August 2009 Newsletter
Greetings from Green Spirit Healthy Living!

It's already the end of August and the summer is winding down – it has flown by so quickly for me! The opening of Beets Cafe has kept me very busy, but it has been a wonderful experience. The comments and feedback we’re getting on the food has been fantastic- and we already have many repeat customers that have been in several times, even though we’ve only been open two weeks! Some of our customers are totally new to raw foods, it is so rewarding to open them up to a new experience and see how much they enjoy it.

This is one of the best times of the year to explore farmer’s markets. They are overflowing with the abundant crops of late summer. Zucchini’s are one of those many vegetables. In this month’s recipes, I’m sharing with you the dishes I prepared for my demo at the Taste of Chicago, all using zucchini noodles as the “pasta”.Many thanks to all of you that came out to watch my demo. I was just sorry the rules didn’t allow me to hand out any samples of food. The staff from the mayor’s office did get to eat what I prepared though and they loved it. None of them were familiar with raw foods before my demo, but one did comment on my “Zucchini Noodles, Veggies & Spicy Almond Butter Sauce” that “It’s the best thing I’ve eaten so far” – and I was on the last day of 10 days of chef demos! The recipes are all very easy ~ and delicious, so enjoy!

If you’re in the need of more great raw food recipes, I’d also like to share with you an ebook that my friend and “co-chef”, Alicia Ojeda, at Beets Café wrote. “Salads & Dressings – Going Beyond the Basics” is such a great book whether you’re a new raw foodist, or someone looking for new ideas to shake up your salads (which should be a big part of your diet). Alicia is an accomplished chef and instructor and I’m always learning something new from her. You’ll never have a boring salad again after reading her book. She also gives great tips on buying and storing your greens, and a chart for creating your own salad dressing variations. Her “Sweet n’ Spicy Asian Miso Dressing” is delicious with kelp noodles and worth the price of her ebook alone ~ I could eat this by the spoonful! With September just around the corner, I’m gearing up for an autumn cleanse. With as healthy as I try to eat, we are still surrounded by many toxics and pollutants. I feel a once or twice a year cleanse is very important to maintain optimal health. If you’ve been reading my newsletters for a while, you may remember back in March I talked about the Blessed Herbs colon cleanse. This time around, I’m doing the full Internal Cleanse as well as the Colon Cleanse. For me, September will be the optimal time, as it is also National Yoga Month, and I am committing to 30 days of yoga. I love yoga, but with my busy schedule lately, it is one of the things that I have not made time for every day. I’m going to change that, and will make the time and I’m sure my body will love me for it! Sorry I don’t have any classes scheduled at this time. I miss teaching them and as soon as I know when I will be back in Chicago, I will send out a message to let you know. I plan to teach a full day class that will cover all the basics, so if you know anyone that is interested in learning how to add more raw, living foods to their diet without spending all day in the kitchen, pass it along to them. I will also have a more advanced class with plenty of new tasty treats.

Wishing you radiant health!
Linda Szarkowski