to healthy living.

Love and support,

Mika’s Mom

aka Tera

Carissa Leventis-Cox’s 3 yr old: Has his say!

Tags: kids on raw food, Mika Botkin, raw mom
Posted in Dads, Food, Kids | 6 Comments »

Unpacking “Raw Mom” - Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt

Thursday, May 20th, 2010 by Fiona

By Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt

Because of my recent changes in diet, I’ve been questioning my right to be a contributor to rawmom.com. My focus is no longer on raw, nor is it on vegan. Some days I feel like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

I know I’m a mom. I know that part of the equation is still valid. I still wake up every day intimately connected to this other person sleeping up in her loft. I worry and fuss over her, buy her stupid little quirky gifts, and get frustrated when she gives out attitude. I also wouldn’t trade it for anything - although some days she tests that resolve. But I know that I chose this, we chose each other, and I need the lessons she teaches me sometimes more than she does mine. I know that I am a mom. (more…)

Tags: faith, Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt, motherhood, Raw food, raw mom
Posted in Kids, You | No Comments »

Jessica Fenton’s Top Ten Tips for Raw Moms

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 by admin

Jessica came highly referred to Raw mom by one of our readers who enjoyed the Raw Mom Summit, and I love hearing about inspiring raw moms out there and know you do too!

Jessica Fenton’s Top Ten Tips for Raw Moms

Eat with your child at every opportunity
- Children are sociable creatures and love to interact as they eat. Eating as a family is crucial to your child’s development as it teaches him to try new foods and gives him the confidence at meal times to explore new foods. Often if he sees you enjoying a food, he will too.
Introduce new foods slowly
- If your child doesn’t seem to like a new food don’t panic just try him again with it at later date.
Make food fun
- Make a game out of meal times and trying new foods. If your child seems unsure at first let him see how much you love it. Make fun faces out of his food on his plate and rename the meal with a silly name to entice him.
Don’t make issues out of meal times

If your child is not willing to partake in a meal time let him get down from the table to avoid getting locked into a battle over the dinner table. Just make it clear that this is his main meal and there may be no more snaking until later.

If your child wants to eat cooked food – let him
- This is especially important if your child has previously eaten a cooked diet. Just make sure that it’s home cooked with love and consists of the healthiest cooked foods possible. Avoid the common nasties such as refined sugar, refined salt, wheat, gluten, dairy, meat, etc. Don’t deny him the foods he craves or else he might resort to eating them in secret, which no child should ever have to resort to.
Let your child help with creating his meals if he is old enough
- (more…)

Tags: children, conscious parenting, Family, Raw food, raw food for kids, raw mom
Posted in Food, Kids | 1 Comment »

What is the Optimal Diet for Your Family?

Sunday, February 28th, 2010 by admin

Judgement is like an eclipse of the sun…It blocks the light. ~ Marianne Williamson

shakaya-feb-2010 Have you noticed there seems to be a movement sweeping through the raw community..? Many people are discussing it, many are doing it, and some are advocating it. I’m talking about the idea of widening our conception of what in fact is the healthiest diet. Let me ask you something, do YOU know what the optimal diet is? Most of us here would say a raw diet. Buuuuut, what exactly is a raw diet? How raw are you supposed to be to be considered raw? Is it all or nothing, or how important is the percentages of raw to cooked ratio for health? Does being raw mean being vegan? How healthy is the struggle of striving for a particular ideal, only to fail time and time again? How about when you desire certain goals, but the stress of striving for them outweigh the results? What about if there is judgement from other people or YOURSELF? Are there issues that lie underneath that aren’t being addressed through diet alone? Is focusing solely on diet as the means of obtaining health balanced? Or can it become toxic? What about the kids?? What does all the hyper-focus on the food mean to them? Is being raw a rawligion? What does it really mean to YOU?

There are truly amazing people in the raw movement who seem to be quite adept in their ability to trust their instincts and do due diligence with their research- using both hemispheres of the brain to ascertain what is right for them on their health journey- and we have learned much from them and been so inspired. However, it was always what worked for THEM that they did and eventually espoused. Of course, when anyone has the clarity and passionate beliefs and acts upon them with conviction, the innate strength and rightness of being which one is imbued with naturally shines a light outwards- not only guiding them onwards, but also attracting others.

Many people noticed this light in these particular individuals, and started to investigate this idea of becoming Raw for themselves. And for a decade now, many of us have been raw. The effects of changing our diet, our personal standards about not only food and nutrition, but also the ethos and ethics of our choices, and the consequences socially- for many of us have been profound. Some have found their purpose. Some have regained their health. Some have been released of the burden of excess weight or addictions. Some have reversed disease. The list goes on and on of the (more…)

Tags: children, conscious parenting, Food for Thought, parenthood, Raw food, raw mom, Shannon Leone
Posted in Food, Health, You | 17 Comments »

Strictly Speaking

Thursday, February 4th, 2010 by Lisa

by Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt

Have you ever had someone comment on your diet seeming “strict” because of what you’re not eating? I love this! I taught an introductory raw foods class recently. At the beginning of these classes, I give the definition of raw foods as centering around fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains… and then I pause to check reactions. They’re always the same: a little glazed-over stare and then the mumbled, “Um, OK. That’s it…?” I love this part of class because I can see people’s minds spinning. They’re about to go into panic and rejection mode: “This diet has too many restrictions. Forget it!”

Well, I wish my students were here now. I am typing this article while eating my Top Secret Recipe Raw Vegan Chocolate Candy while drinking yerba mate tea with honey… for breakfast. Help me! I’m suffering over here because of my restricted diet! (Note: That was sarcasm.)

But, seriously, let’s look at this idea of restriction. When I became vegetarian, almost everyone I told reacted the same way: “Oh, man. I don’t know if I could live without meat.” When I became vegan, people bemoaned that perceived loss as well: “No dairy, eggs, or refined sugar? Not me!” Raw vegan? “No bread?!?” What’s happening here? Why did no one comment on how good I must be feeling? Why did no one say, “That’s awesome! I couldn’t imagine living without my green juices!”

American society seems to be focused on choice – having choice, having a myriad of choices, and ensuring that we always have the freedom to choose. When those choices are threatened or perceived as being threatened, we get defiant, we rebel, we puff up and defend our “freedoms”. But my challenge to my students – and to you – is to look at this on its head. What if we turned it around?

Many people I encounter are not happy with their health, their weight, or their food choices and they’re trying to find ways to change. Inevitably people list off their “sins”: pizza, cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, candy. I am then regaled with all the things they “know they should be doing”: exercise, greens, herbal teas, smaller portions. Sound familiar?

Ever wondered why it doesn’t work? Who wants to take away all the things that give them pleasure… to find health and happiness? Doesn’t this seem a little counter-intuitive? When I was transitioning over to a raw vegan diet, I found myself eating mostly raw and vegan… and then ordering pizza in. At first, I really struggled with the hypocrisy of it. Then, I realized that, at the time, I associated pizza and a movie with my family as something that brought me joy. Over the next few months, those pizza orders got further and further apart as I began to work on my emotions around food and incorporate healthier foods into my diet. We haven’t ordered pizza in months and, more importantly, I don’t crave it. I couldn’t start from a place of subtraction and denial; I had to start with adding and accepting and working with.

I remember telling a student once, “I don’t care if you eat steak or not, if you’re enjoying it – but you have to define enjoyment for yourself. Where does it start for you? Is it in the eating of the food? How the food was produced? How was it packaged? What your emotions were when you were preparing it? Who you were eating it with?” What’s really missing in our health is not some magical cure-all pill or goji berries or green smoothies. What’s really missing is joy, intention, and appreciation.

If we can start thinking in terms of adding things back into our lives and, hence, our diets, then we’ll begin to understand that the real restriction was our separation of ourselves from our experiences and our food. The more you begin to add healthier options and attitudes to your diet, the less room you will have for the unhealthier ones.

So, when people ask me now if I feel like I’m missing out on certain foods because of my dietary choices, I always say, “Dude, I have candy for breakfast. Are you kidding?!”

Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt is a raw foods chef and teacher and owner of Rite Food and Company, which offers workshops on intentional and joyful eating. Lisa Marie and her homeschooled daughter, Mo, record a weekly podcast – called Sweet Peas Podcast – chronicling their raw foods journey together.

Tags: Food for Thought, Health, Raw food, raw foods, raw mom
Posted in Food, Health | 4 Comments »

How the Cookie-Pusher Changed My Perspective

Sunday, January 31st, 2010 by admin

by Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt

Mo and I flew to Atlanta last summer to visit my grandparents. I love my grandparents. They’re a total riot… and I don’t think intentionally so. Take, for example, the day they took us to lunch. My grandmother confessed that she just couldn’t bear the thought of not being able cook us a lunch, so she decided to deal with it the only way she knew how: she took us to the local steakhouse so that we could partake in their salad bar.

molm

This salad bar was much like every other steakhouse salad bar in the South. Not only did we have our choice of iceberg lettuce or iceberg lettuce, but we also got to choose from a variety of canned fruits, unnamed chunks of pressed meats, and puddings with skin. Mo and I were in heaven. How could we not be with plates piled high with iceberg lettuce and cherry tomatoes? We thought we’d hit the jackpot! “Just eat what you can and I’ll take you out later,” I said in my best ventriloquist impersonation.

“Don’t y’all want any boiled eggs or cheese for that salad?” asked my concerned grandmother when we returned to the table. “It’s just that the baby here’s looking a bit thin.” Mo, then 11, by the way, is the baby. We politely declined and proceeded to eat our food with greatest gusto we could muster.

When Mo went for her second plate, my grandmother discreetly got up from the table. As I continued eating, I watched my grandmother go to the desserts counter, grab something, and corner Mo by the salad bar. I saw Mo talking to her, but couldn’t tell what was being said. Later I learned that my grandmother had been attempting her usual Granny Coercion Tactics: “Why don’t you just have a cookie? You don’t have to tell your mother. I can’t believe she makes you eat this way!” Mo later told me she responded, “She doesn’t make me eat this way. I’m choosing to.” I remember seeing my grandmother returning to the table, looking defeated, and munching on the swiped cookie.

As Mo recounted the cookie incident to me that night, I thought, Man, when I was her age, I would have never turned down a cookie! When I was her age, I was eating fast food, buckets of candy, and, basically, anything on offer. So, what happened in the chasm between my grandmother and my daughter? What did I learn from my grandmother and my mother that would have spurned me, a raw vegan?

So many raw foodists that I’ve run into have said that they chose their lifestyle from a place of lack – lack of health, lack of nutrition, lack of energetic attunement. I chose mine from an abundance of love and excitement. Yes, those other pieces were and are important to me, but the joy of eating and the appreciation of eating in company… those I got from my grandmother. Some of the funniest and sweetest memories I have of my childhood center around food. And, yes, we may have been eating Burger King at the time, but the feelings of love were fat and plenty.

I understand that when my grandmother was pressing that cookie onto Mo that it wasn’t from a place of deviousness. I know her. She struggles with comprehending how someone could not want to share a joy-filled taste experience. For her, this sharing is connexion, intimacy. I feel this way, too, when I offer someone a taste of my latest creation. I love her for that gift.

I used to be angry at my maternal lineage. Sometimes I would get so despondent from having to undo all the years of unhealthy eating. Focusing on that negativity left me exhausted. In order to heal, I began to recognize that I couldn’t have gotten here if I wasn’t intelligent, compassionate, and appreciative of the humour of it all… all the things I learned from grandmother. This path from my grandmother to my kid may be lined with fried foods and double-iced birthday cakes, but underneath that is a real love, a real need to feel close to someone.

In order to honour my path, I have to honour my grandmother’s and my mother’s… and all the women before them. I have to see that each of them learned from their mothers and believe that they tried to improve upon what they were taught. It’s so exciting to think that Mo will take my lessons around food and eating and push them up a notch. Where will she end up? What will she teach her children? And will I get my chance push a raw vegan cookie on them?

Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt is a raw foods chef and teacher and owner of Rite Food and Company (www.ritefoodandcompany.com), which offers workshops on intentional and joyful eating. Lisa Marie and her homeschooled daughter, Mo, record a weekly podcast – called Sweet Peas Podcast – chronicling their raw foods journey together.

Tags: children, conscious parenting, Raw food, raw foods, raw mom
Posted in You | No Comments »

“Coconut Kids” Smoothie & Keeping Cool

Monday, January 25th, 2010 by admin

by Joanne Newell

Delia & Lana Raizon

Hello everyone! A belated Happy New Year to you – has your 2010 started off well? Don’t you love the start of a fresh new year?

It’s been hot, hot, hot here in Melbourne. Well, some days it’s hot, some days it’s chilly – and it can be four season in one day in this lovely city!

To keep cool, we’ve been whipping up some ice-cold drinks, including a phenomenal smoothie created by an amazing Aussie mum called Delia Raizon. Delia writes recipe books with her sister, Lana (their latest book was published by The Five Mile Press, who also publishes my books in Australia), and Delia has posted a few high-raw recipe videos on the “Lana & Delia Raizon” website.

You’ve gotta check out the videos – SO cute, and inspiring. Delia’s at the start of a raw journey, and I just love that there’s another voice out there promoting the health benefits and taste of green smoothies and high-raw foods to Australian families.

You can see Delia’s “Coconut Kids” smoothie video here, but if you’d like to give it a go, here’s the recipe itself:

Coconut Kids Smoothie

Ingredients

1 young Thai drinking coconut
5 frozen bananas (if your blender isn’t powerful, you might need to chop the bananas before freezing)
3 or so pitted dates, soaked, with the soaking water
2 handfuls soaked almonds
extra water
ice cubes

Method

Tip the flesh and juice from the coconut into a blender.
Add the frozen bananas, pitted dates (and their soaking water) and almonds, and blend.
Add extra water and ice and blend to achieve your desired consistency.

This smoothie has become a favorite at our house!

In our continuing quest to keep cool on these dreamy, long summer holidays, the girls and I have also been whipping up a few treats from Ani’s Raw Food Desserts (by Ani Phyo), including “Chocolate-Covered Bananas” (choc-coated frozen bananas on skewers, found on page 77 of the book) and “Key Lime Kream Bars” (page 25).

Surprisingly, when making the banana ice lollies, the kitchen didn’t become covered in chocolate – most of it actually went on the bananas (or into little – and big – mouths). The girls weren’t quite so keen on the kream bars, but I adore them, and have been cutting off little wedges every now and then as a zesty, creamy snack.

I’ve yet to try out the enticing-sounding “Raspberry-Ganache Fudge Cake”, which Raw Mom Shannon tried when Ani’s book first came out. Can’t wait to sample that one. Thanks, Ani, for such a beautiful little book!

If you’re after some lively raw inspiration, I highly recommend Ani’s book, and popping over to Delia and Lana’s website.

Take care, everyone, and hug your babies!

Love Jo

Tags: children, children's recipe book, conscious parenting, Raw food, raw food recipe, raw food recipes for kids, raw foods, raw kids, raw mom, Shannon Leone
Posted in Kids, Stuff We Love, You | 2 Comments »

It’s Hard To Be A Martyr

Saturday, January 16th, 2010 by Lisa

by Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt

lisamarie-dgrrr

Does this ring a bell for you? You’re unloading your groceries onto the conveyor belt at your local grocery store. You’re throwing organic, grain-fed chicken (for your raw dog, of course) up there, some local apples, maybe a couple of boxes of shee-shee organic tea harvested specially from some little town in the Andes where the only source of income for the indigenous peoples are from the farming of this tea… As you’re piling up your well-thought-out purchases, you happen to glance at the customer’s cart behind you. You notice the Ho-Hos, the frozen Hungry Man dinners, the drums of Sunny D, and can after can of meat chili. Your eyes nonchalantly travel up to the customer himself. You see a man with someone you presume is his son. Both are heavy, looking disheveled, and generally conveying an air of grump. You mentally shake your head and start connecting the dots from their diet to their appearance. After you pay for your groceries, you walk out of the store praising yourself for having the intelligence to rise above the muck and mire of the SAD diet.

Or what about this one? You make a beautiful dinner for your family of baked delicata squash, brown rice with local, raw, organic butter, and a hearty kale salad. When it’s time to serve up everyone’s plate, you cram your plate with kale salad, taking only minuscule amounts of the rice and squash. You serve everyone else’s plate to their liking, making sure they’ve seen the portion ratio on your plate. Once their plates are clean, they head back up to the stove for a second helping… of rice and butter. You say, “There’s plenty of kale salad left, if you want some of that, too,” but they decline. You mentally shake your head and start connecting the dots from their diet to any malady they may currently be experiencing. As you’re cleaning up, you eye the rice and butter, wanting another serving. Of course, you can’t because that would send the wrong message to the other family members that look up to you for guidance on their health quest.

It’s hard to be the martyr. I know. I’ve been one for years. I think I am coming to the realization that others may not be perceiving me as a martyr though. This is shocking. I have invested a lot of time researching nutrition, a lot of money trying out different recipes, and a lot of energy being the example for others. How dare they not understand all I am doing to sacrifice myself for their health?!?! … OK. So, of course, I am saying all this tongue-in-cheek, but this is a real issue – for me and for other women I know. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this recently because I’ve found myself exhausted, exhausted from always having to be “on,” always having to make the “right” decision. I’ve been living my life for other people’s reactions. But in mulling this over, another thought came to the fore: Is judging wrong? And where does compassion fit into all this?

This compassion thing is new to me. I was never taught this concept outright as a child. Therefore, my understanding of it has gotten all screwed up. My husband says compassion literally means “to suffer with.” What if you could break everything down to suffering – meaning, somehow or another our needs are not being met on some level? Could we be better equipped to relate to others? I believe we could because then the emotional baggage that we create around judging would be a moot point.

Many of us get mired in defining judging as something bad. But it is not the judging that is bad; it is what you do with this judging that defines the quality of the judgement. The literal definition of judgement is “the cognitive process of reaching a decision or drawing conclusions; the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations.” So, if we see someone in a grocery store with a buggy loaded down with processed food, we can make a judgement or draw a conclusion about that particular person. But, and herein lies the rub: listen to yourself as you are judging. What conclusions have you drawn? How are you characterizing that person? Are your conclusions helpful or compassionate? What is your investment in judging this person in a certain way? Does your judgement validate you in any way?

These are hard questions. It takes a heck of a person to be able to go through this process and respond honestly and, most importantly, to act compassionately. But the first place to start is with yourself: how are you judging yourself? And, more importantly, are you able to respond to that judgement compassionately? Can you respect the path you are on as a process?

That’s your homework assignment. Let me know how you do. As for myself, I think I’ve got a special place for that Martyr Award… in the closet.

Tags: conscious parenting, Lisa Marie's Thoughts, Raw food, raw mom
Posted in Health, Kids | 4 Comments »

Raw Diva—Mary’s Thoughts

Sunday, January 10th, 2010 by admin

I was on jury duty for four days recently, my second time in 32 years. The first time, the jurors were taken out to eat at restaurants each day and all sat together so they could keep an eye on us. This time we were sent out to forage on our own. Most of the other jurors bought lunch in the courthouse café. But since I did not want to pay five dollars for a salad the size of a tea cup, I brought my own lunches.

I decided I wanted to keep it simple and not have to prep too much before I left the house or worry about spoilage before lunch time. I also had to consider that forks and knives are not allowed past security, so finger foods were best. Here is what I took—though, not all on the same day ;-):

Quart jars of green smoothies
Head of pre-washed lettuce in plastic container with a jar of homemade salad dressing to dip the leaves into
Jar raw pistachios
Pint of grape tomatoes
Big bunch of rinsed raw green beans
Whole avocado (sliced in half in advance) to eat with a spoon
Chopped asparagus, sliced mushrooms and chopped sundried tomatoes marinated in oil and vinegar (this took less than five minutes to toss into a container)
Little jar of handmade raw cookies

Whether you get called for jury duty where you are trapped in the courthouse, need to attend business meetings where they usually serve donuts and pizza or are on a weekend road trip with only fast food restaurants along the way you do not need to sacrifice your tastes, dietary preferences or budget; just take along your favorite portable whole foods instead. Other great options for “naturally wrapped” snacks are fruits like bananas, pears, oranges and apples…just eat them in the order of most likely to ripen quickest. Raw corn on the cob is another of my favorites, just shuck and eat.

Happy Eating!
Mary
www.voiceofthevegan.com

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose, prescribe or treat illness. It is valuable to seek the guidance of an alternative health care professional before making any changes to one’s diet and lifestyle.

Tags: Food for Thought, Raw food, raw food recipe, raw foods, raw mom, Tips for Moms
Posted in You | 3 Comments »

How to Make a Root Beer Elixir for Health

Friday, January 8th, 2010 by admin

by Ruth

rootbeerelixir

Don’t be put off by the possibly esoteric list of herbs, or the number of steps, or the length of prep time… Enjoy the process of creating and brewing your family into epic health and relish in the joy that comes from seeing them enjoy a special beverage that totally and 100% supports their health and totally 100% pleases their taste buds. And for anyone who in their pre-raw days consumed a lot of root beer… now you can once more, this time guilt free!

My husband loves the flavour of root beer. In Australia, the closest substitute is Sarsaparilla soda. Both of these, however, aren’t exactly something I’d be happy with my children drinking and definitely not something I’d choose for myself.
I’m pretty sure all the raw mom readers are aware of how damaging consuming pop (or soft drink as us Aussies call it) is for our families’ health. I’m also pretty sure there are at least a few moms out there whose kids still would LOVE it if they served them root beer as a treat. Well… now you can… and as your loved ones enjoy the yummy root beer goodness, you can enjoy the fact that you are supporting their vibrant health rather than compromising it.

HOW TO CREATE A ROOT BEER ELIXIR STEP-BY-STEP

Fill a saucepan (ideally heat proof glass) with around 2 litres of cold spring water.
Gather and place into your pot of water:
- 3 TB sarsaparilla root
- 2 TB burdock root
- 2 TB dandelion root (make sure it’s raw, not the roasted coffee substitute)
- 2 TB licorice root -
  (I used all dried, but if fresh is available to you, use fresh instead, just double the amounts.)
- 2 TB freshly grated ginger
- 1 vanilla bean, snipped into 4 pieces
Slowly simmer the herbs in the water until it gently boils, reduce the heat and let mixture infuse for a couple of hours at least (overnight even).
Strain mixture and add sweeteners. I personally use a couple of spoonfuls each of molasses and evaporated cane juice and then reheat the brew to boiling and let reduce to a syrupy consistency. Remember that the licorice itself adds a sweet flavour, so use less concentrated sweetener then you normally would. I like molasses for the colour and iron content even though it isn’t raw. I haven’t tried it yet, but I bet simmering dates in the brew would work fine. Or just add straight up honey. You could even add in some cinnamon and stevia for sweetness without calories. I’m a little more lax on the sweeteners for this, as it isn’t an everyday drink.
Let cool and decant into a glass bottle.
Add 5 - 10 drops WINTERGREEN essential oil and shake vigorously.
Store in fridge for up to a week. Use about 1/3 root beer mix to water (using sparkling mineral water gives you the same bubbly feeling as the regular pop version does and seriously kids of all ages love it… just don’t tell them it’s healthy!)

The most important ingredients to replicate that root beer taste are the sarsaparilla and the wintergreen. Feel free to experiment with the others. All the dried root herbs are liver tonics. Pretty much everyone’s liver in western society could use a little help and cleanse. Go easy on this stuff if you are pregnant. The licorice helps carry the other herbs to where they are needed in the body (i.e. the liver) but also has the tendency to increase blood pressure (another reason to exercise caution drinking this during pregnancy). All the ingredients are safe for children. The wintergreen really is the key ingredient. If you are at all cautious about ingesting essential oils check out the chapter on using essential oils in food preparation in the book Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens. I love using essential oils in my food, especially cardamom essential oil (but that is a whole other post in itself). You can buy wintergreen oil from the Hulda Clark store where she uses it in her healing protocols.

Seriously, Wintergreen oil is amazing stuff. When I was playing around with the root beer elixir (before the addition of the wintergreen) something wasn’t quite right, so I googled traditional ways of making root beer and came across information on wintergreen leaves being the main ingredient of the root beer of yesteryear. We just happened to have some of the oil lying around, so I added it in and WOW, my cordial now tasted like the real deal. My husband gulped his glass down and begged for another.

From my research, wintergreen is a super potent healing agent for joint injuries, muscle pain, bursitis, and arthritic conditions. As it is so potent though, I would not recommend consuming extreme amounts of wintergreen. My husband is currently rehabilitating a pretty major hip injury sustained from some hectic mountain biking. If you are the mom of active and thrill seeking teen boys, that’s another reason to give this recipe a try.

Tags: children, conscious parenting, hofer, raw food recipe, raw foods, raw mom, recipe for kids, root beer elixir, ruth
Posted in Food, Stuff We Love | 4 Comments »