Persimmon...is it ripe??

Hey y'all!!  It's that time of year again and persimmons are in season.  I just posted a new video on YouTube about how to determine if your persimmons are ripe!  I had a recent fruit haul from Sam's Club, including several bags of persimmons.  The key is to stock up on a ton of them because they can take 3-4 weeks to fully convert their starches to sugars.  Check out my fun vid:

Persimmons...is it ripe??

Enjoy the beautiful Fall season and smash down those persimmons!              Xoxo,  Traci

Sam's Club Fruit Haul!!

Hey guys!  Sorry for the long break!  I wanted to pop in and let you know about my latest video.  My recent trip to my local Sam's Club yielded a fruitful haul!  I found organic raspberries, Ataulfo mangos, sugar snap peas, and big bags of persimmons!  That was the first time I've seen persimmons in bulk!  They are usually so expensive by the piece.  Here is a pic of my haul:

Here's the video of my haul:

Stock up on that fruit!  

Xoxo, Traci

My low fat vegan trip to Savannah, GA!!

Hey friends of the fruit!

I just got back from my family trip to Savannah, GA.  I enjoyed the beautiful historic downtown district, visited the farmer's market at Forsythe Park (look for that video soon!), rode the trolley down to the river, went to the beach at Tybee Island, visited the City Market downtown, and maintained my high fruit, low fat vegan lifestyle while eating at Our Lady and Sons and various other eateries.

Me at Forsythe Park in Savannah, GA

It is so important to plan ahead before going out of town.  I brought 3 cases of mangoes, a golden dewlicious melon, a box of dates, and bananas.  I bought local peaches while I was in Savannah, too!  I also brought a ton of sweet potatoes, several varieties of regular potatoes, quinoa, couscous, and pasta for my dinners. I looked ahead on the internet for vegan/vegetarian restaurants and found a place called the Sentient Bean, which had a market beside it called Brighter Days Natural Foods.

http://www.sentientbean.com/

http://www.brighterdayfoods.com/retailer/store_templates/shell_id_1.asp?storeID=AD4DB884427948DBA7A06D81F925991B

At the Sentient Bean, I noticed on the menu that they offered stuffed baked potatoes, so I ordered 3 huge plain baked potatoes.  I also got a side salad no dressing.  It was delicious and low fat vegan!  Brighter Day market had a juice bar and lots of vegan foods!  I had also used an app called Happy Cow to locate these hidden treasures!

http://www.happycow.net/

You can enjoy a healthy vacation anywhere with a little research and planning!

Xoxoxoxo,  Traci

Fruit Lovers!!! Yummy Low Fat Banana Soft Serve Raw Vegan Style!! :)

Hey Fruit Lovers!!

I have been LOVING my Ataulfo mangoes lately!  They are so sweet and juicy!  I get them at my local Sam's Club by the box.  They are often green and it takes a good week to week and a half to get to that orange-colored ripeness!  I still wish I had a local fruit wholesaler who was willing to sell to me as an individual buyer.  Oh well!  I'm still grateful that I can get tropical fruit in Asheville, NC!

I just put up a video on YouTube called "Low Fat Banana Soft Serve".  It is so easy and yummy!  JUST BANANAS!!  Check it out:

I am going to be getting busy in the kitchen with some summer yummies, so be on the lookout for more videos, tips, tricks and FRUIT!!!                                                                    Xoxoxo,  Traci

A Very Fruity Birthday Surprise!!

Hello Fruit Lovers!!

I had the best surprise 40th birthday party ever!  My parents and brother/fam came from Florida and my sister came from Greenville, SC (I live in Asheville, NC) along with my beautiful friends.  My husband took me to what I thought was going to be a quiet lunch at Hana's Japanese restaurant.  I starting walking to the back of the restaurant with my husband and daughter, when I looked up and saw this huge group of people that I love yell "SURPRISE!!!"  I was so excited!!  I feel humbled and grateful that all of these people came to one spot just for me.  My friends from my Tae Kwon Do practice, my friends from my NIA dance practice, and my friends that I know through my daughter's school all gathered.

One of my friends, Anne Z. Johnson, is a certified Culinarian and has a personal chef service.  She specialized in making a complete healthy dinner for you. Well, my wonderful husband arranged to have Anne make two ALL FRUIT, ONLY FRUIT birthday cakes for me!  He told her the fruits I like and she put her creative skills to work!  She made me the most delicious, beautiful "fruit cakes" that looked like they belonged in a glass case at Whole Foods Market!  She used cantaloupe as the bowl to hold the layers of papaya, strawberry, and banana.  She blended strawberry and medjool dates (SWOON) for the frosting and delicately accented the cake with sliced strawberries, pineapple slices, and papaya balls.  Thank you, Anne, for the sweet and delicious birthday gift.  I will never forget it!  :)  If you would like to talk to Anne about a specialty food service, she can be reached via:

Blog:      personalchefanne.blogspot.com
Email:     annezjohnson@gmail.com.
Phone:    (828) 299-4883.

Gorgeous!!

All Fruit!!

The Most Delicious Birthday Cake I've Had!!

I Had the Leftovers in One Sitting!!

Heaven!!

Get Juicy with Mango Fruit!!!

Hey Fruit Friends!

Check out my latest video on the Ataulfo mango!                                                        ~Traci

Mandolin Slicer Injury WARNING GRAPHIC!!

Hello Fruit Friends!!  March 20th is the first day of Spring!!  I am so excited for the Spring and Summer crops.  I just put all of my seedlings in the ground and I'm hoping we don't have too many more nights below freezing.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying my spotted bananas, papaya, dates, tomatoes, pineapple, oranges, and DURIAN!!  

FRUIT WIN:  I scored an incredible durian at my local Asian market.  It was about 6 pounds and had hints of vanilla and papaya.....SO GOOD!  I found that I'm getting faster at opening durian.  I used to fuss with it for several minutes and saw away at it with a serrated knife.  Now, I just find the "zipper" line along the body of a pod and press firmly into the zipper with both thumb pads as if I'm spearing it.  The zipper just splits open and I can pull it apart.  Sometimes I can pull it open so that the durian splits in half!  Then, I just do the same thing with all of the other pods.

Splitting the first pod

Aerial view of 5 split pods

FRUIT CHALLENGE:  I used my mandolin slicer for the first time last night and made a careless mistake.  I was slicing cucumber and got impatient with the guard slipping, so I just used my hand to slice.  I got my fingers a little too close to the blade and sliced my fingertip off of my right hand ring finger!!  I didn't get stitches, but it was a serious cut.  Lesson learned.  So, please be careful when you are using a mandolin.  They make beautiful slices for raw pizza or lasagna, but use care and don't be in a hurry.  

My ouchie:

Sur La Table actually has some pretty nice looking mandolines and there are instructional safe use videos on their website:

http://www.surlatable.com/category/SCA-5833/Mandolines-and-Slicers

Xoxo, Traci