Nachos and Juicing Before Trip

I knew I would have to use up all of the items in my refrigerator and also wouldn’t be juicing for a few days, so I made some awesome combos today:

Orange-kale-carrot

Pear-kale

Apple-collard-carrot-ginger

How’s that for getting your calcium!?  Just drink it from nature’s best sources. 

I was in the mood for a few high-fat items today, but I do plan on enjoying many fruits on vacation.

Shown here:  Nachos with flax crackers (two varieties, both sprouted, live, and raw), taco-seasoned walnut crumbles, avocado-tomato dip, and a spicy cashew-sunflower seed cheese (with the walnut crumbles, avocado dip, and cheese showcased in center).  That will hold me over.  And it’s beautiful! ***

 

Although I like food like this here and there now that I’m high-raw, I much prefer, during the week and most weekends as well, simple foods, mono meals, which would be eating one type of food (sometimes in high quantity) at one time.  This seems to be easier on the stomach for digestion and more amenable to that superior energy flow I enjoy. 

Raw Cauliflower Tacos

A lower-fat version than the usual raw nut taco base, this has grated cauliflower with Bragg’s, coriander, and cumin, along with an appropriately-spiced mango and tomato salsa.  Delicious!

Fiesta Salad

Mixed greens with cilantro, kale, jicama, mango, carrots, corn, avocado, clover sprouts, a green pea-adzuki-lentil sprout blend, and a spicy Liquid Gold nutritional yeast dressing (with hemp).

Raw Nori Barley Wraps

Raw nori barley wraps with soaked barley (2 days), celery, red bell pepper, carrot, green onion, and a puree of broccoli (which I cooked, but you don’t have to), cilantro, lime juice, ginger, and barley miso.

These were really good; I love the ginger in the pureed part!

Thai Vegetable Wraps & Coconut and Chocolate Ice Cream

 

Raw Food, Real World (for wraps and coconut ice cream)

Thai vegetable wraps in collard leaves with bok choy (instead of savoy cabbage), almond-ginger dressing, mango, carrots, basil, cilantro, mint, and served with a tamarind dressing.  I left out the bean sprouts.  I loved the wraps; I kept going back to make more.  I think I will use the leftovers as a salad, with the collards chopped, so it’s easier to transport tomorrow.  Definitely recommend this recipe!

Coconut ice cream sweetened with agave nectar, also shown with raw chocolate ice cream with coconut water and meat, macadamia milk, and cacao powder.  Served with mango, kiwi, and blueberries.  The ice creams tasted good, but I realized tonight that if I want to make my own nut milks and ice creams with coconut meat, I should really get a better blender, such as a Vita-Mix.  The texture isn’t smooth and pureed enough with my regular old cheapy blender!  Especially to serve to other people.

Rajmah, from Mr. Marcus

Kidney beans, onions, ginger, tomatoes, and a Rajmah spice mix (http://aroracreations.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=31).

Cashew-Coconut Pasta with Bok Choy

As some of you already know, my vacation was purely pleasure, a much-needed break from work, and an exciting visit with someone who is becoming a closer friend of mine, Erik Marcus.  I did eat cooked food while on vacation (and don’t worry, I haven’t become a raw foodist!).  Cooking with Mrrrrrrrrrrrr. Marcus was a joy…..it was refreshing to skip the cookbooks and just make what sounded delicious to both of us, with ingredients already on hand, adding garlic here and a few serranos there when Skimpola wasn’t around.  :D  (I did get to meet her, too!)

The above dish has sauteed garlic and ginger with a cashew-macadamia coconut milk sauce, serrano chilies, cilantro, toasted cashews, a bit of tamari for saltiness, and lemon juice.  It was fantastic!  I believe I caught sight of Mr. Vegan.com scraping the pan with a spoon before placing it in the sink to wash.

Rawco Salad

Salad with leaf lettuce, shredded romaine, mango salsa, spicy walnut crumbles, and avocado-lime cream.

The walnut mixture is a piece of cake:  grind walnuts (about 3 cups) in your food processor.  Add nama shoyu to taste (about 1/4 c.) and 1-2 tsp. each cumin powder and coriander powder.

Raw Food Recipes, No Meat/No Heat Book

A sampling of a few of the recipes from this book:

Pistachio, Celery, and Cucumber Salad with Dates and Orange-Lemon Dressing

Celery & Red Apple Salad with Creamy Pine Nut Dressing (with lemon and parsley)

Recipe for Belgian Endive with Gremolata and Vegetables using Radicchio and Additional Vegetables, bell peppers, cucumber, carrots, Belgian endive, radicchio, and mixed sprouts.  Gremolata has lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and oil (see note below).

 

I was very intrigued by this one.  It’s Swiss Chard, Pine Nuts, and Currants Stuffed in Vine Leaves.  Of course the vine leaves, being jarred, are not raw, but the filling is completely raw.

In the pistachio salad, apple salad, and “dolmas,” I did not add any oil, due to there already being fat content and plenty of flavor from the nuts, herbs, and citrus juices.  The gremolata has merely a tablespoon of oil, much less than called for.  My favorite of these four is a toss-up between the apple salad (the dressing is amazing) and the dolmas with the perfect filling mixture.  Where’s Mr. Marcus when you need him to swoop in and eat some dolmas?  These are better than Costco.

Kale Salad & Cucumber Boats (raw)

Kale salad has red and green bell pepper, carrots, and a creamy raw cashew-cilantro-orange dressing with garlic.

The cucumber boats are stuffed with an avocado, onion, garlic, tomato, lime, cilantro, and celery mixture.

Both are excellent!  The cashew dressing with some sweetness from the fresh orange juice pairs well with the kale.