foods i make

I find that there isn’t a better way to put some good green energy in your day than starting out with a yummy green smoothie. This is an updated version of my previously posted Green Smoothie, only a little bit smoother - it’s amazing what a little hint of Almond butter can do ;)

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 3 big leaves of green kale
• 1/2 banana
• 6 strawberries
• 1 tbs raw almond butter
• 1 tsp spirulina
• 2 cups water

IT’S SMOOTHIE TIME!

Place all ingredients your blender starting with the kale first and the water last. Blend until nice and smooth and enjoy your energizing breakfast smoothie!

**Helpful Tips: Use refrigerated and or frozen fruit to make this smoothie cool and refreshing. It’s best to buy and freeze the fruit yourself as well as peel the banana before putting it in the freezer. Add the entire banana and or 1tsp Raw Honey to make it extra sweet.

Those mornings when I want a sweet and hardier than a green smoothie breakfast, this is my go-to recipe. This light and tasty breakfast is so easy to make and tastes great! You wouldn’t even know that you’re missing the oats. 

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1 delicious apple (just pick your favorite)
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup raw pecans
• Cinnamon

HOW TO MAKE IT:
Cut and place your apple, orange juice and pecans in the food processor. Mix until you’ve received your desired consistency. Place in a bowl and sprinkle cinnamon on top if desired. Enjoy!

**There are quite a few ways to modify this recipe depending what your mood is. You can always sub pecans for almonds or walnuts or for a lighter nut-free version you can mix in 1/2 cup sprouted buckwheat. Also, if you’re out of oranges, feel free to squeeze a lemon or mix in another soft fruit such as a peach or a banana. 

For those of you without a food processor, you can use your blender, just remember that you might have to add more liquid to get it going.

There’s no denying that this recipe takes home the beautiful award as far as hummus is concerned as well as perfect ’10s’ in delighting your taste buds (clearly my mind is already thinking in Summer Olympic lingo). However apart from its unique color and taste, it takes minutes to make. Making this recipe a perfect choice for occasions when you want to impress your guests in seconds flat. 

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED: 

• 3 small beets
• 1/3 cup Raw Tahini 
• 4 tbs Olive Oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

HOW TO MAKE IT:

• Wash and peal the beets under running water to keep your hands from getting stained
• Cut the beets into smaller pieces and place in your food processor 
• Place the rest of the ingredients in with the beets and blend until smooth and creamy
• Add salt to taste
• Adjust oil, lemon, garlic and tahini quantities to your liking
• Enjoy!

(image provided by http://guidetogwinnett.com)

Are your fresh summer peaches going bad before you have time to take one juicy bite? Well, this fresh and easy peach vinaigrette will solve all of your peach loving problems in seconds!

What you’ll need: 

• One very ripe peach
• One lime
• One tbs Apple Cider Vinegar  

How to make it: 

Remove the pit of the peach by cutting the peach into 4 slices and pull apart. Then cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice out from just half of the lime, leaving the other half to add in later if you prefer. Place all ingredients into a food processor (or a small mixing bowl if you would prefer to use a hand blender) and blend until it’s nice and creamy. Feel free to adjust the amount of lime and vinegar to your liking. 

Place on top of your favorite summer salad and enjoy! 

Potato chips have gotten a bad rap due (for good reasons too). However these chips are nothing like their previous counterparts. They’re genuinely good for you and super tasty too :)

When making these chips, I recommend using a dehydrator in order to keep all their nutritional value in tack, but you can always throw them in the oven for a quick healthy chip as well. 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 2 Large sweet potatoes 
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt

MAKING THE CHIP:

1. Peel, then using a mandolin or a food processor attachment, slice the sweet potatoes into thin slices. 
2. Place slices in mixing bowl and mix in 1/8 cup oil and 1-2 tsp sea salt. 
3. Place on a mesh dehydrating sheet and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 4-5 hours or until crunchy. 

Enjoy plain or with your favorite dip!

Sometimes you just feel like pizza and then some other times you feel like a super healthy gluten-free, raw and all of the above delicious pizza. For days when you feel like the latter, here’s what you’re gonna do. 

Warning: You will need to plan your craving ahead of time and this recipe does require a dehydrator. And depending on how much time and resources, you can choose from the gourmet crust or a much easier creation. 

HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE GONNA NEED: (yields 4 4in pizzas)

Gourmet Crust: 

• 2 cups sprouted buckwheat 
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
• 2 dates pitted and soaked
• 1/8 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked 1-2 hours
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp oregano
• Dash sea salt

Easy Crust: 

• 2 cups ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1 carrot 
• 1 cup red bell pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/8 tsp sea salt 
• 1/2 cup water

Marinara Sauce

• 12 sundried tomatoes, soaked
• 3 dates, pitted and soaked
• 1/2 cup water 
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp sea salt

Cheese spread: 

• 1/2 cups pine nuts
• 1/2 cups macadamia nuts
•  2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic

Toppings: Any assorted vegetables of your choice. I like to use red peppers, zucchini, spinach, and mushrooms 

LET’S START MAKIN’ THIS PIZZA!:

For Crust: 

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor until well blended and smooth. 
2. Remove from food processor and place on a teflex sheet on top of a a mesh dehydrator sheet.
3.  Smooth crust into 1/4 inch thick round pizza dough (lip for crust and all).
4. Dehydrate crust for 2 hours at 105 degrees then flip over, removing the teflex sheet and dehydrate for a few more hours until firm, but not crispy. 

For Sauce & Cheese: 

1. Place all ingredients for the tomato sauce in a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl for later.
2. Do the same for the cheese.

To Assemble: 

1. Remove crust from dehydrator and flip the crust back onto its original side before topping so that you have the thick outer crust that you molded facing upward. 
2. Spread cheese sauce over the pizza crust (leaving space near the edge of the crust)
3. Pour marinara sauce over the cheese sauce. 
4. Top with your favorite toppings
5. Place pizza back in the dehydrator for another 6-10 hours depending on desired texture* (optional). 
6. Sprinkle some fresh olive oil on top and enjoy!

* Recommended for a more traditional taste, but if you don’t have the time, it’s also appropriate to simply place raw veggies on top of the pizza and enjoy as is.

(This recipe was taken from Alissa Colhen’s ‘Living on Raw Food’ book. But altered to fit my taste buds) 

I decided to really up my raw food intake and making up by a few notches for the next few weeks – and quite possibly forever – so, you’l be seeing a LOT of easy and delicious raw food recipes coming my way. 

This scrumptious portobello is a great, quick and easy spring dish that everyone is sure to enjoy.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED: (yields 2 super happy and stuffed mushrooms) 

• 2 portobello mushroom caps
• 4 tbs Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar (note: you can get this at any health food store…oh, and their website makes me smile for many reasons)
• 1 large avocado
• 1 large tomato
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large basil leaves

LET’S START STUFFIN’!: 

1. Wash each mushroom throughly and place them down on a plate stem side up. 
2. Drizzle 2 tbs of apple cider vinegar over the mushroom cap making sure to place some on the plate so that it’s nicely marinating in it.
3. Take your avocado, slice in half and wit your knife, gently tap the pit with the blade until it’s nice and stuck to the pit and twist. (The pit should come out rather easily, but do be careful whole doing this.) With a spoon, remove the meat of the avocado from the skin, and on a cutting board dice into small squares. 
4. Stuff each avocado with equal parts of diced avocado.
5. Take your large tomato and dice it into small cubes and place equal parts (about 1/2 cup) on top of the avocado in each mushroom cap. 
6. In a small cup or bowl, pour 1/4 cup olive oil and with a garlic press, squeeze one large garlic clove in with the oil. Gently stir with a fork and drizzle over each stuffed mushroom. 
7. Top with basil, serve with a small salad and enjoy! 

Photo reply with your stuffed portobello mushroom creation! 

Almond milk - aka God’s glorious gift to us Vegans - is one of my favorite things to make. Why you ask? Well, for one, it’s super easy. And two, it tastes much better than the almond milk that you buy in stores – oh…and you get to make yummy cakes and cookies out of the leftover almond meal, so that’s a double awesome whammy! Plus almonds have a TON of nutritional value which you can find out more about here.

Here’s What You’ll Need: 

• 2 cups soaked almonds (preferably soaked in water overnight in the refrigerator)
• 6 cups water
• 6 dates*
• 1/2 raw vanilla bean*
• One fruit/nut bag

* Optional but WELL worth it. 

It’s Milk Time!:

• Mix all ingredients in a high speed blender for 3-5 minutes
• Slowly pour all ingredients into a fruit/nut bag over a large mixing bowl, gently squeezing out all the liquid milk. 
• Place in a cute jar, refrigerate, and enjoy! 

Oh…and as I mentioned earlier, no need to throw out the remaining almond meal. Just place it in your dehydrator or oven on low to dry it out and use it later to make your favorite cakes or cookies!

There are few things I crave in the morning like a green smoothie. Sure, they might look a bit strange to those who are used to seeing the bright colors of sugary Jamba Juice smoothies, but they really are quite sweet and oh so satisfying. Oh yeah, and they’re SUPER HEALTHY for you too!

Recently Green smoothies have been slowly making their way into pop culture and though there are plenty of posts on green smoothies out there, few of them are actually that green. Here’s what I blend up for myself in order to give me that boost of pure energy in the morning.

All you need is a blender and the following ingredients:

• 1 cup raw green kale (or spinach)
• 1 tsp spirulina (for that extra all-natural protein boost)
• 1 banana (frozen bananas work quite nicely)
• 4-5 Fresh or frozen strawberries
• 2 1/2 cups cold water

Place in blender all ingredients and blend until nice and smooth. Makes roughly 20oz.

Feel free to play around with whatever fruits you like best. I use bananas because they create a nice consistency, however I have substituted bananas for mangos or used 1/2 banana with 1 cup fresh blueberries and even 1 cup peaches. Really, any fruit works in this case.

Enjoy!

This recipe, I cannot take credit for. It is 100% inspired by my FAVORITE raw dessert book - Sweet Gratitude by my favorite raw food restaurant in San Francisco Cafe Gratitude. However…I found that by following the recipe, I wind up with a HUGE cake that’s fine for a restaurant, but not for a party of 4-6. Also, I modified the frosting to make it a bit more zesty and adds a touch of WOW! 

Here’s how to make it: (yields one 6in round cake) **You will need a blender, and if you have a food processor and a handy dandy mixer - your life during the process of making this cake would be a whole lot easier ;)

Cake Ingredients:

• 20oz date paste   
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (refined - unrefined will give it a coconutty taste) 
• 2 tbs liquid vanilla 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup almond milk 
• 1/4 cup strong chai tea (2 teabags)
• 1/2 tbs cinnamon
• 1/2 tbs nutmeg

Making The Cake: 

• Make the date paste by finely chopping dates (majool dates are my favorite to use and you could use a sharp knife or your s-blade in your food processor).
• Add to mixer date paste, coconut oil, liquid vanilla - beat until nice and creamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix for 2-5 minutes. (do not over blend).

Orange Frosting Ingredients:

• 2 cups soaked cashews
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• Fresh Zest of one whole lemon
• Fresh Zest from 1/2 fresh orange
• 1/4 cup agave
• 1/4 tsp salt  
• 1 tbs liquid vanilla
• 1/8 tsp turmeric  
• 4 tbs lecithin  
• 1/2 cup coconut oil  

Making the Frosting:

• Add to blender all ingerdients except for coconut oil, lecithin and save 1/2 of your fresh fruit zest for later.
• Blend well until smooth and creamy (3-5 min).
• Add lecithin and coconut oil and blend.
• Test consistency by placing a small amount in freezer for 20-30 min. If frosting is firm to the touch and has thickened - proceed to cake assembly. If not, add more coconut oil.

Putting the Cake together: 

1. Divide the batter into two equal parts
2. Lightly grease the pan with coconut oil  
3. Place one portion of the batter into pan and spread in an even, flat layer. Keep the other portion at room temperature until ready to use.  
4. Pour 2 cups of liquid frosting onto the first layer of cake - spread evenly.  
5. Place cake pan. In freezer for 1-2 hours in order to set the frosting.  
6. Pour the remaining frosting into a container and set in freezer until firm (1-2 hours). Place in refrigerator once set.  
7. Remove cake from freezer and take remaining portion of cake batter and spread evenly on top of the middle layer of frosting.  
8. Set cake in freezer for 20-30 minutes  
9. Remove the cake carefully (or leave in pan if need be)  
10.  Frost cake and sprinkle some fresh lemon and orange zest in for decoration. 

ENJOY WITH GOOD FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Spring is here and nothing tastes better on a warm spring day than some fresh tasty veggies. Last week, my delivery of local organics arrived from Boston Organics and right before my very eyes was a bunch of beautiful collard greens with leaves so big they screamed BURRITO ME! Ok, so they really weren’t screaming anything, but they did inspire me to create some yummy raw magic. 

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED: (yields 4 burRAWtos)

• 4 large collard green leaves
• 1 small zucchini  
• 2 small carrots
• 1 medium tomato
• 1/4 cup diced white onion
• 1 medium avocado
• 1 lemon
• Italian parsley

LET’S MAKE THESE BAD BOYS! 

1. Create the guacamole spread by mashing up 1 ripe avocado (you may use a food processor or a standard hand mixer to do this). Then stir in 1/4 cup diced white onion and one diced medium sized tomato in with the mashed avocado. 
2. With a cheese grater (or mandoline) grate 2 carrots and one small zucchini until you have about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of each. 
3. Wash and chop 1/4 cup Italian parsley
4. Wash 4 large collard green leaves and cut off the stem right at the base of the leaf. 
5. Spread a thin layer of avocado on the ‘inside of each leaf’ (each leaf will naturally have a slight curve to it which helps greatly when rolling - as long as you’re not going against it). 
6. Fill each wrap with approximately 1/2 cup of your zucchini and carrot veggie filling.
7. Sprinkle parsley on top of each wrap and roll wrap lengthwise
8. Cut the wraps in half for easy and less messy consumption and enjoy!

** A few dipping sauces that I recommend with this are: fresh salsa or more homemade guacamole, mustard, Olive Oil with salt ;)

Have fun, be creative and let me know how your BurRAWtos turn out!  

ENJOY!

Really, they should be called “Hello Sunday Morning Pancakes” because that’s when we like to make them - but to keep things simplified, I decided to title them by what they are - Delicious!

I’ve been searching and searching for a good Gluten-Free Vegan pancake recipe and none of them have been quite right. After many failed gooey attempts  (really - MANY) I decided to simplify the recipe and model it after my simple sprouted wheat flatbread recipe and whatdaya know…IT WORKED!!! In my humble opinion they were much tastier than your typical American Pancake and much better for you too. 

{Serves 2-3 people}
INGREDIENTS:

1. 1 1/2 cups organic Sprouted Wheat Flour 
2. 1 1/2 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
3. 1 tbs Baking Powder
4. 1/2 tbs Vanilla Extract
5. 1/4 cup Agave Syrup
6. Raw Coconut Oil 

MAKE MAGIC HAPPEN:

1. Place all ingredients (except for coconut oil) into a medium size mixing bowl. For thicker pancakes use less milk, for a thinner pancake add more milk.
2. Heat the frying pan at medium heat
3. Grease the frying pan with coconut oil. For a light coconut taste use raw, unrefined oil. If you would rather pass on the coconut flavor, make sure you buy the ‘refined’ coconut oil. 
4. place about 1/4 cup of batter onto the frying pan and let cook for about 1 minute or until you see bubbles on top. 
5. With a spatula, flip that delicious pancake over and let the other side cook for about 30 seconds or until it’s a nice golden brown.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 until all the batter is gone and you have some admirable stacks of beautiful pancakes.
7. Drizzle agave or 100% pure maple syrup on top and top with your favorite fruit.
8. Enjoy!

GLUTEN-FREE TIP: Make sure you buy the real organic sprouted wheat flour. Sprouted wheat is only gluten-free if it has been sprouted properly. If it hasn’t then it may contain gluten. 

One of my favorite things about it being cold outside is the comfort food that’s cooking inside - and one of my favorite comfort food is squash - Kabocha Squash to be exact. 

Well, tonight is one of those cold winter nights, so I simply threw a squash in the oven at 400º, let it do its thing for an hour, then placed it on top of a nice fresh bed of raw kale then topped it all off with sautéed onions. Oh the delight of easy homemade cooking ;)

THE WHAT:

• 1 Medium sized Kabocha Squash
• 1 Bunch of Green Kale
• Olive Oil
• Himalayan Salt & Pepper 

THE HOW:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400º F
2. Make small incisions all around the squash with a knife
3. Place washed squash in an oven safe pan filled with 1/2 inch of water 
4. Place in oven for 50 minutes or when the skin can easily be cut with a butter knife
5. Wash and cut green kale and toss with olive oil and salt. Then place it ever so nicely on a plate.
6. Cut 1/2 sweet yellow onion in strips and sauté in a frying pan with olive oil  
7. Cut cooked squash in half and scrape out the seeds with a spoon
8. Cut squash to your liking and place on top of your lovely kale salad. 
9. Garnish with sautéed onions 
10. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
11. ENJOY!!!

I LOVE the holidays! Why? Because I love holiday spices - especially those found in Pumpkin recipes - and a Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without the flavors of those said spices. 

This year I took a stab at creating a pumpkin bread with a bit more pizzazz and celiac friendly. The final results: A Pumpkin Spice Jam Cake!

Here’s how it’s done:

MAKING THE PUMPKIN CAKE: 

• 1-1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup golden flax seed meal 
• 1 2/3 cups sprouted wheat flour (or normal baker’s flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves 
• 1 tsp vanilla

STEP BY STEP:

1. Make applesauce by pealing and slicing 6 large fuji apples and placing them in a pot with water to boil. When soft, drain excess water and mash with a potato masher. Take 1/2 cup and place in blender with flax seed meal and put the rest aside for the jam filling. 
2. Blend flax seed meal and applesauce in blender until smooth and creamy – pour into large mixing bowl.
3. Add pumpkin puree, sugar, vanilla extract and water and mix until the ingredients are nicely mixed together. 
4. In separate bowl place flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices, mix together with a fork and slowly shift and mix in with other ingredients. 
5. Place in a 9 inch round cake pan and bake at 350º for 50 minutes or when it passes the “not gooey test”. *The “Not Gooey Test” is when you place a knife or toothpick in the cake and it comes out clean and not gooey. 

CINNAMON SPICE JAM FILLING

1. In small sauce pan place 1 cup of applesauce and 1 1/2 cups raw sugar. 
2. Place flame on slow and stir occasionally.
3. Take the cake out of the pan and with a bread knife slice the cake in half lengthwise. 
4. When nice and “jelly-like” pour on bottom half of the cut cake and spread evenly. 
5. place cake in refrigerator to cool. 

Bring it to your next holiday party! ENJOY!

This is a simple spinach salad recipe that I nommed on this evening. It’s light, tasty, you can whip it up in 15 minutes and Popeye would definitely approve.

THE GOODS:

• 2 Avocados 
• Sun-dried tomatoes (preferably marinated in olive oil, oregano and Garlic)
• Pepper
• Fresh Raw Spinach

THE HOW:

1. Cut avocados in half, take out the pit and scoop the avocado meat out of the skin and place in a bowl - mush avocados until creamy. 
2. Take Sun-dried tomatoes and chop them up into small pieces. 
3. Mix sun-dried tomatoes with avocado paste and add pepper to taste.
4. Place “Italian Guacamole” on top of a bed of fresh raw spinach.

I didn’t add extra virgin olive oil on top of my salad, only because I found the avocado to be creamy and oily enough to use as a salad dressing. However, you can always toss the spinach in olive oil before you add the “Italian Guacamole” on top. 

Enjoy!

P.S. This recipe comes in handy in situations like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stjBajz5HLw 

Sometimes you just want some salad goodness. And we all know that the one thing that truly makes an ordinary salad unique is its dressing. We make A LOT of salad dressings in this house - mainly because we eat A LOT of salad - and I really should post more, but I’ve found  they don’t photograph well. Oh well, I’ll have to find a way to make dressings look more amazing on the digital screen that way I can share more recipes with you.

Anyways, we call this the fresh pesto dressing. Why? Well, because it pretty much has the same ingredients as pesto does, only more lemon and minus the nuts. 

THE GOODS: 

• 10-15 large basil leaves
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 juiced lemon
• 1 small garlic clove
• dash or salt
• dash of pepper

THE HOW:

Place all ingredients in a cup or small bowl and blend with this handy dandy hand blender or place ingredients in a food processor. If you’ll be making more than the amount above, then you could get away with using a blender, but if not…then I would invest in a hand blender. You’ll get a lot more use out of it than you would think. Promise. 

Place on top or toss in with your favorite veggie salad. 

INGREDIENTS IN SALAD SHOWN ABOVE: 

• Kale
• Red Leaf Lettuce
• Red pepper
• Broccoli 
• Sun-Dried Tomatoes
• Cilantro

ENJOY!