Here’s a Juice, Smoothie and Salad Recipe you’ll love!

I can’t believe it’s been 2 months already of eating a mostly raw vegan diet. I’m not a big fan of labels because I don’t want to deter anyone from my main message which is that fruits and vegetables ROCK!!! The more fruits and veggies you add to your diet the healthier you will be and feel… guaranteed! I do appreciate labels though for how important they are in having discussions of any kind. In my quest to attain greater health this year, those words (raw and vegan) are the IT words. My diet has sloooooowly evolved in the past 9 years (since I read Never Be Sick Again by Raymond Francis) and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve never gone cold turkey on anything. Cold turkey does not work for me. I am much further along than most people I know who for years have quit this, that or the other, announced it to the world and sworn by everything, only to be smothered in grease on a Friday night and decide that eating healthy is too hard. Nice and slow works, no need for torture 🙂 I know my why and that keeps me going. I’ve had a few cooked non-vegan meals (one or two a week on average) since this journey began but I’m not sweating them! I am focusing on how easy and delicious it is to have simple and fast raw vegan meals! Here are 3 new recipes I made in one day. I actually wasn’t trying to create new recipes, it just happened! and then of course I thought to myself… better run and get that camera so you can share this with everyone. Enjoy folks. Every recipe was deeeeeelicous 🙂

Juice Recipe #32: Orange Glow

I love 3 ingredient juice recipes, they’re so easy! This juice was sweet and had a great zing thanks to the ginger. Remember… go for organic ingredients if possible. This recipe is very reminiscent of this ABC and ginger recipe but it tastes and looks very different. I used my Breville Juice Fountain Plus instead of the Omega J8006 for this recipe because they were all hard ingredients that the Breville just juices faster.

• 1 large golden beet (this was my first time using them and they are gorgeous)
• 5 carrots
• 1 inch of ginger

Smoothie Recipe #9: Hubby’s Fruit Medley

I have a confession. This was my husband’s creation, not mine. It is THE joy of my life that eating this way (and sharing it with others) inspires anyone, and most importantly the people I love so deeply. Hubby has become quite the smoothie maker so when he came up with this winner I knew I had to share it. If you want to do it hubby’s style just throw everything in your Vitamix (blender) in whatever proportions you like, add ‘some’ water and voila! If you’re like me, you’ll use…

• 1 mango, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup of strawberries
• 1 large banana, frozen
• 1 cup of pineapple, frozen
• 1 apple
• 1 cup of water

It doesn’t matter what fruits are fresh or frozen, I just indicated which ones I used that happened to be frozen. I particularly love using only frozen bananas for smoothies. It somehow tastes better to me.

Salad Recipe

This salad was filling and out of this world good!

• 3 large handfuls of baby kale, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 3/4 cup of broccoli florets
• 2 large handful of a variety of sprouts (garbanzo, alfalfa and bean sprouts)

Salad Dressing: 5 strawberries, 1 orange and 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.

Ok, so balsamic vinegar is obviously not raw but I loooooove the one I have and it is fantastic for making salad dressings. The recipe would actually be just fine with only strawberries and oranges so feel free to leave it out.

~Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, juice and enjoy!~

Advertisement

Healthy, Simple Raw Lunch and Snacks

Here’s a healthy and simple raw lunch I have just finished preparing and packing to take with me to work tomorrow. I get such a kick out of preparing my lunch and snacks especially when they look this yummy 🙂  It reminds me of my childhood and being a student in primary school. I hated the lunch my school served so I packed my own lunch (most days) and snacks. School lunch was usually under or overcooked and lacked any flavor whatsoever but it was prepared from scratch with real whole foods. In hindsight it was definitely so much healthier than what most public schools serve children here in the US, hence the childhood obesity epidemic. If only everyone listened to Jamie Oliver. Snack time & Lunch time, at work now, are still one of my favorite parts of the day so why not take the time to prepare something tasty and healthy for the day ahead or early in the morning if you can manage that. A longer work day means you should pack even more food so as not to succumb to temptation. Don’t forget to hydrate 🙂 with water and your favorite no-fuss juice recipe.

Breakfast: I’ll make this green smoothie recipe early in the morning in the Vitamix before I head out the door! I LOOOOVE that Vitamix. It is so incredibly powerful, fast and easy to clean. I have gotten so much use out of it! Can’t imagine our kitchen without it. *Thanks babe*

Snack time #1: Peeled and quartered juicy oranges

I bought a huge box of these oranges wholesale at Costco and to be honest they are the juiciest and most delicious oranges I’ve ever had. Hubby & I finished a box in a few days so I joyfully took at trip back to Costco last Friday for box #2 . Let’s see how long they last this time…

Lunch time: Large Green Salad with your healthy dressing of choice

• organic mixed organic greens
• cherry tomatoes from mummy’s garden
• mini bell peppers from my other mama’s (MIL) garden
• sliced cucumber
• organic baby carrots

Snack time #2: Mangoes & Strawberries

Are you salivating like I am?

Bonus snack: Trail mix

*nuts are all raw and measure half a cup all together

• cashews
• pumpkin seeds
• almonds
• sunflower seeds
• 1 heaped tbsp of dried cranberries

Ready to go!

What are your favorite easy peasy healthy and simple snack and lunch ideas?

Raw Breakfast Recipe: Freedom Fruit Salad

Here is the best thing that came out of week 2 of my New Year, New Me 6 week plan. I thought of waiting till the 4th of July to share it with y’all but that just feels like light years away! It’s a recipe I have dubbed Freedom Fruit Salad for it’s gorgeous red, white and blue colors. It’s not just beautiful, healthy, raw, organic, vegan but also out-of-this-world delicious and so easy to make. It’s the perfect healthy raw breakfast recipe, healthy snack or even main meal if you make a large portion of it. Here were the ingredients to this recipe that literally had me dancing in the kitchen as I devoured it. All ingredients are fresh, not frozen.

• 1 large organic banana, sliced
• 1 cup of organic strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup of organic blueberries
• The freshly hand-squeezed juice of 1 orange or clementine
• 1 tbsp or organic unsweetened dehydrated coconut *optional
• 1 tbsp of organic raw shelled hemp seeds *optional

I don’t need to give directions, do I? (Throw everything in a bowl and stir!) It’s the easiest, tastiest and most original breakfast recipe I have made in a while. I was in and out of the kitchen in 5 minutes. The last two ingredients are optional but really add a wonderful dimension to this recipe. If you don’t have them, the recipe is just as tasty but feel free to get creative with what you have in your kitchen.

~Enjoy!~

Raw Breakfast Recipe: ‘Oatless’ muesli

When I am on my laptop, anyone that knows me knows I am constantly browsing the web for articles, videos and blogs that relate to living a healthier lifestyle by incorporating nutritious, delicious and lately… raw foods. I do not ascribe to any particular diet and never have. I simply eat what tastes divinely delicious, makes me feel ALIVE and what I truly believe is made with whole and preferably organic foods… most of the time. I’m human ok. Lately that has meant trying to incorporate as many raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds into my daily meals and it is so much fun! The universe must be trying to send me a sign of some sort because in my browsing adventures I have come across lots of muesli recipes. I ate muesli when I was younger every once in a while. It was pretty expensive so it was actually quite the treat to have it in the house. The truth is though that my ‘oatless’ muesli should not even be referred to as muesli because it contains none of the ingredients from Bircher-Benner’s original muesli recipe. Any combination now of oats, nuts, seeds and dried/fresh fruit seems to be referred to as muesli so here’s my ‘oatless’ muesli recipe that I created with the nuts and seeds I had in my kitchen. Please note that all nuts and seeds in this recipe are raw.

• 1/4 cup of organic almonds, roughly chopped in food processor
• 1/4 cup of cashews, roughly chopped in food processor
• 1/4 cup of walnuts, I just crushed them in my hand
• 1tbsp of sunflower seeds
• 1tbsp of pumpkin seeds
• 2 dates, finely diced
• Itbsp of dehydrated, shredded and unsweetened organic coconut flakes

Serve with cold homemade almond (or your favorite) milk and enjoy! This was so good and incredibly filling. I can’t wait to make this again.

Homemade Raw Almond Milk Recipe

I remember the day in the summer of 2005 I quit cow’s milk cold turkey like it was yesterday. I grew up like so many of us do loving all things dairy, especially cow’s milk! I don’t remember a single day of my life, prior to the day I quit, without cow’s milk in my cereal, tea or just as a drink. It actually even still seems funny to me to refer to it as ‘cow’s’ milk because it was just ‘milk’ to me…there was no other kind and it seemed abominable that people would drink anything else and refer to it as milk!

I was propped on the couch on that summer morning reading Marilu Henner’s Total Health Makeover and going over the chapter on dairy while having my usual cereal with milk.  It was enlightening, educational and disgusting all at the same time to read about how milk is produced and how it’s one of the biggest allergens for most if not all people. As soon as I was done with my cereal, I began sneezing, producing phlegm and blowing my nose… and then… a light bulb went on in my head! It was so bright and the biggest aha moment I’ve ever had so far about being aware about what we put in our bodies and how it makes us feel. My blowing my nose, feeling stuffy and sneezing was as much a part of my morning routine as brushing one’s teeth might be. I realized in that moment that my morning fogginess was due to a milk allergy. I quit cold turkey that day and mornings are my absolute favorite time of day now! I feel the most mentally clear, awake and motivated to get it done in the am 🙂 Go me!

That day was the beginning of learning how to pay close attention to how the food I eat makes me feel, understanding where it comes from and how it’s processed. I went on to try many other kinds of ‘milk’ but have finally found my ‘happy place’ with my homemade raw almond milk recipe. There’s no doubt about what’s in it and it tastes divine. I use it in my smoothies, drink it plain or use it in any recipe in place of cow’s milk. Here’s the recipe…

•  Soak 1 cup of raw organic almonds in 2 cups of water for about 5-8 hours
• Drain, rinse and peel the almonds.
• Blend the almonds with 3 cups of  water and *2 dates for a hint of sweetness.
• Strain and store in an airtight, preferably glass container. This makes about 20 ounces of milk. Feel free to use more almonds or less water to produce a thicker milk. The milk should stay fresh for approximately 4 days.

Enjoy!

*using dates is optional, I have only used dates a few times in my recipe and I don’t miss them if I don’t happen to have any in my kitchen. Other optional additions might be stevia and 1/2tsp of vanilla.

~A big shout out and thank you to my BFF  for lending me Total Health Makeover by Marilu Henner~

Raw recipe: Guacamole

Is there a soul that doesn’t love guac? I actually strongly despised avocados as a child.  I’m sure it had everything to do with an uncle of mine who would mash them up and use it as a spread to make sandwiches with banana slices in between. It did not look appetizing or tasty to me. My aunt would make a hair conditioner and/or face mask with them which was very disturbing to me as a child.I would do this in a heart beat now if I didn’t prefer to eat them so bad!

I have no idea when everything changed but I’m extremely glad it did. I’m sure it was an awesome recipe of guacamole that did it! Avocados are  quiet the nutrient dense food. They are full of vitamin K, C, E, folate, potassium and monounsaturated fats. Besides making guacamole, I will add avocado to each and every salad I make. They add a creamy mouthfeel besides being super delicious. The only down side is that avocados are pretty pricey around here so I consider it a treat when I have them in the house. Here’s a pic of some guac I made a few days ago. Every single time I followed other folks’ recipes to the T my guac didn’t come out so great so I never measure anymore, so the measurements that follow are very much approximations.

Avocados ( I usually use 2)

A handful of Cilantro, chopped

Onions, finely diced appox 1/4 cup (I prefer yellow)

Tomatoes, finely diced ( I usually use 1 small Roma tomato)

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Salt to taste (1/4 tsp)

Garlic (1 small clove, minced) *optional

Mash the avocados with lime juice and the salt in  a bowl and then fold in the finely diced onion, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic.

~Enjoy!~

Raw Recipe: Mango Salsa

Here’s a delicious new recipe I made this weekend. It’s pretty darn good and I’ve had to stop myself from eating it all in one day. You can have it with chips of course but I think it would be a great side dish to lots of summer meals. It’s light, crunchy, sweet and tangy all at the same time. I think the key to this recipe is having a perfectly ripe and firm mango. My husband and I were beyond thrilled to have purchased two cases (with 8/9 mangoes in each) for $9.90 this past week. We’ve devoured them all and here’s what I did with just one of them…

1 mango diced

1 tomato diced

1/4 red onion

small handful of cilantro chopped

1/2 cup of diced cucumber

1 jalapeno chile

1/3 cup of diced red bell pepper

juice of 1 lime

salt to taste

~Enjoy!~