RAW ZUCCHINI PASTA MARINARA

This is something I have not tried yet, but it is on my to-do list as the next recipe!  Growing up, I loved eating pasta.  But pasta is so carb-heavy and makes me soo lethargic everytime I eat it.  If you haven’t tried the ground turkey zucchini skillet recipe on spaghetti squash, you must 🙂 This is a simple pasta recipe that is raw (unprocessed and uncooked) and healthy.

There are a lot of good variations of this recipe, I liked this video with Jennifer Cornbleet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLi5657CSos

Ingredients:

For marinara sauce:

1 medium diced tomato

1 diced red pepper

sundried tomatoes (I used about eight of these and tried draining off most of the oil)

dried basil

dried oregano

1 clove of garlic

For the pasta, all you need is peeled zuchini. You can either slice them in julienne strips or peel them as ribbons with a peeler.  If you have a spiruler or mandoline, you could use either of those too.  I will use a peeler and will save the core to slice as topping for my pasta.  Even though the recipe is raw, I would prefer to warm it up because cold pasta is kind of a turn off.  Aside from that, you can always add extra toppings such as grated parmaesan or vegetables

ALMOND BUTTER CHOCOLATE BLONDIES

Two things in life that always make me smile: almond butter and dark chocolate.  This rich dessert hits the spot for me with its brownie-like texture and gooey goodness 🙂  This recipe makes 16 bars and goes perfectly with raw banana or coconut icecream.  I normally go to the bulk bins at Whole Foods to get the wheat bran since I don’t use it very often.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup wheat bran

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup smooth almond butter (you can do peanut butter too)

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325*F. Spray 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl until smooth and spread batter evenly into oil-sprayed 8-inch square baking dish.  Bake  for about 40 minutes and cool before cutting.

RAW BANANA ICECREAM

The raw foods diet has finally made its way into my life!  I normally try to have a raw meal once a day to keep in line with having processed foods at a minimum.  Some benefits include increased energy, better digestion, weight loss, and improved skin/hair appearance.  Anyways!  There a lot of great benefits, but I could never implement a 100% raw lifestyle because 1.) it would require too many trips to the grocery store to keep produce fresh, 2.) i like meat!, and 3.) kind of high maintenance and involves a lot of planning!  Nevertheless, it is still a great idea to try to include part of this diet into your lifestyle.

Here is some good informational links for raw diet/lifestyles: www.rawguru.com and www.kristensraw.blogspot.com

Now onto the banana icecream! I love icecream, but unfortunately for me I am semi-lactose intolerant… so sometimes this item does not agree with my body.  Moreover, a lot of today’s icecream are highly processed with additives like high fructose corn sugar along with saturated fat.  This is probably one of the easiest recipes ever, all you need are some frozen bananas.  This idea was taken from this raw food blog: Choosing Raw.  Take 2-3 peeled frozen bananas (you can cut them before freezing) and put them in a food processor or blender. The frozen bananas create a creamy icecream-like texture, almost like soft-serve.   I can imagine throwing in some mixes into the blender like some cocoa powder, carob chips, or fresh fruit.

ASPARAGUS AND BROCCOLINI SALAD WITH GINGER & SPROUTS

This is an adapted recipe version of the asparagus salad recipe from 101 cookbooks.   I love asparagus!  It’s one of my favorite vegetables for its taste and texture.  It’s also a great natural dieuretic.  I’ve been in a recent unconventional salad kick.  I love spinach salads with mixed vegetables of different textures mixed up, but this salad is a fresh recipe perfect for summer.  I mainly modified the recipe by blanching the vegetables, instead of sauteing the asparagus and brocolini.  Blanching is a great way to bring the taste quality out of vegetables without ruining it’s crisp texture.  In addition, I changed the dressing a little and used part olive oil and part ginger oil with a squeezed lime.  This was all topped with some fresh sprouts.

Ingredients for salad dressing:

1/2 lime squeezed
1 tablespoon of ginger oil
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
pinch of salt

The asparagus and broccolini were blanched together.   Sliced radishes were mixed in with the dressing and into the vegetable mix.  Next, sliced almonds (original recipe called for pine nuts) were mixed in.  Lastly, sprouts were placed ontop of the salad.  I found my ginger oil at Whole Foods, but this could be substituted with 3 tbsp of olive oil (instead of 2 tbsp of olive oil) with fresh, minced ginger.

CHIA SEEDS

I’ve found a better substitute for my daily flaxseed meal intake.  Chia seeds are an ancient Aztec source for health!  There are so many health benefits of this seed such as containing 7x more iron than spinach, packed with omega’s, protein, and fiber.  In comparison to the flaxseed, it is superior (refer to this link for more information).  Flaxseeds need to be milled in order to reap its benefits, however chia seeds can be eaten in whole! I normally just throw a tbsp into my oatmeal or into a smoothie.   In water, chia seeds expand in its size dramatically.  Its soluble fiber aids in digestion and slows down glucose absorption.  Chia seeds are also great for diabetics.  There are alot of interesting health beenfits of this seed, just refer to the links below for more info!  Since consuming chia seeds, I’ve noticed a large increase in energy.  I purchase mine from Whole Foods, but online is probably cheapest in bulk.

Additional sources of information:

http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/17801/chia-seeds

http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/blog/?p=479

KABOCHA

This is not really a recipe, but more of a tribute to one of my favorite produce items.  Kabocha is a japanese winter squash that kind of reminds me an asian version of the pumpkin!  It is a mildly-sweet  and similar to the texture of a mix of the sweet potato and pumpkin.  Kabocha is commonly found in asian markets, but can also be found at some local grocery stores such as Whole Foods.  It is a great addition to a macrobiotic diet and is a good source of beta carotene, vitamin C, B1, and B2.

My favorite way to eat this is just by simply steaming 🙂 I like to steam the pieces and sometimes throw them into some butternut squash soup with some japanese sweet potato… so good.  You can also treat it as butternut squash for preparation.  And leave the skin on!

ALMOND MEAL PANCAKES

Pancakes were and are still my favorite childhood breakfast.  Unfortunately, traditional pancakes are not the most nutritional breakfast (or diet healthy) thing to eat.  Using almond meal (also called almond flour) is a great way to turn make this yummy breakfast into a healthy, yummy breakfast.  In addition, this recipe is low on the glycemic index!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup almond flour

1/4 cup agave nectar

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon

1/2 tsp baking soda

oil for sauteing

cinnamon,  vanilla extract ( all optional)

Mix ingredients together and cook as you would other pancakes. I spray the pan with a little olive oil to keep the pancakes from sticking.  Just pour batter onto a medium-heated pan and flip on each side.  This makes about 6 small or 3 large pancakes.  Refer to this link for information on agave nectar/syrup.

Optional- you can substitute 1/2 cup of the almond meal for 1/2 cup of flaxseed meal if you’re interested in adding some fiber.  Other ideas include mixing in pumpkin butter or carob or chocolate chips for added flavor.

Some favorite toppings I use:

– pumpkin butter

– almond butter

– carob chips

– fresh fruit (bananas, strawberries, berries)

– blueberry topping (take frozen blueberries and microwave with 1 tsp of cornstarch and 1 tsp of water for about 1 minute on high)

ASIAN LIME CILANTRO SALAD

This is not my recipe, but from this site: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/03/my_most_favorite_salad_ever_ever_ever_ever

I like this salad because it’s so colorful and flavorful 🙂 I did a couple modifications to mine… I actually made mine without the linguine noodles and put grilled chicken in there instead.  I’m sure with the noodles it’s wonderful.  I only did one bell pepper, because i’m lazy.  I also added less brown sugar (heaping 1 tbsp) and soy sauce (about 2-3 tbsp instead).. just enough to taste.   In addition, instead of 1 whole can of cashews, I just used a small handful of trader joe’s lime and cilantro cashews… which I LOVE in any salad! 😉 ps- this recipe makes large servings for about 4-6.

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

1 package of asian linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

1/2 to 1 head sliced Napa cabbage
1/2 to 1 head sliced purple cabbage
1/2 to 1 bag baby spinach
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin (if available)
1 small bag bean sprouts (also called “mung bean sprouts”)
3 peeled, sliced cucumbers
LOTS of chopped cilantro—up to one bunch
1 can whole cashews, lightly toasted in skillet

DRESSING:

Juice of 1 lime
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic (optional)
2 hot peppers or jalapenos, chopped (optional)
More chopped cilantro—LOTS

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on platter.
*Dressing keeps up to three days before serving, WITHOUT cilantro.

GREEN SMOOTHIES

Green smoothies are such a delicious way of getting excellent nutrition through whole, raw foods.  They taste SO much better than they appear to and are so easy and inexpensive to make.

First, you choose your green base:  eg. spinach, kale, chard.  most fruits mask the spinach taste, the kale and chard take a little more to get used to 🙂 i would suggest de-stalking the kale and chard and only mixing the leaves.

Then simply add in fruit! They can be fresh or frozen.  Some examples may be mangoes, bananas (ripe!!), apples, oranges, berries… whatever combination you like.

In addition, you can add sources of protein if you want to make a meal out of it or as a powerhouse drink.  Some great sources are egg whites, flaxseed meal/oil, protein powders, skim/soy milk, or my favorite- greek yogurt!

To make: Add in about 2-3 handful of greens in to a blender.  Add in fruit, mix.  Add in protein source or additional ingredients, mix.  You can also blend in ice cubes to make it into a thick, chilled smoothie.  If you prefer your smoothie to be thinner, splash in some water or liquid (eg. skim milk, water, coconut milk, almond milk)

Here are some suggested combinations:

– kale / frozen 1/2 banana / almond milk / vanilla soy protein powder ( my favorite!!!!)

– spinach / mango / 0% greek yogurt

– spinach / frozen banana / mango / coconut milk

– kale / apples / carrots

STUFFED BELL PEPPER WITH GROUND TURKEY

I like this low cal, high protein dish.   You can do any colored bell pepper, but I prefer red because it’s high in vitamin C and vitamin A (and it’s pretty).

Ingredients:

– 1 red bell pepper (stem and seeds removed)

– 1/4 lb of lean ground turkey

– 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes with green chilies

– 1/4 cup of diced mushrooms

– 1/2 tbsp of cayenne pepper

– low fat mozzarella cheese

– black pepper

In a medium skillet, brown ground turkey with a little olive oil and add in tomatoes and mushrooms with spices.  After the turkey is cooked through, scoop into bell pepper.  Place the bell pepper in a deep baking dish with about 3 inches of water depth.  Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  I like a little low fat mozarella cheese sprinkled on top before putting it into the oven.

(serves 1)