Raw Food Inspiration

Honey Choke the Spinach, Dijon Salad….

I was feeling inspired tonight and this is what came of it!

1 Cup Spinach
1 Cup Romaine Lettuce
1 Cup Artichoke Hearts
1 Tbsp. Capers (optional)
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
A pinch of Salt
1 Tbsp. Mustard Powder
1/4 Cup Honey (or agave if you prefer to save the bees)
1 - 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast (optional)
1 Tsp Pepper
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder

You can really use any greens you would like here, I chose spinach and romaine because that’s what was in my fridge and my butt chiffoned that mess. (IE cut it up small) I choked the living daylights out of it with the apple cider vinegar and salt. I stabbed the artichoke’s heart until it was quartered. Finally I smothered it all with the remaining ingredients and shook it up until it was wilted of life. I topped it off with some caper action and voila…

…why so violent?

1 month ago 10 notes View high resolution

My detox Adventure

preface: I have no idea what I’m doing really, this is meant for suggestions not as a guide.

I just wanted to post this to see if anyone had any tips or ideas to help me boost my detox. I’ve had a lot of gal bladder/liver problems & anxiety, and this run down seems to be settling well with my body. My main goal right now is weight loss, there’s a hump I’m trying to get over and I think that a lot of the extra weight in my body currently is bloating and water weight. I can feel automatically when I eat something non-raw, first in my fingers and then in my ankles that my body starts to bloat up. Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this? (other than the obvious) Maybe something in my body is not functioning properly, and there are some foods I could be adding to kick it into gear.

Side Note: I know this is probably common sense to most people, but when doing raw juices it came to me from all the pictures I see on this blog, that I don’t have to have a gallon of juice. I can just do like a cup or two at a time so I don’t get grossed out. Sometimes I like cucumber juice, but I know that in large doses I will want to hang myself. I suppose my tolerance and taste buds have changed a lot as well though, to where I enjoy more greens in my juice. Also, I learned this time around doing raw, that if I don’t like green smoothies, juicing is acceptable. It’s always been in my brain that if it’s not hard, I’m not doing it right, but it’s the opposite with raw. If it’s hard, you are doing it wrong!

Breakfast: (pre work out)

Juice - Kale stems, Beets, Apple, Carrots, Spinach, Swiss Chard

AM Lunch: (post work out)

Frozen Bananas, 1 tbs honey, vanilla bean paste

PM Lunch: some sort of fruit

usually two large grapefruits

Dinner:

Juice - Kale Stems (because I hate celery), Cucumber, Parsley, Carrot, Spirulina, apple

PS I’m going to start an anti-celery campaign one day.

(Source: pennspiration)

1 month ago 4 notes View high resolution

Super Summer Strawberry-lemonade Slush

Dedicated to Ali

4 Cups Frozen Strawberries
4 Dates
1/4 Cup Honey (or agave, stevia etc etc etc)
1 Cup Lemon Juice (fresh)

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and then pour into the prettiest glass you have, pop in a colorful straw and a fancy umbrella if you have one and now you are ready to kick back your feet and relax.

Side note: The dates are important to this recipe, because the secret to a great strawberry daiquiri is using jam, and when you combine a dried fruit with a fresh fruit you get a jam like raw consistency and taste. Trust me.

1 month ago 58 notes

Mac & Cheese

(source here)

Preparation time: 15mins (plus 30mins resting time and 2hrs dehydrating time)
Serves 4

What you’ll need:

Mandoline or spiral slicer
High speed blender
Dehydrator

Zucchini Noodles:

4 large zucchinis
1 tsp salt

Cashew Sauce:

2 cups cashews (soaked a couple of hours)
3/4 cup fresh almond milk
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic
1tsp salt
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
few pinches of cayenne and paprika

To prepare the zucchini use either a mandoline or spiral slicer to make thin strands. Toss with the salt and let drain in a colander for 30mins.

While the zucchini is resting, make the cashew sauce by simply putting all the ingredients minus the walnuts and cayenne/paprika in a Vitamix or high speed blender and blend until very smooth.

After the zucchini has drained for 30mins transfer the noodles to a large bowl and add the cashew sauce and mix well. You can either place this mixture in a casserole dish or divide into individual bowls. Top with finely chopped walnuts and sprinkle with cayenne and paprika.

Place in the dehydrator at 105 degrees for at least 2 hours. Serve immediately!

(via yummyrawfood)

2 months ago 49 notes View high resolution

Raw Vegan Carrot Cake

(source here)

Ingredients:

2 C oat flour (made by processing rolled oats in a blender)
2 C pulp from 6-8 juiced carrots
1/4 tsp salt
2 C dates finely chopped or ground
1 C nuts chopped
2 tsp vanilla
3 TBsp honey

Other things I added in:

extra salt to taste
extra honey or agave to taste
lots of raisins
lots of cinnamon! (how could a carrot cake recipe NOT have cinnamon??)
1/2 C extra nuts
2 TBSp coconut oil

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 cups cashews, soaked (raw)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons dates, soaked
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or half a vanilla bean)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

For Cake:

Mix all the ingredients together well. Knead and form into 2 rolls for slicing or layers for a cake. Make one layer of a cake & cover with frosting. Place second cake layer on top and cover whole cake with frosting.

For Frosting:

Put all ingredients in a high-powered blender and process until smooth and creamy. (I will probably use my little food processor and a rubber spatula.).

2 months ago 123 notes View high resolution

Low Fat Strawberry Ice Cream

Serves 4

(source here)

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen strawberries
3 frozen bananas
2 scoops SunWarrior Vanilla protein powder
1 cup water
1 tablespoon tocotrienols (optional)
1 tablespoon pomegranate powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon stevia (or to taste)

Directions:

Place water, protein powder, tocotrienols, stevia and pomegranate in blender and blend until smooth. Add frozen fruit and blend again until creamy.

Either consume immediately or place in the fridge for 2-3 hours until set to your desired consistency.

2 months ago 18 notes View high resolution

Almond “Tuna” Salad
vegan, makes about 4 cups

(source here)

2 cups soaked raw unsalted almonds, reserve salted soak-water
1/2-1 cup reserved water
1 cup marinated mushrooms (jar), drained
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp grape seed oil (or olive oil)
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup (or agave)
1 tsp minced garlic (or garlic powder)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
optional: 1 handful chopped tarragon

Fold-ins:

1 cup celery bits
extra black pepper
optional: 3 Tbsp vegan mayo (Vegenaise)

Tools: 6-cup+ food processor

Directions:

1. Soak your almonds overnight – at least 6 hours. Add a few pinches of good salt to the soaking water.

2. When you are ready to process the almonds, add 2 cups of the soaked nuts to a food processor. Add about 1/2 cup of the soaking water. Next add the maple syrup, grape seed oil, garlic powder and a pinch of the salt and pepper.

3. Blend on high. Add more water if too dry. Do not want to over-process the nuts – you want them to resemble a flaky tuna-inspired texture.

Tip: I do two separate batches of nut mixture, one that is processed into a super creamy, fine texture and one that is nice and chunky/flaky – then I will fold the two together in the end for my finished product.

4. Next, add in the mushrooms, lemon and vinegar. Just make sure you use juicy marinated mushrooms.

5. Blend the almond/mushrooms mixture. Do a taste test and adjust salt/pepper/sweetness/spices/water to your taste buds. If using vegan mayo to increase the “creaminess” fold it in now. Although I did not need the mayo for my first batch – the almonds are creamy enough for me. The photos shown are mayo-free.

6. Scoop out the finished product. Set aside.

7. Fold in the celery. You can also fold in chopped tarragon or another fresh herb.

8. Cover and chill in fridge for a few hours before serving for best taste/texture results.

9. Serve on sandwich bread or as a dip. Perfect for stuffing a pita.

2 months ago 23 notes View high resolution

Chocolate Rasberry Cake

(source here)

For the base

1/4 cup oat flour*
1/2 cup cashew flour**
2 tablespoons cacao powder
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch salt
1 small pack of raspberries for the centre of the cake.

For the mousse

1 cup cashews
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons tamari/shoyu
Pinch salt

For the decoration (optional)

1/2 cup raspberries
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon lemon juice

*Oat flour is simply raw oats that have been turned to flour in a coffee grinder or Vita-Mix.

**Cashew flour is made by grinding cashews in a food processor until they turn to crumbs. You don’t need it as fine as the oat flour.

Method

- In a large bowl: mix all the base ingredients, thoroughly.

- Place a metal ring***, approximately 3″ (7cm) wide and at least 2″ (5cm) tall, on a dehydrator tray and non-stick dehydrator sheet. Dividing the mixture into 4, place one part into the bottom of the metal ring and spread evenly. Repeat this until you have 4 bases.

- Dehydrate at 115 degrees F, for 2 hours. At this point you should be able to transfer the bases to a dehydrator tray without the Paraflexx sheet; allowing them to dry for a further 8 hours.

- Blend all mousse ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and set aside.

- Take your bases and place the metal ring back over one of them. I like to line the inside of the ring with non-stick paper; I find this aids in the removal of the ring at the end.

- Arrange some raspberries at the bottom of the ring, covering the whole of the base. You can then cover them with one quarter of the mousse.

- Repeat this with the other bases. This can be done using another 3 metal rings; or you can leave the cake you have just done in the freezer for a few minutes, by which time it will be firm enough to remove the metal ring.

- You can decorate the cakes however you like, but for the decoration in the picture I blended all the decoration ingredients, and used a spoon to drizzle that mixture onto a Paraflexx sheet. I then dehydrated it for 24 hours at 115 degrees F on the sheet, and a further 24 hours without, until crispy.

- Instead of doing that, to save time, you can just top with more raspberries and a dusting of cacao powder.

*** The metals rings I used can be bought from most cook shops in a variety of sizes.

2 months ago 40 notes

Cold Negi Soba Soup

(source here)

For the Broth:

3” piece Fresh Kombu
1/2 cup Shiitake mushroom caps
1 Tbsp sesame seed oil
1 Tsp grated ginger
1 1/2 cups Water

Step 1 Rinse shiitake properly under cold running water.

Step 2 Chop shiitake and kombu, place them in a blender with other ingredients and blend for 1-2 minutes. Add more water until you get a broth consistency.

Step 3 Use this base immediately or store in the refrigerator and use within a day.

For the Soba Noodles:

2 Courgettes

Step 1 Wash the courgettes.

Step 2 Shred the courgettes with a peeler into thin long ribbons or spirals.

Step 3 Put them in a bowl of ice water and set aside.

For the Vegetables:

6 marinated shiitake, cut into strips
4 tbsp nama shoyu
1 pink radish, peeled and julienned
1 cup Chinese cabbage, shredded
4 tbsp sesame seed oil
3 Tsp ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, grated
½ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped

Step 1 Take shiitake strips in a bowl, add the nama shoyu, mix and set aside to marinate.

Step 2 Place the shredded cabbage in a mixing bowl, add 4 tbsp of sesame seed oil, grated ginger and garlic, mix well and and set it aside.

Mounting the Masterpiece

Step 1 Take two soup bowls and divide the base equally between the two.

Step 2 Divide the shredded courgette equally in the center of the two bowls.

Step 3 Pile shredded cabbage, julienned radish and shiitake mushrooms strips on the shredded courgettes and garnish with chopped coriander. Remember to divide equally! You may also sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like.

Enjoy it cold.

Note

*If you are using dried kombu and dried mushrooms, soak them in hot water for 20-30 minutes. Then use the soaked water to make the base. *Placing the spiraled courgettes in ice water keeps it fresh and also gives it a fresh crunchy texture. *Courgettes are also commonly called zucchini.

2 months ago 12 notes View high resolution

I made this recipe, except with almond pulp for my crust. I was reading the original recipe and the author remarked that this may possibly be better than real cheesecake… and as a pre-raw cheesecake lover… I went back for a second piece. I never go back for seconds on dessert.

For my crust:

I combined almond pulp, honey & a pinch of salt.

2 months ago 16 notes

Raw Cheesecake Recipe

(source here)

Crust ingredients:
1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts (or a combination of walnuts and macadamia nuts)
1/2 cup dates 1/4 cup dried, unsweetened coconut
1 pinch sea salt

White cheesecake filling ingredients:

3 cups cashews
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup agave or honey
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
Up to a 1/4 cup of water, if necessary to facilitate blending

Fruit topping ingredients:

2 cups frozen strawberries
1/2 cup dates

Directions:

How to make this raw cheesecake recipe…

1. Throw the macadamia nuts and dates into your food processor. (Don’t add the coconut!!) Process nuts and dates until well processed but still airy.

2. Next, get our your cheesecake pan (or just a basic glass brownie pan if you’re like me and don’t have fancy cookware) and sprinkle the coconut on the bottom as your very first layer. The point of doing this is to make it so it’s easier to remove the cheesecake and the coconut stops the crust from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Then press the macadamia nuts and dates down into the pan to form the crust.

3. Throw all creamcheese icing ingredients into your high-speed blender and blend! Add as little water as necessary to facilitate blending. (Try to add as little water as possible.)

4. Place the above in freezer for an hour or so (so that it will firm up).

5. Meanwhile, throw your strawberries and dates in your high-speed blender. Blend until nice and smooth. Pour this mixture on top of the crust/creamcheese, which was just in the freezer for about an hour. Replace the raw cheesecake recipe back in freezer. Freeze until this raw cheesecake recipe reaches the desired consistency!

6. Defrost this raw cheesecake recipe for about one hour before eating (or just slice from freezer and enjoy this delicious raw cheesecake)!

2 months ago 27 notes View high resolution

Green Onion Dip

(source here)

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup Water
1/4 cup Lemon juice
1 1/4 cup cashews, un-soaked
1/3 cup macadamia nuts, un-soaked
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt
6 scallions, chopped