GREEN REVIEW: The Healing Patch Cookbook

I had the pleasure of interviewing Julie Hofenberg and Sarah Woodward yesterday on my talk radio show Global Vision Coaches and Healing Therapies. They are the authors of the new cookbook, The Healing Patch Cookbook. I was excited to receive this book in the mail because I love trying out new recipes and gaining more knowledge about natural living, including raw and vegan food recipes. Here is my review of the cookbook!

The Healing Patch Cookbook
Healing Patch Publishing
$14.99
133 pages
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The Healing Patch Cookbook provides easy to follow vegan and raw food recipes, as well as important information on transitioning from a heavier, meat eating, diet. The authors have studied natural health for several years and cite positive changes in their own health and appearance as a result of eating raw and vegan foods. The authors advise you to listen to what your body needs and take simple steps to incorporating natural foods into your diet. The recipes in this book are appealing to the eye as well as the taste buds. You can start your day off with a Coconot Protein Shake (p. 52) or the Lean Green Smoothie (p. 53). Each of these smoothie recipes feature fresh fruit ingredients such as coconut and banana, as well as natural sweeteners like raw honey and optional nutritional additions such as green superfood powder. If you love dips and Mexican inspired dishes like I do, you'll enjoy the heavenly recipes for Holy Guacamole (p.64) and the Taco Bowls (p. 108). Those of you who love a hearty, power packed vegetarian meal will enjoy recipes for Stuffed Mushrooms (p.97) and Pesto Pasta (p.102). I enjoy green salads for lunch or dinner, and this cookbook has several recipes for them. The Asparagus Cucumber Salad (p.70) gives you the refreshing kick of cucumbers and chives, the Fresh Fennel Salad (p. 72) combines green herbs with sweetness from whole raspberries. The Superfood Salad (p. 76) is a raw salad with plenty of the colorful antioxidants your body needs. I look forward to trying all of the recipes in this cookbook over the next few months.

Visit your neighborhood food coop, farmer's market or health food store to stock up on plenty of fresh ingredients, herbs and seasonings to make these wonderful dishes right in your kitchen!

Yours in a sea of green,


DuEwa Frazier

GREEN EATS: Power Berry Purple Smoothie

1 1/2 cup frozen organic blueberries
1 cup frozen organic strawberries
1 ripe organic bannana
2 cups of soy or rice milk (you can also use juice or almond milk)
2 tbs of flavored soy powder (such as Spirutein or Source of Life)
1 tsp of powdered nutmeg
1/2 to 1 cup (to taste) of raw honey or raw agave nectar

Makes 4 - 6 servings

I love this drink! This drink is smooth, velvety, packed with vitamins and nutrients and it's sweet! This smoothie can give you extra energy and stave off cravings in between meals. It is a great drink in the morning or after dinner.

For this recipe you will need a blender as well as the above ingredients. If you would rather use ice and fresh fruit instead of frozen fruit, that is fine. I prefer not to have the extra water content of the ice. The fruit and soy or rice milk adds enough liquid and the frozen fruit adds flavor and the desired consistency. Squeeze or spoon your honey or agave into the blender. I like to put the sweetener on the bottom of the blender first, because it is close to the blade and the blade will evenly distribute it through the rest of the ingredients for an even taste.

Add all of the ingredients into the blender. You may have to stir it once or twice to prevent the fruit from clumping. Blend until smooth and creamy. If it's too thick for you, you can always add a little more soy or rice milk. When finished, pour into glasses - garnish with a lime wedge, mint leaves, or a strawberry.


Yours in a sea of green,


DuEwa Frazier

GREEN ENERGY: Go out, save energy in your home

Here are the top 10 places you can go to, during the summer heat, and save the energy in your home. When you're at home during the day, you have to use your fans, your air conditioner, your computer, etc. This one is for those of you who work at home, or are off of work during the summer.

I'm going to do this David Letterman style (LOL)!

10. Bake or buy a lovely batch of brownies or muffins and take them over to a friend or your sweet grandmother. You can relax at their house, enjoy the brownies with muffins or herb tea and save energy at your house! This is not to be confused with freeloading, for the simple fact that you are bringing an edible offering with you!

9. Volunteer at a local youth or senior center. Participate in or lead fun activities such as: games, creative writing, visual art/crafts making and movie screening.

8. Drive to a nearby town or the next state over and go sight seeing. Pack a lunch so that you don't have to spend any money!

7. Check out new exhibits at local museums.

6. Go for a walk and a picnic lunch in the park. Take a friend, books and magazines, and a frisbee to make a day of outdoor fun.

5. You may have to spend a little money, but if you love the spa for manicures, pedicures, facials, etc. you can spend some hours there pampering your body and easing your mind. Maybe plan to spend $50 or less, at least less than what it would take to cool your home for the 8-10 hours that you may normally be up using power.

4. Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores stay open all day and much of the evening. Read your favorite books and enjoy coffee or teat in their cafe.

3. The library is always free and kept very cool and quiet! You can read, write, and check your email on the computers. Quiet as it's kept some people have been known to find a cushy corner of the library and take a nap!

2. Go to your gym and work out, try some laps in the pool to strengthen and cool off!

DRUMROLL...And, the number #1 place to go when it's hot and you want to save energy in your home: THE BEACH! You might as well enjoy the sun and sand. Remember to drink plenty of fluids AND wear your sunscreen!

Remember, when you're away from home, you are not using power in your home. The whole idea is saving power = saving energy=saving the strain on the environment=saving $ and resources!

Yours in a sea of green,

DuEwa Frazier

GREEN EATS: Brown bag it baby!

Wanna know how to shed some pounds (or at least maintain), save money and time while at work? Go green and take a bag lunch. I can remember the times when I wasn't "brown bagging it" for lunch. During those times I spent $25-$30 per week on lunch and I probably wasn't eating as healthy as I should. First you buy the sandwich, or soup and a roll, then you want something sweet so now you're buying a muffin or a cookie or a candy bar (adding on fat and calories you don't need) and before you know it, your money is spent!

Preparing your lunch at home, either the night before or the morning of, saves calories and materials. Just think: when you make your own lunch you control the ingredients you are putting into your mouth. You can reuse sandwich bags, containers, and tin foil to wrap your food in. My favorite brown bag lunches to make include: veggies with pasta and an apple, hummus with pita bread and a bannana, Amy's organic meals with a piece of fruit, salad greens with avocado and a piece of fruit, and tuna/veggie sandwich with eggless/dairy free mayonnaise or mustard. I also like to add snacks such as almonds, raisins, baby carrots, rice cakes, organic fig bars, organic crackers and an assortment of fruits like pears, tangerines and mango. When I take my lunch and put thought into it, I know I'm on track with my health and saving money. Make your lunch colorful and fun! Add your favorite healthy snacks, jazz up your sandwiches and soups with seasonings and fresh produce, take some herb tea in a thermos, bring your water or juice in a reusable bottle.

Taking a brown bag lunch saves money and time. When lunch time comes you can take your full 30 minutes or 1 hour, instead of rushing to the deli or fast food joint, only to realize your time to eat has been cut short! Maybe you can actually get some reading done from your favorite book or magazine while you eat! You'll find over a period of time that you are saving more money, which will free you to invest in other things. We've heard about how people who start making their own coffee at home instead of going to the neighborhood cafe each morning, save tons of money per week and per month.

Go ahead and take your beautiful brown bag lunch, you just may inspire someone else to eat green as well.

Yours in a sea of green,

DuEwa Frazier

GREEN CLEAN: Washing fruits and veggies

Have you ever noticed that some of the organic produce you buy, comes with special guests? There's a few cobwebs in your kale, a snail hanging off of your broccoli and a crab like creature on your organic apple (LOL)! Sometimes water is just not enough to ensure that your produce is free of dirt and insects before you consume it. You can purchase a solution of veggie cleaner from the health food store, but here's a more simple and cost effective way to clean your produce:

• Soak and wash your produce in apple cider vinegar and water





• Soak and wash your produce in organic lemon juice

Both apple cider vinegar and lemon juice have the extra acidity needed to wash away dirt, residue and insect parts from your produce. You can use them separately or mix them together as a solution for both organic and conventional produce.

Yours in a sea of green,

DuEwa Frazier

GREEN BEAUTY: Zoya Nail Polish

You can totally GO GREEN with Zoya this summer! Zoya Nail Polish, a professional nail lacquer is my favorite nail color right now. Zoya Nail Polish is formaldehyde, toluene and camphor and DBP free. I recently ordered a pack of Zoya polish, which I received when I exchanged (and mailed to Art of Beauty, their parent company) my old, mostly chemical ridden nail polish to receive the same amount of Zoya polish. Zoya comes in delicious shades of red, orange, browns, greens, and even blue, silver and gold! What am I wearing on my toes right now? ZOYA "Trixie" a fabulous metallic silver shade!

Yours in a sea of green,

DuEwa Frazier