• Calcium: dark leafy greens and broccoli
• Choline: broccoli or cauliflower
• Folic Acid: spinach, broccoli, orange juice
• Iron: whole grains
• Potassium: bananas, spinach, orange juice, broccoli, raisins
• Riboflavin: raisins, mushrooms
• Vitamin B6:.avocados,nuts, watermelon, bananas
• Vitamin B12: whole grains
• Vitamin C: sweet red pepper, oranges, strawberries, grapefruit, broccoli, tomatoes
• Vitamin D: mushrooms
• Zinc: blackberries, kiwis, pumpkin seeds, pine, almonds

Fruit Smoothies

2 T soaked flax seeds
½ c water
1 banana
Frozen or fresh fruit
4 soaked dates, pitted
Grated orange rind (optional)
1 T raw carob powder

In a blender, combine flax seeds and water. Blend on high until thick. You may need to add more water. Add the banana (peeled, of course). Add the fruit. Start with a cup. Add more if you like. Add the dates for sweetness. Blend until mixed. Add the carob powder and blend briefly.

Ice Cream

½ c raw almonds
3 T water
1 c frozen fruit
1 banana
4 soaked dates, pitted

Put the almonds in the blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add the water and blend. Add the fruit, the banana, and the soaked dates. Taste. If it's not as sweet as you’d like, add some more dates or fruit. You can eat it as it is or freeze it to serve later.

Milk Shake

2 c fresh pecans soaked for 10 minutes
10 pitted dates
�½ t Celtic sea salt
3 t honey
1 vanilla bean
12 macadamia nuts
Cold water

Rinse the pecans and blend them until they’re pureed. Add the rest of the ingredients except the cold water and blend thoroughly. Then add water until the shake is the consistency you want and blend briefly.

Grape-Celery Cooler*

1 bunch grapes
2 celery stalks

Blend and top with mint leaves.

*Recipe from www.living-foods.com.

Almond Nog

Almond milk (see instructions below)
3 soaked dates (pitted)
1 ripe banana
1 ½ vanilla bean (scraped)
¼ t nutmeg

Blenderize all the ingredients for a healthy, ready-to-drink holiday treat! Almond Milk: Soak 1 ¼ c almonds overnight. Rinse the almonds and blenderize with 2 ½ c water until smooth. You may need to add more water. Using cheesecloth, drain the milk from the pulp, squeezing the cloth as necessary. Discard the pulp or use it in another recipe.

Green Smoothie

1 celery stick
1 sour green apple
A handful of spinach
½ carrot
½ clove garlic
4 almonds (raw)
½ small cucumber

Blenderize all ingredients. This is a small recipe so you can taste it to see if you like it. If you do, you can expand the ingredients to suit your taste. Experiment with vegetables. Some people prefer a milder-tasting green such as Bibb lettuce. A combination of green vegetables might be good. A general rule for vegetable smoothies: if you add some fruit, they are more palatable. Try half a banana, for instance, or half an orange. Experiment with the green smoothies until you come up with one that suits you. Many raw-foodists are addicted to the green smoothies.

Grain Smoothie

2 crisp apples, chopped but not peeled
1 c raw oat groats
Small piece of cinnamon bark
1 c water

Granny Smith apples are too sour. Choose crisp ones that have some bite but are sweeter such as Galas. Blenderize and drink. You may need to add more water.

Veggie/Grain Smoothie

1 c of chopped carrots
1 T chopped ginger root
1 c raw oat groats
1 c water

Blenderize. You may need to add more water.

You’ll be surprised at what you can come up with on your own to make your raw-foods diet not only more nutritious but more enjoyable by creating smoothies that appeal to you. The sky's the limit! You can start with some of the recipes above and alter and taste. Some of the basics:

• Liquids
• Water
• Orange juice
• Apple juice
• Ice chips
• Fruits, veggies, grains, etc.
• Bananas
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Other berries
• Citrus
• Raw veggies (milder flavored ones are better)
• Papaya
• Apples
• Nuts
• Flaxseed
• Kelp
• Bee pollen
• Unprocessed honey
• Whole grains (ground or soaked and ground)
• Herbs (Look at “Pregnancy No-Nos” for herbs not to ingest while you’re pregnant.)

By TTS Health Consultant Gabrielle Gingras