raw pasta aglio e olio

raw zucchini pasta noodles rival any regular noodle i've ever head. i use this spiralizer, and it always makes the perfect noodles. this recipe is a slight twist on pasta aglio e olio, which is basically just pasta with olive oil and garlic. it's a lighter pasta dish (especially the raw version here), and in my opinion doesn't weigh you down like the traditional red or white sauces. this makes a great light lunch, and healthy!

• 1 medium zucchini, spiralized
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/8 cup nutritional yeast
• pinch of pepper and celtic sea salt

spiralize your zucchini and place in a bowl. except for the nutritional yeast, combine the rest of ingredients in a dressing shaker, or a jar with a lid will do. i save old olive or salsa jars for this. shake all the ingredients and pour over pasta noodles. finally sprinkle in the nutritional yeast and stir to coat all the noodles. easy peasy!

citrus breakfast smoothie

i haven't grapefruit in such a long time, but they were on sale the other day so i picked a few up. this is super citrus, super healthy breakfast smoothie packed with lots of vitamins. you can add a little sweetener if you like, but i thought the orange and rhubarb mellowed out the grapefruit tartness enough. but i tend to like things less sweet, so adjust according to your taste.

• 1 red or pink grapefruit, peeled
  
• 1 navel orange, peeled
  
• 1 quarter cup rhubarb
• 1/3 cup ice
• stevia/sweetener (optional)
  

i put everything in the blender and pulsed until the ice was significantly chopped. then i put it on the blend/puree mode and let it go to work. my grapefruit and orange were super juicy so i didn't need any water to aid the blending, but if you do, just add a tablespoon at a time to get it going. again, add a little sweetener of your choice if it's too tart.

raw matchstick salad

after the last couple of 'heavier' recipes, i decided to lighten up a little bit with a raw dish. one of my favourite offbeat flavor combinations is sauerkraut and avocados. i know it sounds a little questionable, but it's actually a party in your mouth. it must be something about the zing of kraut melded with the creaminess of avocado. i call this a matchstick salad because i julienned most of the veggies into small matchstick slivers. the recipe below yields one really filling salad.

• 3/4 cup raw sauerkraut, drained
• 1 carrot
• 1/3 red bell pepper
• 1/3 medium zucchini
• 2-3 medium button mushrooms
• handful of mung bean sprouts
• 1/3 avocado

julienne all your veggies (except kraut, sprouts and avocado) into small matchstick size pieces. cube your avocado. layer the drained sauerkraut first, then add each vegetable in subsequent layers. or, the wiser person would just dump everything in a bowl. as you can see, this was my realization after i took the first picture and tried to eat it.


i didn't use any dressing on this because the avocado and kraut were moist enough. however, feel free to use your favourite dressing - i bet one with ginger would pair especially well.

fruit salad green smoothie

being the only veggie in my office, i always get offered the remains of the fruit trays from pot lucks and parties (which i totally love). leftover fruit salad is great - if you can eat it quickly. sometimes it may be a few days before i can polish it off, and a bowl of mushy fruit doesn't sound that great. here is the solution, my friends. if the fruit is still good, maybe just not in peak form, throw it in a blender with a some greens. it's delicious, nutritious and you won't let anything go to waste!

• 1 1/2 cups fruit salad
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/3 cup water
• 4 ice cubes

this was a bit of fruit salad leftover from my belated birthday party (i ate most of it before it started to get mushy). thanks to the true family for making it with tons of fresh fruit - just how i like it. it was a delicious combination of cantaloupe, bananas, strawberries, green grapes, and peaches.

put all ingredients in a regular blender for about 30-45 seconds. if you have a lot of watery fruits, you may not need a full 1/3 cup water... just start with a little and add enough to get it blending.

creamy avocado dressing (raw)

i'm always looking for healthy homemade salad dressing recipes - i'm sort of over the bottle stuff. a lot of the recipes that are non-oil based call for fruit juices like orange, but i'm just not a fruit-dressing kind of girl. i don't mind fresh squeezed lemon juice though. here is a raw creamy avocado dressing that i ad-libbed and really liked!

• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 haas avocado
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of bragg liquid aminos
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried kelp
• pinch of cayenne pepper

soak sunflower seeds in water for at least 4 hours. then just toss everything in a magic bullet and whir. seriously, i couldn't live without my bullet. thin with water if so desired. serve over your favourite bed of greens - here with kale, tomatoes and zucchini.

to keep it raw, make sure your kelp is sun-dried, not roasted or toasted!

banana blueberry green smoothie

i love green smoothies, but i'll admit that i don't make them much over the winter. so three cheers for the warmer weather, so i can make lots of green smoothies without being chilled to the bone.

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1½ cups spinach (or any green)
• 10-15 raw untoasted almonds
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 ice cubes

like all my green smoothie recipes, i just toss everything in a blender. pulse a few times to help break up the ice, and then blend for approximately 30-45 seconds until everything is smooth and creamy. you may have to add a little more water to get things mixing.

raw veggie wraps w/ almond cheese

one of the reasons i didn't transition to veganism earlier in life is that i really loved cheese. plus, as an ovo-lacto veg, cheese was one of the bigger staples in my diet. however, in my research of a raw-foods diet, i came across several different nut cheese recipes and gave them a shot. to my delight, most of them were delicious. and i mean delicious in a gourmet-cheese type of way. the almond cheese recipe below is one i came up with from experimenting with several different recipes.

• 1/2 zucchini
• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 2 tablespoons bragg's aminos
  
• 1 ½ teaspoons dulse flakes
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
  
• 1/2 avocado
• several large lettuce leaves

for the almond cheese:

• 1/4 cup untoasted almonds
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon cold press olive oil

slice zucchini, cucumber and carrots into thin spears. lay on a plate or shallow dish, and marinate them in the braggs, garlic and dulse flakes for several hours. if you don't have bragg's, you could substitute low sodium soy or nama shoyu cut with a little water. flip occasionally.

meanwhile, soak the almonds in water at room temperature. after about 5 or 6 hours, drain and blend in a magic bullet or food processor with tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. this will be a thick spreadable cheese, but if you need to thin, just add a teaspoon of water and re-blend. spread cheese on a lettuce leaf and fill with the marinated veggies. add a slice or two of avocado and wrap up.

this recipe makes enough for about 3-4 lettuce wraps.

beginner's green smothie

if you haven't tried a green smoothie, i suggest you give it a shot. they are uber-delicious and super nutritious. there are quite a few recipes online (just google 'green smoothie') - some are more complicated than others. this was the first one i ever made, and it remains one of my favourites. it tastes like yummy orange julius.

• 1 banana
• 1 orange
• 1½ cups fresh spinach
• 4 ice cubes
• 1/3 cup water

since there is no added sugar, use a ripe banana - with the little brown specks. if it is under-ripe, the smoothie will loose some of the natural sweetness.

put orange, banana, and water in a blender. blend fruit until creamy, then add the ice and spinach. blend until you have a nice thick smoothie (about 30 seconds). usually 1/3 cup water works for me, but add more water if your blender has trouble with the spinach and ice.

serve in a pink elvis glass, if possible. :)

fresh cider cucumbers

so i'm still full from thanksgiving feast-week. and the jeans are starting to reach that all too critical tightness - when you know it's time to lay off the heavy meals for a while. here is a cider vinegar cucumber "salad" that i've been eating for light lunches. i had something similar to this at my aunt's house over the summer, but there were onions in it (which if you read my blog, you know i don't like). but i've never had better cucumbers!

• cucumbers, washed and sliced
• raw apple cider vinegar (bragg's)

my aunt mixes one part vinegar to one part water, but i prefer a stronger vinegar taste. cover the cucumbers and let chill for several hours.

drain the vinegar before serving and enjoy the guilt free eats!

raw carrot salad

i made this for a mid-day snack. i was feeling raw, and didn't want to spoil my dinner. perfect!

• 1 pkg. baby carrots (6oz.), hand chopped
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons raw mustard
  
• 3 tablespoons nama shoyu/braggs aminos
  

mix it all up and enjoy the healthy. i make raw mustard by grinding up a couple tablespoons of yellow mustard seeds with a dash of raw apple cider vinegar and water. of course, you can use regular mustard if you aren't worried about eating raw. it makes about two servings of a lite snack. i also think it would make a nice side dish for dinner.

simply cinnamon apples

we went to an apple festival earlier this month, and got all these wonderful organic and locally grown apples. it reminded of how simple 'recipes' can be so awesome.

we had so many....

• 2 golden delicious, cored and chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon

stir, eat.

if you are feeling on the non-raw side, pop the bowl in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds. it tastes just like the yummy insides of an apple pie.

the apple carrot juice

i made this juice a few times over the summer, but i hadn't touched my juice machine in about two months. however, thanks to maggie at dog hill kitchen, i'm now the proud owner of everyday raw by matthew kenny. thanks maggie! - go check out her blog here.
as i was saying, i was re-inspired to make juice. although this recipe is not in his book per se, i'm posting it because it was one of my first juice experiments (note the super-simplicity), and because i'm excited to try out some new raw recipes!

• 4 granny smith apples, cored
• 3 carrots, peeled

core and chop up the apples to fit in your juice machine, then stick the carrots through.

as you can probably tell by my recipes, i don't like things that are super-sweet. i love using granny smith's for their tartness, but feel free to substitute your favourite apple.

raw tomato and corn bisque

i'm not a huge fan of 'cold' soups, but i can do okay with room temperature. when i make raw soups, i usually eat it up right away, or if i have to chill it, i usually let it stand out of of the fridge for about 45 minutes to bring the temp up. of course, that's just personal taste. this recipe made about 2 decent-size bowls of soup and was really filling!

• 2 large fresh tomatoes
• 5-6 sun dried tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2-3 fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
• 1 cup fresh corn
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste

throw everything but corn in a magic bullet or food processor and blend. add corn. eat.

pretty in pink green smoothie

this is a tasty watermelon and kiwi green smoothie with a bit of ginger zing. i added the greens to it after the picture because it turns a murky brown colour. honestly, i didn't want to call it 'murky brown green smoothie' - how appetizing is that? :)

• 1/4 of a seedless watermelon
• 1 kiwi fruit
• 1 tablespoon (or more) of fresh ginger
• 1 cup of spinach
  
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 or 4 ice cubes

peel the watermelon, kiwi and ginger and cut up into cubes. drop in the blender with water and ice. you need less water than with most green smoothies because watermelon is so juicy. after it starts to smoothie-ize in your blender, add the greens and blend again. :) makes about a quart of filling smoothie.

flowering zucchini with raw pesto

i haven't made a lot of raw dishes lately as i have been working with limited ingredients. however, my garden provided me with a fresh zucchini and tomato, so i decided to whip up something. the pesto doesn't taste exactly like regular pesto, but it's definitely similar in taste. the ingredient list below serve about one as a main dish - i made it for lunch.

• ½ medium size zucchini
• 1 medium size tomato, chopped

for the pesto:

• 1 tablespoon pine nuts, soaked 15 minutes
• 2 tablespoons cold press olive oil
• ¼ cup fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon water
• ½ teaspoon fresh garlic, minced

i used the flat blade on my spiral slicer to make the zucchini into flowering strips. i chopped up the tomatoes and placed on top. for the pesto sauce – i put the rest of the ingredients in my magic bullet and whipped up. i don’t like a lot of olive oil, so i added some water. as you can see, my pesto is a bit thick, so you could add more olive oil if you like. if you aren't worried about eating 'raw', you could just use a store-bought pesto... but i recommend trying your hand at making it fresh. there are any number of recipes on the internet.

enjoy!

tomato fusion juice

it has been a slow week for 'food' recipes, as i spent the past week consuming only juices and smoothies. i decided it was a good detox to end the summer with. i created several juices that i love, and was surprised at how tasty they were! this one is from mid-week, and tastes like a better version of v8 (i think).

• 7 medium sized tomatoes
• 2 carrots
• 2-3 celery stalks

chop up veggies into sizes that will fit in a juicer (i use a ge juice extractor). less expensive models will run about $40-$60. i have a few listed in my vegan kitchen supplies. they are great for those just starting - the more expensive models can be really expensive.
juice the tomatoes, then carrots and then celery.

cantaloupe green smoothie

i've read that it's the official 'green smoothie day' today, so in honor of that, i decided to post another green smoothie recipe that i've recently been enjoying. i love going down to the city market on the weekends and scoping out all the wonderful produce they have - at such great prices! when i'm driving home with a car full of new and interesting foods (and lots of my old favourites), i often find myself dreaming up new recipes for the following week. however, there is something to be said for sweet and simple - this next recipe is just that.

• 1/3 ripe cantaloupe
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar (or more if desired)
• 1.5 cups romaine lettuce
• 1/3 cup water
• 5 ice cubes

throw everything in the blender and whip it up. add more water as necessary. i use agave nectar to give it just a little sweeter flavour - you could substitute stevia if you don't have any. makes about 20oz. of green smoothie.

ginorango smoothie

ah... the green smoothie. i am huge fan of green smoothies, and love spreading the word on how delicious and healthy they are. store bought smoothies or smoothie stands often puts tons of refined sugar in their smoothies, and it is not only unhealthy, but i think it's just gross. i've read that a good green smoothie mix is about 60% fruit and 40% leafy greens. i just eyeball it in my blender. if you are interested for more information on them, you can just google "green smoothie" and there is a ton of websites with info and great recipes.

this was the first smoothie i incorporated ginger in, and i loved it! i will definitely be making some more ginger recipes!

• 1 mango
• 1 orange
• 1 chunk of ginger (about the size of a small ice cube)
• 1.5 cups spinach
• 1/3 cup water
• 4 ice cubes
  

if you just have a regular blender like me, you'll want to peel the mango, orange and ginger. then separate the orange, and cut the mango & ginger into a couple chunks.
put those ingredients, plus water and ice into the blender. add more water if your blender has trouble. blend until smooth, then add the greens and blend again. makes about 20-24oz of deliciousness.

drink up!