...and the winner of the I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest is...

Thank you to everyone who entered  the 

I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest! 

Lee and I were so amazed with the number of entries (there were 92 comments in total from 27 people) and the enthusiasm for superfoods that shone through our computer screens. It's great to read that so many of you use superfoods as part of your health practice. We wish we could share the beauty of superfoods with everyone in this giveaway this time around (but, stay tuned for another giveaway in the coming weeks).

So, without further delay, the lucky winner of some Truly Organic Foods Superfoods (goji berries, gourmet nut mixes) and a selection of raw cacao treats made by yours truly, selected at random courtesy of random.org is.....

Lucky #13

Andrea McGee!

The random generator selected her comment (#13 in the comment list): "Andrea McGee said...Entry #5: I visited Truly Organic Foods website. Lots of information!!"

Congratulations Andrea! Please contact me at barefoot_and_frolicking@hotmail.com to redeem your selection of superfoods.

Many thanks you's to everyone who entered the contest, and remember, a little birdie told you that we'll be hosting another giveaway in the coming weeks!

a summer song

As promised, I'm back with another quick summer recap post. The past few months were filled with so many wonderful memories - here are just some of the many highlights I was fortunate to experience this summer:

...picking fruit (apricots and raspberries) from one of my new 

favourite fruit farms. I love being outdoors in the bright sunshine, toiling around in nature.

...this is one of the most beautiful sites to see, ever. 

I think I could live quite comfortably in a fruit orchard - yes, yes!

...foraging for wild black raspberries in the forest

...seeing my spring planting really come to fruition (on the left is lemon balm that I started from seed)

...and of course, a Canadian summer wouldn't be complete without canoeing!

We had the opportunity to visit a friend of mine from Europe who is working with his girlfriend at a winery a few hours away. They were the most gracious of hosts, and even supplied us with a raw vegan breakfast (complete with coconut, which they are attempting to crack in the photo):

They also had complete access to an organic garden that belongs to the winery owners; the could walk out their door and find so many different varieties of vegetables and herbs. What a fabulous arrangement!

For dinner, they made the most delicious vegan curry using all organic ingredients from the garden. I don't usually eat many cooked dishes, but this was one exception I had to make - the curry was absolutely out of this world!

This summer, I returned to a more regular yoga practice (I've practiced off and on for the past twelve years, but a consistent practice has finally 'found' me, and vice versa) and took part in some fun yoga events. 

The above photo is taken from a 108 Sun Salutations in the Park event; the name certainly says it all - 108 Sun Salutations in a row. What an experience it was - my hamstrings were sore for days, but it was well worth the pain to take part in an event with some like-minded yogi folk.

And again, summer would not have been complete without some yoga on the beach. Here I am with one of my yoga instructors, Molly, doing an impromptu tree pose on the sand at dusk after our outdoor class:

I had such wonderful experiences this summer, and went through a lot of personal growth. I truly treasure the many vivid memories, kindness from friends, as well as meeting some new like-minded people during these past balmy summer months.

It's always a difficult task to try and capture the many fragrant and fervent shades of summer, but I think this beautiful song from Chad and Jeremy (c. 1964) captures my sentiment best (listen closely to the lyrics):

"I'll think of summer days again, and dream of you."

Happy "summer song" to you and yours
- wishing you all a wonderful start to Autumn!

...and until next year...

two conscious summer evenings

Wow - thank you to everyone who has entered the I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest so far; Lee and I really appreciate your interest and reading your answers. Keep those entries coming!

Well, in the past day or so, summer has officially passed us by, so I thought I would take a moment to reflect on some fun summer adventures that didn't make it on the blog - my first of two blog posts on the subject. 

In August, my university had the utmost pleasure of hosting An Evening with Gene Baur, director and founder of Farm Sanctuary. I'm sure most of you are familiar with Farm Sanctuary as a safe haven for abused farm animals. During the evening, Gene gave a one hour lecture on the history and mandate of the Sanctuary, the atrocities of factory farming, and also took time to answer some questions.

The Sanctuary runs on donations, and one of the ways they achieve is through the Walk for Farm Animals 'event,' which is hosted in different cities by like-minded vegan folk. We are hosting a Walk for Farm Animals in this region in a few weeks - if anyone is interested, you can check out my donations page to contribute to this great cause.

Here is a silly photo of myself with the delightful Mr. Gene Baur; we discovered that we know some similar people (seriously!) and are subsequently having a laugh. It truly is a small world out there.

Of course, summer would not be complete without An Evening with David Wolfe. Along with some friends, I made the trek out to Barrie, ON where giddy yoyo hosted an evening with Mr. David "Avocado" Wolfe, superfood-mushroom-springwater-foraging for wild edibles extraordinaire. I'd only seen David speak once before in 2009, so this was a real treat to see him in action again.

However, I found that his talk was so similar to the one I had seen years earlier, and I secretly wished he had a few new images and had some different points of discussion. While I find David speaks about a variety of interesting topics, I couldn't turn of my analytical brain (thanks academia!) about his lecture approach; the more I listened carefully, the more I found that his style of speaking is a little too fluid. His opinions and knowledge quite fascinating, but I think it would help the larger health discussion and community if he provided some concrete, factual information in addition to the interesting points that he makes. 

Vendors at the evening included the lovely Living Libations - I purchased a few new items from them: the Yogi Tooth Serum, Scalp Tonic, and the Radiant Earth Poetic Pits. Beautiful as always.

Sprouts and superfoods were everywhere; Essene bread also made an appearance. I tried a sprouted kamut version, and while it is very dense in texture and satiety, it was very delicious.

Here we are, Lee, Kent, Elke, and myself (taking the photo) brushing shoulders and hobnobbing with a member of the raw food elite - we had a chance to briefly say hello to the Wolfe after his talk.

Remember to enter the contest by next Tuesday!

Announcing the I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest!

In my last post I mentioned I would be sharing a big announcement, the first of it's kind on Barefoot and Frolicking. Well, the time has come that I am holding my very first GIVEAWAY! Contests and Giveaways have become a really fun part of blogging (I've also been fortunate to take part in some very beautiful contests), and it is a great way to share and give back to supportive readers and friends. And so, I bring to you the: 

I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest!

I couldn't bring this giveaway to you without the kindness of my friend Lee from Truly Organic Foods. Lee has generously donated some of her favourite products from her impressive superfood selection to be given away to one lucky winner (it could be you!).

The lucky winner of our Giveaway Contest will receive:

Truly Organic Foods - Wildcrafted Tibetan Goji Berries - 1/2 lb

Truly Organic Foods - Organic Rosemary Pistachio Almonds - 250g

Truly Organic Foods - Cilantro Lime Pistachios and Pepitas - 75g

...and a small selection of raw cacao treats made by yours truly!

I ♥ Superfoods Giveaway Contest retail value: over $50

To enter, you can choose from the following options (the more ways you select to enter, the better your chances are of winning!) Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry option you choose to do, so Lee and I can keep track:

*Follow my blog, Barefoot and Frolicking using your Google Account - it's so great to see new faces appear in the sidebar (right) - makes me a happy-go-lucky kind of girl :)

*Like Barefoot and Frolicking's Facebook page by clicking HERE.

*Like Truly Organic Foods Facebook page by clicking HERE.

*Tell us why you ♥ Superfoods, as well as your all-time favourite superfood, with a little explanation why (i.e. health benefits, taste) as a comment on this blog post.

*Tweet the following message on Twitter: Enter BarefootandFrolicking (@barefootfrolick) & TrulyOrganicFoods (@growlove7) "I Heart Superfoods" Giveaway Contest! http://tinyurl.com/3sr5hoj

*Visit Truly Organic Foods website and check out their absolutely rawmazing selection of superfoods! (they have everything you could think of, including my new favourite, chaga tea!)

The Giveaway Contest is open to Canadian and U.S. residents only, and contestants can submit their entries between Tuesday, September 20th to Tuesday, September 27th at 12am EST. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Wednesday, September 28th.

Happy entering and best of luck to everyone - remember, the more entries from the above list, the better your chances are of winning. Depending on the success of this giveaway, we just might have to throw another one!

smoothie sunday - figgy fall smoothie with cacao beans and cinnamon

Depending where you live on this vast expansive Mama Earth, you might already be feeling a slight change in the weather. Around here, lovely Fall has started to make an appearance, with some chillier than thou weather, lower sun-in-the-sky setting, and inklings of little colour changes in the leaves. The quick change has thrown most of us a little out of balance, seeing as summer doesn't officially end until September 21st (I don't know about you, but I'd like to have four more days of warm bliss!).

Staying raw in the cooler temperatures can be a bit of a challenge, but there are many ways to make slight adjustments to a high raw diet. For me, the colder temperatures usually make me crave more heartier dishes along with warming spices such as cayenne and cinnamon.  

Enter the Figgy Fall Smoothie with Cacao Beans and Cinnamon. The ingredients include dried figs (an excellent source of protein, iron and calcium), cacao beans (for that little kick), maca to help temper the cacao, warming cinnamon, and the frothy creamy dreaminess of homemade almond mylk. This smoothie makes for a delicious, high energy breakfast or afternoon treat to help usher in the upcoming fall season. 

Figgy Fall Smoothie with Cacao Beans and Cinnamon
Serves 1

1 frozen banana
1 cup homemade almond mylk
1/2 cup water
2 dried figs
2-3 cacao beans, peeled* (if unavailable, substitute with 1 tbsp cacao nibs)
1 tbsp maca
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon plus a dusting of cinnamon on top

Blend ingredients together in a high-speed blender (Vitamix!) until smooth and creamy. For extra froth, oscillate between high and low settings, leaving the mixture to blend on the lowest setting for 1 minute or so (this will also slightly 'warm' the smoothie). Top with a dusting of cinnamon and enjoy.

Get ready for long autumnal hikes, apple cider and apple picking, longer evenings, pumpkin patches, and jumping in and out of raked leave mountains. Let's raise our Figgy Fall Smoothies in a toast to delightful Fall.

Wishing you a happy Smoothie Sunday! 

Also, stay tuned for a big announcement - the first of it's kind on Barefoot and Frolicking - you can stay in touch here as well as on this blog's Facebook page for more details and updates.

conscious eating niagara - sixth potluck

Happy September everyone! We celebrated in true raw food fashion this past Sunday with our sixth Conscious Eating Niagara potluck. I can't believe we have already had six potlucks - it feels like only yesterday that we had our very first meeting with about twenty people in attendance.

Our group has since grown to upwards of seventy-seven members, with an average of forty-five people attending the last few potlucks. I feel so fortunate to be part of an amazing food revolution that is taking place - who knew there were so many raw foodies around here?

Originally, we started to have our monthly potluck meetings at Pan Cafe, a wonderful space with a beautiful aesthetic. Seeing as we have since grown much larger in numbers, we've had to change locations and unfortunately say bye-bye to Pan (we will miss you!). Our most recent potluck took place at a larger location that will be able to accommodate our new numbers.

Here is the potluck in pictures (get ready for some amazing raw food inspiration - just gets better and better each month):

Not one, but two amazing kelp noodle dishes: Toni and Paul's creamy version above, and Jan and Dave's savory recipe below:

Nancy's kale and sprout salad:

Dave's Mock Tuna:

Greens and Fruit Salad:

LouAnn's Kale Chips:

Mandy's Manicotti Zucchini Rolls:

Fabienne's amazing marinated mushroom salad with broccoli and julienned carrots:

Elly's Gazpacho:

One of Robin's salads:

Alexi's borscht soup:

Elke's raw pasta:

Lauren's Cauliflower Tabbouleh: 

Robin Salad no. 2:

Tara's amazing peach cobbler:

Mandi's Lemon Bars:

We also had a film screening of Forks Over Knives - a very interesting film that discusses the healing benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet. While the film doesn't distinguish between the benefits of a raw vs. cooked diet, it still makes some important claims about the importance of plant-based foods for optimal health and well-being, especially for such degenerative diseases as diabetes. I'd recommend anyone interested in these sorts of issues to give it a watch - it is always inspiring to see people turn to food as medicine as a method for healing!