Raw energy drink

Lately I have been making this delicious energy drink to have around 4pm at work. You know that time. It's made of entirely raw, whole ingredients so no crash later on! Now put down the red bull and make yourself a batch of this good juice :)

You will need:

1 clean empty jar or bottle (I use old kombucha bottles)

1 T chia seeds

1t or more to taste, spiralina

1T raw cacao (I've been using my favorite maca/cacao blend)

stevia or sweetener of choice

filtered tap water or coconut water

Place all the ingredients into the bottle Fill with water and shake until well combined. *Sometimes I have to go in there with a chopstick to break up the spiralina as it has a tendency to clump together in liquid. The chia seeds expand and get get coated in the cacao. It's such a yummy treat. It's great to make these the night before or make a few batched and have sustained energy all week long!

my little poney juice and the cutest flax seed crackers ever!

I should start off by mentioning that the following recipes in this post do require some appliances that you might not have at home. The first is a juicer (which I actually bought for my mom for her birthday during her short-lived juice phase. She never used so when I moved into my new apartment she sort of re-gifted it back to me as a house warming gift. I was down) The juicer I have is by no means a fancy-shmancy industrial one, like those you find at a juice press. This is the exact juicer that I bought (yup, I have a pink juicer!) and it does the job just fine. Part two of this post calls for a dehydrator. I got my dehydrator as a holiday present a few years ago (isn't that what all 17 year-old girls wish for??) and it is probably the cheapest models out there, but it does exactly what I need it to. However, if you're not into obscure kitchen appliances like I am, you can definitely substitute with things you might already have in your kitchen, like a blender and an oven on a low-heat setting.

So, onto part I: My Little Poney Juice

Sometimes, on a [rare] day-off, when I have time to move really slowly in the morning and want something light, I will make some juice. I like juicing from time to time because it allows my body to take a break from working so hard at digesting all the (delicious and healthy) food that I put into it everyday. When my body takes a break from digesting, it has time to clean itself out. Raw juice is also full of enzymes and phytonutrients and really just makes you feel amazing. Hungover? Juice. About to get sick? Juice. This isn't so much a recipe (as I didn't measure anything and chose my ingredients based on what needed to use up in my fridge) but I wanted to share because it tasted great but most importantly made the silliest color.

Into the juicer went: red cabbage, kale and spinach stems (best use for these guys ever! since I stopped eating them raw in my salads after realizing they were a but hard to digest), 2 celery stalks, and a small pear. Afterwords, I added 1/2 tsp spiralina & a squeeze of lemon juice. Mmm.

mmm purple stuff

So after my little juice party, I went to clean up the mess I made and discovered inside the base of the juicer remained all the fibery veg pulp from my juice! I couldn't let this stuff go to waste!

Moving along to Part deux: The Cutest Flax Seed Crackers I Ever Done Seen!

The obvious decision was to make this carnival-colored puree of goodness into some flax seed crackers to be enjoyed at a later date. I walked you through how to make flax seeds crackers in detail in an earlier post. Again, not a real recipe, but if you ever find yourself with about 1.5 cups of vegetable mush (you'd be surprised how often that is in my household) simply stir it into a big bowl that has 1/2 cup of flax seeds that have been soaking in 1 cup of water until it turns into a jell (about 15 mins). I also added some garlic powder, black pepper and Himalayan sea salt to the mix. That's it. Spread the "dough" onto a dehydrator tray lined with parchment paper, plugged it in and went about my day only to come home to some funfetti-esqu flax crackers :) I've also made these over-night which is nice because I find they need a solid 10-12 hours to fully dehydrate and become crunchy. Otherwise you are left with more of a flax tortilla. Alternatively, you can make flax seed crackers in the oven, they just won't be entirely raw and you can't leave the house while they "cook".

I mentioned this in my earlier post, but adding spices is a great idea as the flax seed crackers are pretty neutral on their own. Garlic powder, nutritional yeast, a dash of cayenne and pumpkin seeds have all been winners in my experience.

What is your favorite way to use up veg pulp? Ever tried making flax seed crackers?

kabushi sushi

Tonight I steamed up some kabocha squash and couldn't figure out to prepare it. I wanted to incorporate some whole grains and other fresh vegetables I had lying around, but needed some variation from the basic grain with steamed vegetables routine I've been sticking to lately. I decided to try it rolled up in a maki sushi roll. Even as a vegan, sushi is one of my favorite foods- I think the seaweed really lends a flavor similar to that of the giant chunks of raw fish I used to enjoy atop my rice every so often. The saltiness of the ume plum and sweet kabocha pair really nicely with the crunchy raw vegetables.

Ingredients (makes one 6pc roll):

1 sheet of nori seaweed

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1 scallion

1 small piece of daikon radish, sliced thin using a veg peeler

1/2 umeboshi plum

1 big piece of kabocha squash, steamed or baked until very soft

Place the nori sheet ruff side up on a sushi rolling mat. Spread the brown rice on top, leaving about one inch from the edge of the nori on the top and bottom. It is easier to spread if the rice is still warm but not too hot that the nori gets sticky and tares.

Place the scallion across the middle of the nori sheet. Rip the ume plum into little pieces and press it along the rice parallel to the scallion. Scatter the daikon slices next to the scallion. Break up the squash with a fork and place on top of the other vegetables.

Lift the piece of nori up from the bottom and bring it over the vegetables. Use the sushi mat to squeeze it into a tight log shape. Then carefully roll the sushi until you reach the end of the nori. With a clean knife (*this is key to getting a good cut, so make sure to wipe down your knife with a dish towel between slices) cut the roll in half. Wipe the knife again and then slice each roll into three even pieces.

Enjoy! This is nice with a dipping sauce of braggs with ginger juice and bit of water.

Buckwheat Berry Pancakes

I'm finally on break and finally have time for nice, relaxing, elongated breakfast! It's so nice to be able to wake up and think about what I'm actually in the mood to eat rather than the usual "shovel some oatmeal down my throat while it's still piping hot because I have 3 minutes to be out the door" routine. Today I actually turned off my alarm and went back to sleep! I think I dreamed up this pancake recipe while I snoozed. I wanted some hearty whole grains and something on the sweet side, without being too sweet. I adapted this recipe from here since I had never actually made pancakes from scratch before (I grew up with Bisquik mix with Tollhouse chocolate chips, and would usually just pick out all the chocolate:)) Oh, how times change. I feel like I'll be making these a lot this break since once you have all the flours prepared they are super easy to whip together and grill up on the stove. They came out better than I could have dreamed of!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup nondairy milk (I used almond milk)
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons all purpose flour (I subbed oat flour)
1/2 tablespoons sugar (I subbed 1/2 T flax seeds mixed with stevia)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup mixed berries or filling of choice (I used frozen mixed berries, see suggestions)

2 tablespoons coconut flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (for grilling, I actually used just enough to coat the pan)

In a small bowl, mix milk with vinegar and let sit while you mix dry ingredients. To make whole grains such as buckwheat into flour, simply place in blender on high speed for about 30 seconds. This is so much more economical than buying pricey pre-made flours from the health food store, especially if you buy your grains from the bulk bins like I always do.

In medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Slowly pour the wet ingredients over the dry mixture, lightly folding as to keep a nice fluffy consistency. Batter may be slightly lumpy. Do not over stir as this is what makes pancakes hard and dense, not what we're looking for. Fold in the berries and coconut or whatever add-in you choose. Let batter sit 10 minutes.

Heat oiled griddle to medium-high. Pour batter to desired size and cook 2-3 minutes per side. Be careful not to burn them! I usually turn the heat down to a little over medium for best results.
This makes three small pancakes, a good serving for one, but you can double or triple the recipe to make lots for friends! Have a pancake party!

light and fluffy with bursts of berries

Here are some other ideas I came across while searching for recipes online:

-banana with vegan chocolate chip

-sliced apple with cinnamon, raisins and walnuts

-grated pumpkin, sweet potato or squash

-bok choi and mushroom (savory)

-gingerbread pancakes

...the list goes on. I feel like I'm going to be experimenting with this one a bunch!

Update:: I made these with my roommate who blogged about our indulgent experience here. I recommend making a nice syrup to accompany the versatile cakes and also to stack them as high as you possibly can. I think they taste better when they are in skyscraper formation ;)

What to bring to a holiday party?

Umm cookies, duh!

I am always trying to subtly turn my meat-devouring family members (who I love very much) onto the deliciousness that is vegan food. My most effective approach has been to make really yummy vegan food whenever we have a family gathering and either leave these dishes out on the table with the rest of the food, or I make a special treat and wrap 'em up real cute and give them as gifts. Whether I pose them as a gift or "regular food", everything always gets eaten.

I made these cookies a while back, I think as father's day gifts, but they would also make really great holiday presents. I took the original veganized recipe and made a few changes to make them gluten-free as well and also to use up a bunch of very ripe bananas I had on hand. They came out great and where really fun (had a little too much fun with this part) to decorate! They would even be a great project to work on together if you weren't trying to hide the absence of milk and butter from the eventual consumers!

Chocolate-dipped peanut butter-banana cookies:

1 cup chunkyy peanut butter
½ cup dairy free margarine, softened (I used Earth Balance brand, could also sub in coconut oil if you wanted to make these less processed and even more crazy flavored!)
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup sugar
¼ cup mashed really ripe banana
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups gluten-free flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup almonds, chopped
2 cups dairy free chocolate chips
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons dairy free margarine

Heat your oven to 400 degrees

In a large bowl beat together peanut butter, margarine, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and creamy. Add banana and vanilla.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add flour mix to peanut butter to and stir well.

Cover bowl and refrigerate for 20 – 30 minutes. Make balls about the size of a golf ball, roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Using a fork make crisscross pattern flattening cookies slightly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove cookies from the oven and cool on a wire rack (after testing a little piece to make sure they aren't poisonous of course!)

Place a sheet of waxed paper over a cool cookie pan or plate.

Next, heat the chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat. As it begins to melt add the margarine. Once the chocolate is melted, begin dipping half of each cookie in the chocolate, using a spoon to help spread the chocolate evenly over the cookie. Don’t be shy here, a nice thick coating is what you’re looking for.

Place the chocolate-dipped cookie on the waxed paper. Then the fun part! Decorate (or in my case, over-decorate!) with whatever sprinkles, chopped nuts etc you have on-hand. Be sure to do this as you dip each cookie because the chocolate will set quickly. Once you’ve filled up this tray with dipped cookies, place the tray in the fridge to help set the chocolate.

Got a leeeetle bit carried away

When everything has cooled an hardened, stack about 4-5 cookies on top of each other, wrap up in parchment paper and tie with a ribbon. Viola!

Salad spruce-up pt.2

This post seems quite appropriate considering my recent adventures in ending a salad rut and finding confidence in preparing brussels sprouts on my own. I bring to you: The Super Sprout Salad

Ingredients:

1/2lb brussels sprouts, grated in a (not for)cheese grater

1 handful alfalfa sprouts

Sprinkle of flax and/or sunflower seeds for added protein and crunch

Sweet Mustard Miso Dressing:
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons miso
2 tablespoons stoneground mustard
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup (I only used 1 because I used sweet white miso and found it to be sweet enough)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste (omitted this because the miso was salty enough for me)
Filtered water, as necessary

Also bellow are 5 ways to break out of your salad rut via thekitchn

1) A Sprinkle of Cocoa Nibs: I first started using a sprinkling of cocoa nibs on top of my salads this summer. While you'd think it would lend an odd sweetness to a salad, because of their slightly bitter nuttiness, they provide a really nice toasty, savory element. And a welcome crunch.

2) Mix Up Your Greens: It's easy to get in a rut when it comes to salad greens. We know which greens we like and we continue to buy them. Maybe you're a butter lettuce gal or a strictly romaine kind of guy, but next time you're at the market, choose a spicy arugula or watercress to change things up a bit.

3) Try a New Ingredient: I recently had a dinner party with a handful of good friends here in the Bay Area and we prepared a salad with fennel and mushrooms. Both the fennel and mushrooms were sliced paper thin and we dressed it with a simple dash of olive oil, lemon and good sea salt. It was a most welcome change from a more typical green salad. Now when I'm at the market, I've been picking up fennel or a persimmon or something I don't typically use in salads just to experiment with something new.

4) Herbs, Herbs, Herbs: My dad adds chopped cilantro to virtually every green salad he makes. After falling in love with salads at his house, I've tried adding chopped Italian parsley, chives or dill. Herbs are an easy, wonderful (and healthy) way to liven up any tired salad.

5) Hello there, mandolin: In addition to trying new greens or ingredients in a salad, slicing or prepping your vegetables in a new way will make you feel like you're experiencing an entirely new kind of salad. Try slicing your vegetables paper thin or as matchsticks on a mandolin. Or do the exact opposite and keep things robust and chunky. Visually, you'll trick your palate into thinking you're onto something totally new.

salad spruce-up pt.1

I've kind of been in a salad rut lately. Kale + some herbs + sprouts + some kind of dressing + maybe half an avocado for slow-digesting fats, some beans or seeds for protein and crunch and, if I'm lucky, some leftovers on top.

To make my lunch a little more exciting (lunch is already a pretty exciting part of my day-but sometimes you need something special to look forward to!) I'm currently working on devising a few recipes that can be made ahead of time, stored in the fridge over the week and added to the top of any bed of greens and really jaz them up. Bonus* they also make great fillings for a collard or tortilla wrap, or atop some whole grains for dinner!

Corn and Mung Bean Salad(based off of this recipe)

1 cup dried mung beans
2 large ears corn, kernels removed (about 2 cups)
1 small red onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup dill, chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Prune and Beet Salad:

5 cooked beets, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1c prunes, soaked in water for a few hours or until soft, then drained

3Tbsp olive oil

2tsp ground flax seed

2tbsp sesame seeds

sea salt, to taste

Mix all ingredients. Plop on a bed of greens (kale in my case) I also chopped up a dill pickle because, um, sour pickles and sweet beets are a bomb combo.

What are your favorite salad add-ins?

master of the sprouts

I have a confession to make. I love brussels sprouts. Ok, that' t not the confession. I'm a little ashamed to say that until now, I had never cooked my own brussels sprouts. I think I tried a while back but they never came out nearly as good as my moms, which are a spin-off of the Whole Foods prepared brussels. If you have never had them, let me tell you that these things are better than candy and are HIGHLY addictive. They manage to make them perfectly charred and crunchy on the outside yet mushy melty in your mouth on the inside. I have a feeling that their technique may involve 20lbs of oil and 2 tons of salt, but I like to think that they taste so good because of the love and effort involved in the slow, attentive roasting process. But I'm pretty sure its because the pint I indulge in sparingly contains the caloric intake of entire days worth of food.

Enough rambling about my gluttonous cruciferous'. So when I found a whole branch? of organic brussels for only $2 at the farmers market, I couldn't turn them down. While I was tempted to bring them over to my moms apartment as a gift/ beg her to cook them up for me, I decided to give it a go on my own.

I began by plucking each sprout and then slicing them in half. Then I placed them in my fun confetti bowl and gave them a nice rinse.
I then heated a bit of coconut oil in a pan and placed the brussels, cut side down, in it. I let them char there for a bit. I really wanted to get that yummy burnt affect they have going on with the Whole Foods variety, just minus all the yucky useless fats from oxidized, cheap oils. A sprinkle of himalayan salt helped them cook down without adding oil. While these babies were crisping away, I made a little dressing from:

2T Apple Cider Vinegar

2T Maple Syrup

2 T Dijon Mustard

After about 5-7 minutes, I poured the dressing over the brussels and let it cook into them for an additional two minutes. Make sure to mix well so that it gets evenly distributed.

Oh my god. So freaking good! I could have eaten a whole pound of these things. No really, I could, and not have to worry about my cholesterol levels skyrocketing!

Lesson learned: Don't be intimidated by recipes you think are too good to tackle. Instead, get inspired by them and pull from them ideas and make them your own.

all wrapped up

Although I have been enjoying my daily kale salad for lunch, sometimes you just need to shake things up, ya know? So today when I went to pick up some ingredients at the farmers market, I was inspired by these gorgeous collards, to make collard wraps! The ingredients are things that I generally eat for lunch anyway, but instead of shredding and mixing together, I've wrapped them all up in a green collard.

My wrap included:

1 collard leaf

1/2 an avocado

1/2 an heirloom tomato (which my farmer friend assured me for the third week in a row that these are really the last tomatoes of the season)

a handful of sprouts

fresh herbs (I used dill because I'm totally on a dill kick!)

I dressed this bundle of simplicity up with a splash of Braggs and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper*

To turn this from a pile of veggies into a wrap, just fold the top and the bottom of the collard towards the center, then fold the right side over and then roll tightly, burrito style. Place the the wrap, folded side down, on a plate. With a clean, sharp knife, slice through the middle on a diagonal. Ooo la la fancy you!

Tai-spied Korean scallion pancake

A while back I posted about some scallion-pancake type things I created in a moment of desperation and inspiration. While they were pretty delicious, there were no real measurements, limitations to ingredients (when are there ever?) and they could have used a little work in the texture department. Then I discovered Maangchi. Her recipe for Panjeon (and freakin' adorable video*) got me craving this doughy-scallion concoction all over again.

I would love to forage in the park with this lady.

The first change to my recipe I needed to make was to use a grain flour rather than the whole grain. This would instantly solve solve my textural problem and also eliminate the need for any binder (a.k.a flax egg). I chose to use oat flour because I really liked the taste of oats mixed with the scallions last time I made these. You could also use brown rice, chickpea or whole wheat flour if happen to have those. I like that Maangchi used miso paste instead of salt to add flavor. However, when you boil miso paste or put it under high heat, it looses all the nutritional properties it contains do to fermentation. Boiling the miso paste kills all the useful bacteria. I decided to add some miso paste to the dipping sauce instead, in order to keep the beneficial properties intact. I also altered the original recipe by adding lots of hot peppers to the mix. I've been trying to incorporate a new spice into one meal a day. Today it was a handful of Tai cayenne peppers for a kick of color and heat tossed in!

Tai Cayenne Peppers

Scallion Pancakes:

1 bunch of fresh scallions (a.k.a green onions)

1/2c oat flour (or any flour you like)

1/2c water

pinch of salt

Tai cayenne peppers (optional and to taste!)

Begin by placing 1/2 cup rolled oats into a blender and pulse until it turns into a flour consistency. Add any fresh herbs you like to the flour mix (cayenne peppers in my case) and a pinch of sea salt. Get your pan ready by putting the flame on high heat.

Add oil of choice (I used olive oil spray) and then add your scallions. Saute for a few minutes until they begin to brown and soften a bit.

Then add the water to the flour, wisk together and pour over the scallions. Make sure to keep the mixture moving so that it spreads evenly. Keep pressing the batter down with a spatula so that it seeps through the cracks and reaches the bottom of the pan. Once it crisps up a bit, flip it so that its scallion side up. Continue to press the pancake down onto the pan and flip every so often until it is crispy and brown. Serve with some spicy lime dipping sauce (see recipe below).

These ended up being a completely different kind of pancake, but absolutely delicious! And I'm also happy I got to incorporate another type of hot pepper ;)) You could totally add in any extra veggies (like I did last time) but I like the simplicity of this dish. I served mine up with some steamed broccoli for some extra green goodness! It tasted really great with the dipping sauce too (which I obviously poured all over everything)

Dipping sauce:

2T Braggs Liquid Aminos

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1t miso paste

1t raw honey (optional, but if you do use, try to get the good stuff-local, raw, creamed ;)

1 garlic clove

sesame seeds

1t daikon, grated (optional-buuut it helps to cut the fat of fried food :)

chili pepper flakes (optional)

Kale Massacre Salad

I call this bad boy the Kale Massacre Salad because a) there is NO WAY you will not massacre this thing when you make it and b) when you finishing beasting on it, your plate (or in my case, Tupperware that I brought it in to work) will look like some one went on a kale killing spree, with green blood and guts and all. Mmmm. Well, now that I got you hungry, here's the recipe:

So much green goodness!

3-4 kale leaves (depending on the size of the kale and the size of the salad you want to make) pulled off the stem and ripped into little bite-sized pieces

1 hand full of parley, torn into smaller pieces

1 hand full of fresh dill, torn

2t apple cider vinegar

*I let this mix of greens and herbs sit in a container in my fridge overnight to help break it down so its easier to digest. you could also combine all of the ingredients at once, but I like to let the herbs really mix in with my greens

In the am, I added...

juice of 1/2 a lemon (the leftover half from my lemon water!)

1/2 avocado (I scoop out all the meat and then use my hands to really coat all the leaves)

1-2 T nutritional yeast

1/2 Tground flaw seed

1/2 t spiralina

a handful of raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sprouts (I used a mix of lentil sprouts and pea shoots)

salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste (I like a lot of cayenne in this one :)

1/2 piece nori seaweed, cut into thin strips

dulse seaweed* (I impulsively picked up this kind on my way to work and added it in at the last minute...ohmygod so good! I'm afraid I may have munched a little bit too hard on it as an afternoon snack, not because there is any lack of health benefits, but it is a bit pricey. I'm thinking of ordering it in bulk from the same company I purchased from today because I'm already hooked! It has an amazing salty, smokey, (dare I say) meaty flavor. I think it would be amazing on an avocado sandwich, in miso soup or a veggie stir-fry with mushrooms! Woah slow down!)

destroyed.

leftover steel-cut oat and broccoli scallion pancakes

I have been so crazy busy this week-between looking for a roommate, searching for an apartment and then signing the lease (I literally feel like I batted an eye lash and all this happened)-I have been so exhausted. Too exhausted to even go food shopping or cook food! (I know! And those are like, my two favorite activities!!)

So when I went to take a dinner break from sorting/ packing all my stuff, I didn't really have much to work with. I was actually craving falafel, or something similarly warm and crispy, but I didn't have ANY of the ingredients needed to make falafel:( What I did have was a big container of steel-cut oats I cooked up the week and a random array of vegetables. I just kinda grabbed whatever looked good and started mixing things together with the intention of making some sort of stir-fry or veggie burger. The outcome of concoction tasted JUST like the scallion pancakes I used to eat from the chinese restaurant near my house when I was younger-only wayy better (less greasy + more flavorful)

just like take-out, only better

Here's what I mixed together. The measurements are complete estimates because I just used what was leftover!

~1c steal-cut oats, cooked and cooled

~1/3c daikon radish, grated (or chopped, but I like to grate my veggies with a cheese grater, which is obvi not ever used for cheese;)

~3 scallions, chopped (white part included) plus leave some aside for a super-shmansy garnish

~1/4 broccoli florets, chopped into tiny pieces, excluding the stems (sorry stems!)

-1T ground flax seed mixed with 2T water, set aside to turn into a gel

-1T brown rice flour, or whatever flour you have on hand (all purpose would work)

-1 pinch of cumin

-1 pinch of cayenne or other spiced pepper (I used a lot because I love heat)

-salt and pepper to taste

-olive oil for pan (although cooking spray would work if you are trying to cut down on oil)

Mix all the oats and veggies in a bowl. Then add your spices and binders (flax "egg" and flour) While the oil is heating in the pan, use your hands to form a ball of the "dough" and then plot it into the pan. Let it crisp up a bit before using a spatula to flatten it into a pancake shape. Cook until both sides are crispy and brown, about 8 minutes total, depending on the size of your flame and how crispy you like it (or how hungry you are.) Serve with some chopped fresh scallions on top. Viola!

This would make a great appetizer to go with an asian stir-fry. Wow, I should really go grocery shopping!

Guess who's back (back, back, back)...

Helloooo...I don't know if anyone is even still reading this thing (or if they were in the first place) but after taking a 5 month hiatus...I'M BACK! And for good this time, with the promise of more frequent and varying posts, but only under one condition...part of the reason why I lost my ambition to keep this blog going (aside from moving 4 times and overwhelming myself with school, work, internships, friends, family etc…) was because I really didn't think it was reaching anyone. And while I do love having a place to archive all my findings and yum adventures, my main motivation is to share my wealth of knowledge with others. This is because I can say that the hands-down best resource for me when transitioning into a vegan and more environmentally responsible lifestyle has been through the internet. As a student, both in college and the world, I feel that I owe every thing I know to the amazing individuals and communities of people who have been gracious enough to share their findings with me. I haven’t really done too much in the form of marketing my blog, but I could really use your help to feel like my voice is being heard. I think with the encouragement of others, the energy to continue to collect information and start many interesting discourses will only come naturally. So, in exchange for your support, today I would like to share one of my favorite recipes of all time.

Trail of Kale Salad::

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale (or 2 small bunches)

pinch of sea salt

1 lemon

1 avocado

¼- ½ red onion, sliced thin

sesame seeds

optional:

¼c arame seaweed, placed in a bowl of warm water and left to rehydrate

dulce/ seaweed flakes. I use this mix.

Click image to enlarge

Wash the kale leaves rip into bite-size pieces. In a large container, massage the leave with the salt and allow it to sit out and soften for about ten minute. The longer you massage, the more enzymes in the kale break down and the softer it becomes. Return to the bowl and squeeze the juice of a lemon over the leaves and massage. Slice open an avocado, remove the pit and slice into pieces before dumping it on top of the kale and, you guessed it…massage it into the leaves. Add in the sliced red onion, hydrated arame and top with sesames seeds and seaweed flakes. This is the type of dish that tastes better the longer you let it sit in the refrigerator. So good I could literally eat the whole bunch!

What have been your most useful vegan resources?

Stay tuned for more! And tell your friends;)

RAWmadan

So while all my roommates were Austin Texas for SXSW this past week week, and left in the apartment was just me, Mr. Bones and the residue of four girls with crazy hectic lives and probably the remains of a few parties that our hung-over selves did a skimpy job of cleaning up after. I took this week as a perfect opportunity to do a little detox; of our home and myself. I cleaned all surfaces and scraped the crust that collected on the bottom of our fridge and tossed anything that had been living in there for too long.

Like I said, I also felt that I needed to detox myself a little bit of the sludge that built up over midterms week. I figured since I would finally have some time (ended up not being nearly as much as I thought) I would try to stick to only clean, raw foods. I had dabbled in raw foodism a few summers ago but I think the fact that I lacked my own kitchen and general knowledge of nutrition back then, I didn’t really go about it in the best way.

While actually preparing all these raw meals was a bit time consuming, it was totally worth it and I definitely reaped many benefits including more energy, clearer skin (like, actually cleared up all existing blemishes and I still haven’t gotten any new ones since!) diminished food cravings, minimized anxiety and just all around boosted my mood! I was about 90% raw for 5 consecutive days (I think my tahini is not raw and I may have had some roasted nuts while baby sitting...whoops o well) but I felt better almost immediately and would suggest trying to go raw for a day here and there or even just incorporating more raw foods into your diet. I think since the weather is starting to get warmer (…and then randomly cold again?) we tend to naturally gravitate towards more fresh and lighter cooked foods. Some other things that I think also attributed to me feeling great this week include:

-taking vitamins daily

-dry brushing (exfoliates, good for blood flow and release of toxins)

-rubbed coconut oil all over my hair and body (and I’m so silky smooth because of it :)

-apple cider vinegar (diluted into a hair rinse and toner balances ph levels)

-yoga (felt like I was really able to concentrate on each movement and how it affected my body. Sounds all hippy-dippy I know, but I truly just felt so much more in-touch with my body. I also accidentally went to a Bikram yoga class for the first time (hey, it was advertised as “hot yoga”) and instead of running out of studio, I stayed, gave it a try and…absolutely LOVED IT. It was one of the most intense things I’ve ever done but it was great and I plan to incorporate it into my normal yoga routine. One of the best mistakes I’ve ever made!)

-went on a few jogs outside with Mr. Bones (although I don’t think running is good for our bodies (or at least mine) these run-jogs I went on made me feel strong and energized. It also forced me to spend more time out side, I got explore parts of my neighborhood I don’t generally get to and it also made Mr. Bones very happy, which made me happy.

-sleep (something I often don’t get as much as I like of.)

-no T.V.-I’m really not a big T.V. watcher, I’ll usually just watch a few shows on my computer from time to time but I really made and effort to spend less time in front of screens.

Okay…now onto the recipes!! Breakfast usually consisted of smoothies (which I actually ate with a spoon, out of a bowl, parfait-style, much more satisfying and pretty. Lunch and dinner were either salads or veg dishes and I really tried my best to be experiemental and keep things interesting. I’m going to post the recipes over a couple of days with some updates of other (non-food related!!) things I’ve been up to this week. Hope you try some of these recipes out and enjoy!

My oatmeal replacer:

So I’ve mentioned on here before that I pretty much eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast. While oatmeal is delicious and nutritious, it is not raw. Therefore I set out to find a way to fit all a filling mix of carbs and protein into my morning meal. Enter the smoothie parfait. The general formula was this:

1-2T ground flax seeds, soaked in 2-4T water for a bit before in the same bowl I ended up eating out of

1 cup frozen fruit

1 cup liquid for blending (this was either water or almond milk for me but you could also use juice)

1 stalk of whatever leafy greens you have lying around (virtually tasteless and then boom- you just ate raw leafy greens for breakfast without even realizing!)

Agave nectar for sweetness

Superfoods!

2T hulled, raw hemp seeds (for protein! But you can also use raw protein powder. Nutiva makes a great one)

1-2T cacao/ maca powder blend

1T cacao nibs sprinkled on top for a pretty presentation, energizing kick and satisfying crunch!

1T of whatever else I’ve got (this was mostly some pumpkin or sesame seeds-I’m really into crunchy smoothies- but gogi berries are great to. Other stand-out super foods I use when I can are spirilina, chia seeds...

**A note on superfoods: These are NOT SUPER hard to find. They can pretty much be found at any health food store or at Whole Foods. I got mine from the bulk bins at the 4th Street Food Co-op because it was the cheapest option and I was able to bring my own bags to eliminate packaging and not shipping! The Navitas Naturals site has an amazing selection as well as an array of recipes to give you ideas of how to actually use them.

Even when I’m not eating all raw, I think flax seed crackers make a fabulous snack. Unfortunately, packed varieties are so stupidly expensive that I never get to have them unless I make them myself (which I should really do more often). They are quite simple to make, the only thing is you have plan ahead about 12 hours before want to eat them. They’re great with dips, crumbled onto soups or salads, made into an open-face sandwich with avocado and veggies or eaten on their own like chips.

Flax Seed Crackers:

½ cup ground flax seeds, placed in a mixing bowl and soaked over night in 1 cup of water

½ white onion

crushed garlic to taste (I used just under a whole clove because I am a garlic fiend)

½ red bell pepper

½ orange bell pepper

1 stalk of celery

1 jalapeño pepper

1 large handful of mixed leafy greens

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Roughly chop all the veggies. I should mention that no two batches of flax seed crackers I make have ever been the same. I always use whatever I have on hand (I should mention that this is a great way to put to use whatever veggies you have that are on their way out) but this batch was particularly tasty so I decided to write down exactly what I put in, but feel free to shake it up! Anyways, so the veggies are chopped and then I decided to put them in the blender, but you can choose not to if you want a chunkier cracker. Then I dumped in the flax seeds, which are now a jelly-like substance from soaking. I whirled everything together and poured it back into the original bowl and stirred in the salt and pepper.

Then, using a spoon, I spread it onto my dehydrator trays **lined with parchment paper** very important to do this so that you do not end up with bumpy crackers and a crusty dehydrator (I know this from experience) I did this by cutting one strip of parchment paper the same width as the tray and then using it as a template to make more. Don’t worry too much about wasting so much parchment paper, you can totally just wipe them off and reuse! I found it to be easiest to drop a blob of the “batter” on the end of the parchment paper where it overlaps another, and spread it across in order to hold them all in place, making sure that each “loaf” is equal in thickness.

Then repeat until all the mix is on the tray, plug that bad boy in and walk away. The great thing about dehydrating is that you can’t really burn/ overcook/ mess anything up (at least I haven’t found a way to do so…yet) I left mine for about 10 hours, but you’re gonna want to switch the order of the trays around at least once so that they dehydrate evenly, and I also flipped the crackers about 2 hours before they were completely dehydrated. Return to find yummy and addictive crackers, Yay!

*While making these I felt inspired and decided to experiment with something I had never tried before. For a small portion of the batch I added some nutritional yeast and pressed some pumpkin seeds on top once I spread the mix on the tray. These were totally out of this world and I will definitely make them again. They were a bit denser tasting than the others, so I was happy to have both on hand for variation. The pumpkin seeds on top tasted great also looked really beautiful.

Here’s a salad recipe I used these flax crackers in. It’s really exceptional and filling too!

The Cheezer:

Dressing:

Juice of one lemon

1 T tahini

1t barley miso

1 splash of braggs liquid aminos

2 garlic “sections”, crushed

1 T nutritional yeast plus more for topping

black pepper, to taste

The salad:

Mixed greens

Gingered carrots (grated carrots and ginger mixed and refrigerated overnight)

Onion

Scallion

Daikon

Broccoli

Jalapeño pepper

Cheesy-pumpkin seed flax cracker, crushed

(red cabbage could be nice/ add color but I didn’t have any on hand)

Keep checking back for new recipes this week!

Do you have any favorite raw snacks you'd like to create on your own?