Monday, January 31, 2011

30 Day Challenge

I made it!! Today marks 30 days!! I feel great! And now this way of eating is really rawking me!  It makes me think about Convenience....and how it has ruined our health.  Really, a little prep and you can eat all kinds of food.....just breaking the habit is challenging.  Ok, I cannot lie...it does take a little planning, but what doesn't? And guess what? YOU are WORTH it! Does it mean you will live longer? Hey, only God knows when He will bring you to Heaven....this is about LIVING BETTER! I definitely feel better! More balanced. This food, it was Heaven sent....straight from the seed to you...Living foods, Living Water, Living God....Yippee!! 30 more days here I come.

Lemonade with a raw kicker...

4-5 medium carrots
1/2 medium lemon
1 mildly tart apple (fujis or galas are nice)
1 small 1.5 - 2 " wedge red cabbage
1 round of ginger, about the size of a quarter

Juice all the ingredients and enjoy! 

Raw Pizza???????????????What??

Yep, Raw Pizza....

First you have to make the bread posted in the recipe for Sun Burgers.  Then you make this great Sun Dried Marinara:

2 c tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1/2 c fresh basil
1/4 c ovoo (olive oil)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp chopped dates
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp rosemary
pinch salt
1/4 c Sun Dried tomatoes

Process and spread on your bread. Then if your wanting some cheese....add this:

1 c nuts (soaked, recipe calls for Macadamias...you can do cashews or almonds)
juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c basil leaves
1 tsp salt
water till smoothe (1/2 c approx)

Process and drizzle over marinara

Top with any type of vegis...olives, tomatoes, chiles...you name it!!

So is it Pizza? I don't think so...but whatever it is, it RAWKS!!!

The Mile High Sun Burger

This recipe is, well, sort of earthy...if thats the word. It is full of great flavors and piled a mile high with your favorite vegis....Yum...prepare yourself for a most fulfilling raw meal!

2 C sunflower seeds, soaked 6-8 hours
1/2 C carrots (I used red bell pepper because I was out of carrots)
1/2 C celery
3 green onions, sliced (out of these too, so I used red onion)
1 red bell pepper, sliced (time to be creative because I didn't want too much bell peppers..so I omitted this)
1/4 C fresh basil
1/4 C frsh parsley
Braggs to taste Process all ingredients with S blade in a food processor. Make patties and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 12-24 hours until dry. Turn patties over when dehydrating on a teflex sheets after 6 hours.

Now for the bread:

This bread is so great! It is flavorful and filling...I am always amazed at how versatile this bread is for other meals like almond butter and banana sandwiches!!

1 c ground flax
1/3 c whole flax
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove of garlic
2 T onion
1 1/3 c water
2/3 c sunflower seeds (soaked is best...but do what 'cha gotta do!)
1/4 c sesame seeds ( I omitted these the first time...it was still great, I have dried the black ones and the light ones, both taste delicious)

process all ingredients and spread in your dehydrator (if your dehydrator has plastic trays you may need to line them with parchment paper...I just cut the paper to fit my circles and spread the dough on) Dehydrate for 6 - 8 hours....pliable tortilla consistency.

Put your burger on your bread add some mustard and pile it high with some amazing God given vegis like:  cucumbers, lettuce, onion, tomatoe, avacado, mushrooms, sprouts, carrot shavings, pickles...olives, spinach, different colored bell peppers.....etc

Friday, January 28, 2011

What in the world do you eat if your 100% raw?

Look, I like being radical.  I like diving in.  I love being passionate about things.  When it comes to food, and uncovering how we are lied to about food and nutrition....I get completely blown out of the water.  I am NOT saying I have never had a Pop Tart or a bowl of Captain Crunch, or a hamburger at McDonalds, or a Taco from Tacobell, I am just saying that those foods have taken over America!! It has damaged our taste buds!! Great thing is....your body is created so amazingly that it can heal itself!! My neck was causing me all kinds of problems....I know it sounds crazy, but over this last month I have had less neck pain then I have had in a long time!!  Tomorrow for my 4 week anniversary...I am running 4 miles, okay, I am going to attempt to run 4 miles I will probably walk a few! :)  So lets dig into some food ideas:

Salad...thats a no brainer, but there are hundreds of types of salad!
Stuffed vegis...stuff a mushroom or a pepper
NUTS...man am I crazy about nuts now! You can make all kinds of things out of them...just soak them first as it takes out some acid and enzyme inhibitors(something like that, a little internettin' and you'll get all the specifics)
Muesli - all different concoctions of cereals made from oat flakes and dried fruits
soups - okay, these aren't my favorite, so I like to think of them more like a smoothie
Hummus - did I say hummus? Oh yes....sweet, amazing hummus, so wonderful for dipping vegis or flax crackers!
Fruits - Have you seen the selection at your local grocery store? There are only like 500 options for your pleasure, every color of the rainbow!
Lettuce Wraps - wrap it up baby!! A salad in a roll!! Fill it with Mushrooms, and other chopped vegis!
Sandwiches - yep these too! A little homeade flax bread in your dehydrator and your off to the world of pb & j (all raw of course), pb & banana, vegi's stacked a mile high, etc
Pesto - Ahhhhhh!! Pesto rawks!
Smoothies - we love smoothies! from choco banana to strawberry, there are a million concoctions!
Raw desserts - can you believe it? You can have your chocolate and eat it too!!!I have a few great recipes, oh and there is more to come! Like puddings, cobblers, cakes, cookies.....yes, eating raw can be AMAZING!
Vegis - have you seen your local Fresh fruit and vegi section? Yes you can have any of those while eating Raw foods....just pick one: celery and almond butter, sliced cucumbers and hummus, carrots, zucchini, radishes, onions, garlic, chiles......on and on!!
So much food so little time....:) You Rawk!

Apple Crepes

I admit...I have a sweet tooth, but amazingly over these past 28 days, it is disappearing.  I am in the process of making this recipe for the sweetest friend I have, and if you know her, you'll know exactly who I am talking about.  When God created her, he used all the sweetest ingredients, and crowned her royalty...as she is definitely a living Princess! 

1 1/2 c coconut ( I used fresh )
3/4 c chopped apple
about 1/2 c finely ground flax
1 - 2 T of honey
1 t cinnamon
pinch of salt

process  until creamy, spread in dehydrator and dehydrate until it is crepe"ish", I am leaving it in there for about 6 hours.

Fill the crepes with:
2 c cube apples
handful of chopped walnuts
1/4 c raisens
1-2 T maple syrup
squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 t lemon zest
sprinkle of cinnamon
pinch of salt

add some creme filling:
handful of soaked cashews
2 T coconut
1/4 c maple syrup
1 T coconut oil
2 T water
1 t vanilla
sprinkle of cinnamon
pinch salt

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Avacado Tacos

The key to amazing tacos is the spices and tortillas...and look, raw tortillas are delicious...they aren't made from white gooey, bleached, flour they are made with love right by you! So here is the recipe....

3 c fresh corn (I used organic frozen because it fit my budget)
1 1/2 c chopped bell peppers....of any color
3/4 c ground flax
1 T lime or lemon juice
1 T chili powder
2 tsp of cumin seeds or ground cumin
1 1/2 t sea salt

process til smooth in your dehydrator, overnight...but the batter tastes so amazing, its like a corn cake! So save scoop for yourself or lick your food processor clean :)

The next step is the inside of the taco....and with a little food creativity...it's delicious!

2 avacados mashed or cubed
2 jalopenos chopped
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro
fresh salsa - we used fresh pineapple salsa.....it was great!

Pile it all up in your taco.....and eat two!!!
This is great with flax chips dipped in salsa and avacado....guacamole.....man I eat like a queen...and my body loves me! Now squeeze a walk in and some sun.......

Salad Can Rawk!

I was hoping to blog more often then this, but I guess I am too busy making raw dishes! Ha! I had a Raw Pow Wow with a few girl friends, the food was delicious!! We had some Avacado Tacos.....the recipe is to follow, but first, my Mom gave me this Rawkin' Salad recipe:

2 T apple cider vinegar
juice of one lemon
1/2 t salt
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t basil (I used fresh and put in way more than 1/2 t...more like 1/4 cup)
1/4 t pepper
3 T fresh parmesan cheese (I omitted this since I am not eating any cheese, the recipe still tastes amazing)
1/3 c olive oil
1 clove pressed garlic
1 T parsley chopped (again I used fresh and WAY more than 1 T - more like 1/4 cup)

process and pour over 6 cups of your favorite chopped vegis.....the longer it sits, the better.....YUM!
cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoe, spinach, carrots, onion, bell peppers of every color.......endless choices of vegis!

Monday, January 10, 2011

I looked into eating Sweet Potatoes raw.....I didn't see anything that said not to do it, other than that many didn't think it would taste good.  On one site there was a recipe for Sweet Potatoe dog treats....go figure.  I made the Sweet Potatoe chips, I used a Yam? Which is what I call a Sweet Potatoe. I think there are yellow potatoes that are also called Sweet Potatoes.  The chips were kind of chewy but had a nice flavor because of being soaked in Braggs and Chili Powder.....I probably won't make them a lot, I am planning on trying a few other dehydrated vegis....I'll post what I think, unfortuneately I have been told that my palate is untrustable.  I will give that blame to my mother who raised me on soybean burgers, homeade bread, pigs in a blanket-not the kind that is a sausage in a pancake, rather a rice dish rolled in cabbage.  Hey Mom had a passion for healthy homeade foods.....and luckily so do I!
Stuffed Chiles...
Today was a little rougher on me for eating raw.  I am thinking I had some emotional stuff going on and just wanted some junk to make me feel better.  Now that seems crazy, because junk sure wouldn't make me feel better, in fact, it would make me feel worse.  Glad I didn't do it, but I thought about it.  I usually drink some fresh juiced vegis with some Superfood mixed in.  Today I didn't do it, and I would say that could've contributed to my cravings.  Anyways, I made some yummy stuffed chile's for dinner, they were delicious, in the future I will add some cayenne to the mole sauce to kick it up a notch!

You will need:
4 Anaheim Chile peppers
set aside some of the seeds to sprinkle on top, they add a nice ZING

Cheese stuffing:
2 c soaked cashews
juice of 2 lemons
3 cloves of garlic
salt & pepper
water

process until creamy adding water to desired consistency (I made it a little thicker, it actually had a Ricotta type consistency)

Mole sauce:
2 dates
1 Tb cocoa
1 tsp cinnamon
olive oil
1 celery stalk diced
1 tomatoe diced
salt
water
(heres where I'd add the cayenne maybe 1/2 tsp)

Fill chiles with cheese mixture and drizzle the Mole sauce over top.....enjoy!
(This and a few other recipes are from ani's raw recipe book....such a great book)

I had this with a fat salad for dinner! It was great, I crave a dinner dish, other than salad at night....these did the trick!
Yippee another day down! 10 days! I am 1/3 the way to my goal of 30 days....hopefully once I get there I can stay!! We shall see!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Chips

Snacking on carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and celery are delicious crunchy snacks....but I just have been craving something "chippy". My mom gave me this recipe and I have changed it all over the place for different types of chips:
Soak:
1 c whole flax seed
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c fresh salsa

options: cayenne pepper, salt, Braggs, onions, garlic, herbs...etc.

soak until the mixture is goopy...at least 2 hours, overnight is best.   drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined dehydrator trays and dehydrate for 8-10 hours, take chips off paper to test for crispness.  once they are crispy they are great for dipping hummus, salsa, etc.  Totally Rawdical!!

Sweet Potatoe Chips

1 large Sweet potatoe sliced thinly
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tb Braggs
2 Tb Olive oil

slice potatoe and coat with sauce to marinade....place on trays and dehydrate....oh soooo yummy...and chippy! full of flavor!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Yum! I'd like to have my raw friends try these!

Clean out the tops of some Crimini Mushrooms and reserve the stems

Process til creamy:
1/3 c pumpkin seeds - raw pepitas
3 cloves of garlic
handful of fresh chopped cilantro
1 Tb lemon juice
stems from the mushrooms

mix in:
1/2 diced jalopeno
2 hpg Tb of minced onion
2 Tb of Braggs liquid aminos (like soy sauce)

spoon into mushroom caps and dehydrate for 2-4 hours for a warm, chewy texture....enjoy. Or just enjoy them with your favorite salad!

its fun to have a variety of foods to keep yourself satisfied...mushrooms seem kind of meaty....just chopped and put in the Braggs to marinate is yummy for a quick side dish. Enjoy this amazing food God has provided!!

Cocoa Crispies

I love being creative in the kitchen, it keeps me interested.  I have been trying to "create" two raw recipes each day.  Borrowing my friends books gave me a great start so I reserved every raw recipe book I could find from the library.  Cereal is one of my favorite snacks and eating raw doesn't give me very many choices but this Cocoa Crispie recipe hit the spot!

Cocoa Crispies
2 c Buckwheat groats (1.50ish a pound at Lassens - raw, they have them at Winco but they are toasted - bummer)
Soak the BW for at least 1 hour, I soaked it over night
3/4 c maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tb cocoa
2 packets stevia

after soaking the BW drain and add other ingredients to food processor, process until it looks oatmealish. spread on parchment paper lined dehydrator and dehydrate until crisp. break up into chunks. put in a bowl with some coconut milk or almond milk....my daughter loved them!!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Orange Dream Cups

Grandpa gave us tons of oranges and my son had a great idea! "Let's make cups like they sell at Costco" he says.  Hmmm.....okay! We juice the oranges and add a packet of stevia and some coconut milk....then a little time spent in the Ice Cream Maker...wha-la! This raw thing is fun

8 oranges cut in half
2/3 c coconut milk
1 packet of stevia

juice oranges, you should have approx. 2 cups
mix all ingredients in ice cream maker for approx 20 mins. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pudding

Recipe 1
1 avacado
1 ripe banana
1 heaping Tb of cocoa
1 packet of stevia
1 tsp vanilla
coconut milk

Process all ingredients in food processor or blender until smoothe, adding coconut milk until desired consistency....enjoy!!

Recipe 2
1 c coconut
2/3 c coconut milk
1/4 c maple syrup
1 Tb honey
1 heaping Tb cocoa
1 Tb vanilla
pinch of salt

blend until smoothe!

Recipe 3
3/4 c dates (soaked til soft)
2 avacados
1 c almond or coconut milk
1/2 c almond butter
 3/4 c cocoa
1/2 c honey, agave, or maple syrup

blend til smoothe, chill and enjoy!

One Week Today.....raw, raw, raw

This is cool!! I have always wanted to blog, but wasn't sure what to blog about, and here it is....Raw Foods!  This has been an amazing journey this week.  I have always been health conscious but never quite this radical.  I don't know that is has ever been this easy! I ate pudding for breakfast! Chocolate pudding! Yes, it was made from avacados, bananas, coconut milk, vanilla and stevia....and it was delicious!  This blog is the beginning of amazing raw recipes and great Com"raw"deree!!