Hot and Sour Soup~A Raw Foods Treat

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Well, before I leave off this little spew about coconuts, I will throw in another delightful raw foods idea that I threw together a week ago or so.

I love hot and sour soup, so I went online looking at some raw foods recipes to make some, but in the end, I wound up just throwing some things together like I always do. I'm not much for recipes - even when I was cooking all the time, I was always one to throw in some of this and some of that.

In this case, I took some red and green peppers, some mild, some hot, and some green cabbage and green onions, and I put them through the food processor to chop, then I added them to some young coconut water and cut some strips from the fairly firm coconut flesh for noodles, tossed in some sea salt and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar (mostly for a little color), and there it was. (The next day, I had some leftovers and added some little strips of mushrooms, and that was good too.) I was afraid it would taste too "coconut-y", but it was amazingly similar to a light chicken broth.

I ate this at room temperature, but it was still very satisfying. I was amazed at how filling it was! And even a little warming, since the high good fat content of coconuts and coconut water is always very warming to me anyway. I'm sure it will be a favorite of mine in any season.

Amazing Young Coconut Water

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For the past year and a half or so, I have been trying to drink young coconut water as often as I can get it. I have noticed amazing benefits from this refreshing drink. The first time I had it, I wasn't too sure about it's taste, but now I crave it whenever I get away from it for awhile.

Young coconut water is teeming with enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and good fats. It's very hydrating. It also is a good weight loss food, because though it is high in fat, as long as it's raw, it also has proportionately high amounts of the enzymes needed to break down fats.

To open a young coconut, start by shaving the husk off the top (the pointed area) with a sharp knife. Then take a butcher knife and use the corner near the handle to make a crack in the shell. This will take a litte force, so be careful (adults only, please!)

Then use the corner of the butcher knife to pry open the shell, and pour that lovely water into a bowl first, so as to catch all of it, and then into a glass. Enjoy!

I break open a young coconut every morning that I possibly can, and I save the soft meat in a large ziploc bag in the freezer. When I get a bagful, I thaw them out, blend them up, and mix them with raw nut meals and a raw sweetener to make cakes, bars, and cookies. More on those later.