Making the Most of the Summer Food Fest

Okanagan Rawsome’s mission is to awaken your taste buds to delicious RAW, SPROUTED, GLUTEN-FREE, and VEGAN living! Afke Zonderland, Chef & CEO shares how easy it is to live a whole-food philosophy and make the healthiest choices for yourself and your family.

Summer Food Fest

Blueberries, cherries, apricots and peaches just around the corner! Cucumbers, cabbages, carrots, beets, beans, zucchinis, fennel, onions, fresh garlic and new potatoes. Aromatic and savoury herbs like rosemary, sage, basil, dill, parsley and cilantro. Easy to prepare nutritious meals cooked, tossed and combined in minutes. That is what summer in the Okanagan is like.

Walking along the vegetable stands at the local markets is a feast for the eye and sparks enthusiasm and gratitude for awesome local farm fare. Shopping at the local markets becomes a community affair. You get to know the farmer and learn how he treats his soil. More and more of our local farmers are delivering their best produce to an independently owned store where you shop. Lucky us to have access to such a variety eight months of the year well within 100 miles from home.

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Here are some tips about prolonging the abundance as long as we can or perhaps engage in a juice feast for a few days, while greens and fruits are inexpensive and super fresh.

• You can dry some fruits, although I must say that my sweet nicely ripened apricots ended up being quite tart when dried.
• I have come to the same conclusions about drying most berries.   I tried making raisins out of our seedless green grapes one year and found the end product not worth the time and effort.
• Berries freeze well of course and are the best thing ever all winter long in smoothies and additions to yoghurt/ granola breakfasts or as a topping for oatmeal porridge, pancakes and muffins. Rumor has it that the wild blueberries in the Larch Hills are ripe.
• Grate extra zucchinis and freeze in small batches to add to muffins or your favorite banana loaf in January.
• For the smoothie enthusiasts! Freeze bags of combined greens like parsley, cilantro, kale, carrot tops, spinach or romaine lettuce, and sliced cucumber for a practically ready made smoothie that only requires a cup or two of berries with a tsp. of love and turmeric for your blender.
• I have been on a bit of a witch hunt to find foods that create a body environment that make parasites feel unwelcome! It’s a tacky and super gross conversation to have but it looks like we need to take these unwanted guests seriously. Parasites have been linked to gut health, bowel cancer, brain health and liver damage. Mrs. Google and a few short U-tube video’s will give the brave of heart amongst you pause for thought! It so happens that several summer foods are very helpful disease eliminators. Let’s face it, we can all benefit from a meatless, no-bread and cheese day and simply load up on herbs, berries and greens that nourish, cleanse and balance our heart, mind, liver and kidneys.
  

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Fennel, Celery, Cilantro and Green Apple Juice

• 2 fennel bulbs
• 5 celery stalks (2 for a smoothie)
• 1 bunch of cilantro (or parsley)
• 2 apples
• 1 cucumber
• Clean and cut veggies in manageable sizes for your juicer. Drink immediately. Small sips please!

These veggies also make a fine salad: Cut ingredients in small slices and make a dressing with lemon juice and avocado oil, Dijon mustard, honey, pepper and salt.

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With Okanagan Rawsome’s ONLINE STORE, you can now purchase your favorite Okanagan Rawsome Crisps no matter where you live.

• REFER a new customer to our Online Store and receive a free bag of Crisps on your next online order! *
• Receive great discounts on bulk orders!
• FREE shipping within Canada for orders over $80
• FREE shipping to US for orders over $160
• Visa, MasterCard®, American Express, Discover, and PayPal accepted.

Find Okanagan Rawsome at a retailer near you.