Cherries, Strawberries, Bananas

Photos courtesy of Orlando’s camera. 

This is the best type of dinner there is – a never-ending plate of fruit!

Papaya, Banana, Strawberies, Blueberries

This is a great way to start your day!  Some people have been told or taught that whole grains are needed to make a complete, balanced, or filling meal.  As someone who is mostly grain-free, I feel incredible without whole (or refined) grains and on a raw, fresh/unprocessed diet.  I have said it before, but I’ll say it again – my skin has never looked better.  I have 10-year-old scars that are disappearing, previously keloid, red, raised, that on a healthy, mostly green vegan cooked diet did not disappear.    

Becoming a raw foodist isn’t a new fad; all other animals except humans (and the companions they feed with their processed foods) eat raw, and humans originally ate all raw as well.

Strawberry & Mango Banana Ice Cream

You can imagine that I don’t eat pies every day, or even every week.  A more typical sweet treat for me is simply fruit or a banana whip.  This is a banana whip with more fruit added.  The strawberry portion has 1/2 of a vanilla bean scraped, 2 c. of strawberries, 2/3 of a fresh banana, and 1.5 frozen bananas.  The mango part has 1.5 mangos chopped, 2/3 of a fresh banana, and 1.5 frozen bananas.  You have to freeze it a little bit more; and stir it every 15 min. for about an hour until it’s ready.

Shown here with fresh mango, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes.

(for those that don’t know what a banana whip is, it’s bananas, chopped up, and frozen; then they are placed in a food processor, Vita-Mix, Champion juicer with blank attachment, or even a Magic Bullet, and blended (optional: add water or juice, a tablespoon at a time to facilitate blending or thaw the bananas for 10 min.).  Bananas have a creamy consistency after being frozen.  There’s really no reason for me to ever have even a raw-food ice cream made of nuts and coconut when I can just throw in some bananas and cinnamon or other fruit.

Electrolyte Superfood Smoothie

Some people refer to certain supplements and powders as superfoods.  I prefer to get my super-charged nutrition from fresh fruits and vegetables, mostly.  Tonight I had a smoothie with the following:

water from 1 young coconut (fresh)

2 kiwi

1 banana

1 c. strawberries

1/2 c. raspberries

1 pomegranated, seeded

ice as desired

 

I liked it but there was still some coconut water flavor remaining.  For whatever reason, I don’t like the taste.    Either way, what a nutrition boost!

Naked Chocolate (does vegan!)

I was very pleased to go into Naked Chocolate at Juniper and Walnut in Philadelphia, ask about what was vegan, and promptly getting answers without a bat of an eye.  These people know what makes good chocolate (that would be the cocoa/cacao, people).

I chose the fondue without the cakes and other miscellaneous items (I don’t know if they were vegan), opting for mostly raw with the fruits, and the dark chocolate.  It was heavenly!

Chocolate Chai Live Parfait

Vegan World Fusion Cuisine

My “raw” dessert isn’t completely raw; I don’t like carob, especially the raw variety, so I used cocoa powder instead. 

Otherwise, the dessert consists of a raw “crust” that I just used as crumbs, simply dates and nuts with spices ground together – so easy, tasty, and sweet.

The creamy layer is ripe bananas, psyllium husk, spices, and the cocoa.

Topped with a mint leaf….

Will let you know how it was after it chills for a while.

Interesting tidbit:  Psyllium husk powder is a common ingredient in over-the-counter laxatives.  You might be able to guess, from what I commonly eat, that I’ve NEVER had to buy a laxative.  :p

Nothing Says Friendship

Better than Banana Peanut Butter Muffins…

 

WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS!  HOW ARE WE LIVIN’, SANCTUARY, GOERS?! 

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Peanut Butter Banana Muffins w/ Chocolate chips Vegetarian Times, March 2007 (Adaptation)Serves 6-12

1/2 c. whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 c. unbleached white flour

3/4 c. light brown sugar or raw sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 medium bananas, mashed

1/3 c. unsweetened crunchy peanut butter

1/4 c. soymilk, applesauce, or soy yogurt

1 egg replacer (as in Ener-G mixed with water or flax) (optional – these will hold together, as most baked goods, without it)

2 T. canola oil

3/4 c. chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder & soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk together bananas, peanut butter, soymilk, egg replacer, vanilla, and oil. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter evenly between the muffin cups (12).

Bake 18-20 min. or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack for 15 min.  GREAT EATEN WARM….you know, to test and make sure they taste good.

Tropical Fruit Pudding and Hempnut Milk

Sensational Stevia Desserts (nonvegetarian cookbook)

This is a great salad which is pretty easy to make, once you get the pureeing parts done!  The main base is bananas, silken tofu, coconut extract, and stevia.  To one part, I added strawberries and the other, raspberries (my variation).  Also shown in the middle is a mango puree and fresh blueberries and strawberries.  Yum!

The making of hempnut milk:

It looks like I’ll need to strain it a little bit to remove the froth, or maybe that disappears when it cools.  Either way, thanks, Sue, for the maker!  I am going to make tofu tomorrow.

Pancrepes & Biscuits w/ Gravy

Introducing the pancrepe – a cross between a pancake and a crepe.  The best part is that they don’t stick to cast-iron skillets and are sweet, with agave nectar and chickpea flour.  The sauce on top is blueberries with apple juice, stevia, and cornstarch.

Heart of the Home

From Ann Jackson’s book, Heart of the Home, I made soysauge, which was made up mostly of tofu and white beans, plus some spices and miscellanous items such as bread crumbs.  The recipe was tedious and, honestly, not as good as tempeh sausage from Vegan With a Vengeance.  It was tasty, but not worth the effort for me.  The biscuits are from the same book, but they are accidentally broiled; my oven seems to want to be turned off between broiling and baking, so, even if I change the temperature to 450 F from broiling, the heat element on top stays hot.  Luckily, I noticed this before the bread burnt! 

We also had raw apple pie from Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People, which I prefer to cooked apple pie, and the ingredient list is healthful and short:  walnuts, coconut, dates, apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, and raisins.

B’Nanner Bars

 

La Dolce Vegan!

Great for taking on the go when you have errands or for a snack at work.  The wet mix is made from bananas, ground flax, margarine, and sweetener (I used granulated date sugar), while the dry mix has oat flour and pecans.  The recipe called for frosting these, but I prefer to stay lower in fat and calories and just enjoy the healthiness and simplicity of the naked bars!

Shown here topped with cinnamon.