Saturday, December 19, 2009

Partially Raw Stir-Fry, Raw Hot Chocolate, Black Bean Brownies

I had a yummy stir-fry tonight, and i learned that I LIKE PURPLE CABBAGE! The rice was cooked, of course! and i did heat up the veggies but not for long: big bowl full of cabbage, mung bean sprouts, grated carrot, marinated portabellas. Scattered about 1/2 cup of brown rice on top and spritzed well with Bragg's. Yum!! Did end up getting more rice later though :)

RAW HOT CHOCOLATE!!!

<3 1/2 cup hot water (just heated to hottest comfortable drinking temperature, not boiled)
<3 1 tablespoon raw coconut butter or oil
<3 1 tablespoon raw wild honey, preferably local
<3 1-2 tablespoons raw almond butter
<3 3 heaping tablespoons raw cacao powder
<3 1/2 teaspoon raw vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon other form of vanilla
<3 Pinch whole sea salt

In a blender, combine the above ingredients until smooth, adjusting all to your palette’s preference. This makes a concentrated chocolate sauce, which you may then dilute and enjoy with others (it would be quite a lot for one person all at once!) or save in the refrigerator for use as desired. Before serving, thin the sauce by at least half with more hot water. I usually drink this at about 1 part the above recipe to 3 or 4 parts additional hot water.


BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/12-step-blog/?p=486#comments

Flourless Brownies

Makes 16

No one will ever guess that black beans are the secret ingredient in this recipe!

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed (I cook and use my own as I always have some on hand)

3 large eggs ( I used egg substitute)

1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish ( I used raw coconut oil)

1/4 cup raw cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cane sugar ( I use raw cane sugar)

1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Oil an 8-inch baking pan. Place the black beans, eggs, melted butter/oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and sugar in the

bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove the blade and stir in the chocolate chips and

walnuts. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the center.

Cool before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 brownie/about 2oz/60g-wt.): 160 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 50mg

cholesterol, 35mg sodium, 17g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 12g sugar), 4g protein

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Basic Raw Formulas, mostly from Boutenko

SOUP

The base
Five flavors
Something to float (for example, grated carrot or other root, chunks of avocado or some veg, chopped parsley or other herbs)

The base for the soup is always the same:
1 c water
1 stalk celery
1T olive oil

mix everything in the blender except the floating chunks; add them afterward.

Yield: 2 cups of soup.

NUT BURGERS

1c any nuts
1c any vegs
1T oil to make it stick together
five flavors

Mix in a food processor

If you want a heavier burger, put more nuts. For a lighter burger, use more vegs.

Yield: 2 c of burger pate.

CANDY OR CAKE DOUGH

1c any nuts
1c any dried fruits
1T oil to make it stick together
Spices (optional)

Mix in food processor. Roll candies or use as crust layers for cake.

Yield: 2c delicious dough.

DRESSING

1/2 c water
2T olive oil
five strong flavors

Blend well.
Yield: 3/4 c delicious dressing.

FIVE FLAVORS; selected suggestions

Sour: lemons, cranberries, rhubarb, lemon grass, sour grass, sorrel, tomatoes, sauerkraut, nut or seed yogurt, apple cider vinegar.

Sweet: dried fruit (figs, dates, prunes, raisins), fresh fruits (ripe bananas, mango, peach, pear), apple juice, orange juice, agave, honey, stevia

Spicy: garlic or onion shoots/cloves/bulbs, ginger, mustard greens/seeds, radish, horseradish, cayenne, wasabi, seaweed, herbs (cilantro, rosemary, basil, dill, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, peppermint)

Salty: celery, cilantro, dill, parsley, sea vegetables, sea salt

Bitter: parsley, celery tops, endive, garlic, onion, dandelion, bay leaf, sage, poultry seasoning, cayenne.

FROM RAWDAWG RORY:
RAW ENERGY BARS

1 part mashed dates (dried, pitted, quartered, food processed to mush)
3 parts dry ingredients (chopped nuts, dried fruits)
knead really well. ball>snake>bar. sesame seeds to keep from sticking.

LINK WITH LARABAR RECIPES:

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Raw Meal Prep Day

Weellllll, i dunno.

Background: For about a month now, since starting the Young Living cleanse, i've been living mostly on Green Smoothies. No cravings, no appetite. A little bad eating, but due to habit & psychological issues, and the pizza & chips didn't even taste good!

Was excited about the book "Living on Live Food" by Alissa Cohen. Decided i should have some raw meals up my sleeve just in case i ever do feel like eating again, plus my kids can't live on cheap canned soup and free pepperoni forever! Like, cooking is kinda my job, right?

So i took her advice and bought the items for Week 1, then came home and started "cooking". Here's what i made and what i thought about it.

Mock Salmon Pate. First, let me say i don't know why anyone would want to make Real Salmon Pate. However, i was feeling lost and seized upon her convenient weekly plans. I think a better name for this is simply Veggie-Nut Pate. It's a mix of walnuts, red bell pepper, scallion, celery, lemon juice, and maybe a couple other small things? Soph was happy to work the food processor. Had some smeared inside a lettuce leaf & rolled up; wasn't bad. Had more on top of a romaine salad (see below for dressing); that was good. Not something i'd eat alone, but would be good w/ raw crackers or... not raw, but outstanding w/ rosemary-olive oil triscuits!!

Alissa's Dressing. Raw honey, raw AC vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt? Good but could use some herbs for depth. Didn't know which ones. Pepper would be good.

Fettucine Alfredo.

Why sure.

Well, i really wish we hadn't tried a substitution, but we just didn't have raw macadamia nuts. We did have dry-roasted, but were unsure whether to sub those or raw sunflower seeds, so we went with the latter. I'm sure it tastes good? but it's so grey and oily that i can't bring myself to try it yet. disappointing since it contains 3c of expensive nuts. **update!** Renea suggested adding spinach, to make it green instead of grey. Now it looks EXACTLY like noodles parmesan from the package!! Needs onion powder though, and lots of Spike, and cold is not so hot.

Recipes I'd Like To Try:

Pesto Dressing, 1/2 c pesto plus 2T lemon juice
Pasta al Pesto, zucchini noodles tossed w/ 2T pesto
Ranch Dressing
1c soaked cashews
3/4c water
2T fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp each garlic & onion powder
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt
1T , or 1t dried, each, minced fresh basil and dill weed
Creamy Cuke Dressing, from Raw Food Made Easy p 100
Miso Soup, p 81
Zucchini Hummus, p 73
Salsa p 69

Thursday, December 10, 2009

What I'm Doing

Time to write down what i've been doing to get my BP down, in case i backslide. Thanks for the idea, Renea!

  • 24 oz water upon waking
  • wait 45 min, then green smoothie w/ ICP
  • low sodium, low meat, low dairy
  • logging meals on daily plate
  • walking daily
  • high raw/vegan by preference
  • Essentialzyme with solid meals
  • I try to remember comfortone daily, but especially w/ dairy.
i credit the ICP for lack of cravings & appetite.