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. 

Arnold’s Way, Nachos!

Another picture taken with my cell phone, but it’s not as bad this time!  :)  I went to Arnold’s Way again in Lansdale, PA (www.arnoldsway.com) and got a green smoothie with berries and the nachos, with carrot-flax-buckwheat bread, sunflower seed cheese, beet sauce, avocado, tomato, mixed greens, and carrots.  This was an excellent meal; I loved the cheese, which tasted slightly sweet and was super creamy.

Tomato & Fennel Lasagna (Raw)

Raw Food Real World

This dish is a slightly modified version of the zebra tomato and zucchini lasagna recipe from Raw Food Real World.  I LOVED this dish!  The flavors were amazing, and it had very reduced fat.

The first layer is a fennel, thyme, and oregano mixture.  I left out the extra-virgin olive oil.  Next is a pine nut ricotta, followed by a basil puree (again, no fat added), and a fat-free sun-dried tomato sauce.  I think I could eat this every day.

It’s served with a kale-dulse salad with avocado dressing and cucumber.

Raw Cheezburger - Arnold’s Way

(Disclaimer - picture was taken on my phone camera!)

www.arnoldsway.com

In Lansdale, PA, there is a raw vegetarian cafe with juices, smoothies, entrees (wraps, soups, sandwiches), and desserts.  There is also a store section with produce and miscellaneous items, such as agave, seeds, nuts, dried fruit, seaweeds.

I went there yesterday with my friend Tracey and purchased a green smoothie along with this cheezburger, with flax bread, red sauce, a patty with beets (see website for all ingredients), sunflower seed cheese, avocado, broccoli, carrots, and onion.  I loved the bread, cheese, and vegetables.  The patty was so-so; I only liked it combined with the other ingredients, but keep in mind that I’m not a HUGE fan of beets.  As you may be able to tell from the photograph, this item is eaten with a fork. 

We will definitely be going back to Arnold’s for these treats and they also have raw potlucks monthly.

Collards Rolls w/ Sun-dried Tomato Balls & Cheese

 

The Raw 50 (for cheese & mango flan)

I know that raw collard leaves, to some, may not sound like their idea of food, and I’ll admit that I was skeptical myself, but I got some organic leaves, marinated them in salt and lemon juice, and made some accompaniments for wraps.

The cheese is excellent, with pine nuts, macadamias, nutritional yeast, extra-virgin olive oil, and garlic.  I could eat it by the spoonful.

I love raw preparation of food, as it seems to inspire more creativity in me than cooked prep does.  I wanted sun-dried tomato and basil balls, so I merely threw some sunflower seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil in the processor, ground it up, decided I need more liquid, and added garlic, carrots, and raw tahini.  What resulted was exactly what I wanted and paired perfectly with the cheese and collards.

The mango flan, however sweet and coconuty, did not turn out.  You are supposed to chill it for 30 min. in the freezer and then release it from the container.  This didn’t work, at least for me, but the flan tastes just as good using a spoon, and I got to use young coconut meat for the first time and drank the coconut water.  I’m thinking that my skin loves coconut oils and anything coconut, really, so I’m embracing all things coconut right now and finding that I like fresh coconut flavor more than I realized, just not dried shreds.

The flan can be seen in the background here:

VeganMoFo - Eggplant

I wish I made eggplant more often!  Here are a few of my favorite ways to eat this delicious purple-skinned veggie:

Breaded eggplant with spicy & sweet tomato sauce from Venturesome Vegetarian (as I recall, I used gluten-free breadcrumbs)

Garbanzo moussaka from More Fabulous Beans (with a great cheese sauce!)

Potatoes with eggplant butter from Fresh & Fast Vegan Pleasures

I know it’s hard to tell from the picture what exactly this dish is, but it’s basically eggplant in a tomato sauce.  One of my favorites, recipe found here:  http://www.ivu.org/recipes/indian-salads/eggplant.html

Eggplant rollatini from Veganomicon

I’m trying to get as many posts in as I can for VeganMoFo, have only missed a few days!!  That’s good…..right? 

Veganomicon - Pumpkin Ziti

Veganomicon

This pumpkin looks innocent enough, eh?

Grinning from ear to ear, you might just smile back when you see it.

But then the lights go out…..

SCARY!!!!  

I had a great time carving this with Sara - it had been years and years since we had the pleasure of cutting through two-inch pumpkin flesh and getting our hands all stringy with gobs of seeds.  So much fun!

On to the food, the pumpkin ziti has brown rice pasta, cashew ricotta, pumpkin, carmelized onions, and sage-bread crumb topping.  Sound good?  Yes, it is!  I liked it a lot; it has a nice blend of flavors.  Easy to make gluten-free as well, if you use gf bread crumbs or just chopped nuts with sage for the topping.

Boo!

Eggplant Rollatini, Cheezly Pizza

 

Veganomicon

First we start off with breaded and baked (low in fat!) eggplant, then roll the slices up stuffed with spinach and a basil-tofu ricotta that tastes phenomenal.  Why do I think that - who is this vegan who thinks she knows what cheese is good?  Just listen to me.  I’m smart like that….Shown here with marinara sauce, sprinkled with Almasen, and basil.

Finally, what I’ve been putting off for ages - the Cheezly pizza.  I wanted to keep it simple, making a whole-wheat spelt and unbleached white crust, slathering the pizza sauce on, and topping it with the grated mozzarella and some basil pretties.  My stone was worried what would happen if some Cheezly got on her delicate, seasoned body.  I assured Mrs. Stone that Cheezly was, in fact, low in fat and didn’t entail stealing milk from a baby calf!  If an orphaned baby soybean rings my buzzer later, I’ll let you’all know.

Cheers to Francesco for sharing an excellent meal with me!

Cheezly Craze

Yes, I have some Cheezly….and I will make a pizza soon!  I just don’t have the desire for fatty/melty foods as I used to.  I think a lot of times we crave things merely because we are accustomed to them and/or there is some psychological attachment to certain foods.  I don’t have a cheese monster inside of me, but I am looking forward to trying this product and will let everyone know how it is!

In the interim, I have been eating tons of raw food and a bit of cooked.  It’s all part of my detoxification, as I term it, from a few days of eating rich (albeit healthier than omnivorous counterparts) restaurant meals.

Certainly, I would recommend heading over to Horizons at 7th & Kater (between South & Bainbridge) and getting the Pumpkin Pie Martini with a cinnamon stick and the Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake.  If the thought of pure chocolate strikes your fancy, get the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bomb.  My favorite entree dish there is the Spinach Salad with delicious avocado and corn pieces; however, many people prefer to start their meal with the BBQ Seitan.  Get over there and splurge for the fall season!

Housewarming!

 

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Tiramisu cupcakes with mocha-infused vanilla cake, cream cheese icing, and cocoa and cinnamon dusted on top.

Super chocolate with creamy chocolate icing.

Here’s to great times with your new roommates and new friends, Alex!