Easy Raw Meals ebook from Cheri and Dan

Easy Raw Meals is a wonderful ebook by Cheri Soria. We received it by listening to she and Dan's monthly webinars from Living Light Culinary Institute

21 dairy free ice cream recipes

With the heat of summer, many people want ice cream, but what about those who have dairy allergies or trying to eat for a healthier life?
In the past we have made a strawberry ice cream and an almond milk ice cream sundae bar. We can now add these 21 dairy-free-ice-cream-recipes to our summers.

Strawberry ice cream

For years we have made dairy free Strawberry ice cream, using this recipe, we aren't sure where we found this recipe

Strawberry Ice Cream makes 2 quarts
21 oz slightly thawed strawberries
2/3 cup pitted dates
3 cans coconut milk, not lite
Directions:
Process the dates and 2 cans of coconut milk in a high speed blender.
Process 1 cans of coconut milk and strawberries in a food processor
Combine the two mixtures in an ice cream maker, following its directions.
For our son's 18th birthday, my sister used it for an ice cream cake and ice cream sandwiches

Chickpea lasagna

Our friend Donna sent us this recipe for a Chickpea lasagna We liked the idea of having beans in our living lasagna because we are increasing our fiber intake. We added a zucchini to the cheeze, again adding fiber and reducing fat.
Thanks Donna, he LOVED IT and of course ate half the pan!!!

We have placed our changes in bold italic and, more or less, doubled the original recipe to freeze one

Cheeze Ingredients:

1. 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained
2. 1 1/2 cup raw cashews (we used a 1/2 cup each of raw pine nuts, raw macadamia and raw cashews plus 1 TBS of nutritional yeast)
3. 2 cloves garlic 
4. 3 table spoon apple cider vinegar
5. 1 teaspoon garlic (we used onion powder instead)
6. 1 teaspoon pepper
7. 1/2 cup water (we omitted  the oil)
8. 1 zucchini

Layers

1. 4 large zucchinis, peeled into long thin strips
2. 2 tomatoes, sliced thin
3. 2 cup fresh basil, chopped in the food processor
4. (we added half the marinaded mushrooms, coconut amino and olive oil)
5. (we added 32 oz of the living lasagna tomato sauce. We double the marinara recipe and divide in thirds and freeze 2 quarts) 
6. lots of grape tomatoes to top

Instructions

1. Make cashew ricotta in a high speed blender by blending chickpeas, zucchini, nuts, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. 
2. Drizzle a little marinara sauce in the bottom of 2 9'x6' Pyrex pan. Place a layer of zucchini slices on top. Spread 1/6 of the cashew ricotta, top with a layer of tomato slices, mushrooms, marinara sauce and fresh chopped basil, then repeat twice, finishing with a final layer of zucchini on top. Refrigerate for 2­4 hours (up to overnight). Top with cherry tomatoes.
3. We made 2 and froze one

The original recipe serves 6 (but in reality it would probably be 4)

Nutritional information for 1/6:      Nutritional information for 1/4

calories: 350.1                                 calories:525.1   

fat: 24.7 g                                        fat: 37.0 g

carbs: 29.2 g                                    carbs: 43.9 g

fiber: 5.3 g                                       fiber: 7.9 g

protein: 7.8 g                                   protein: 11.7 g

Here are the nutritional information for our version (1/4 of one of the 2 pans)

calories: 3637

fat: 23.6 g

carbs: 35.7 g

fiber: 8.8 g

protein: 10.3 g

July Grimmer Reunion

We hosted our mini Grimmer reunion this weekend. What an exciting day! My parents arrived with my father "confused", off the the ED. He has been admitted for a TIA, please send some prayers his way.

We served "burgers" as a main dish, hamburgers, Dr Praeger's Kale Veggie burgers, and sprouted lentil burgers, topped with heirloom tomatoes, lettuce and Fermented Pickles.

We had an herby vegan cheeze spread (using Almond Feta) served with raw veggies and raw onion bread as an appetizer. 

For dessert we made a Raw Berry Pie. 

We also made a Quinoa Mediterranean Bowl. 

For beverages we served hibiscus tea and water infused with cucumber, lemon balm, lemon, and limes.

Guests brought a bean salad, broccoli salad, Cucumber Soup, and a peach cobbler, all delicious! 

This is our 400th post!!!

mediterranean-quinoa-bowl

We have an abundance of cucumbers and purple Cherekee cherry tomatoes. We saw  mediterranean-quinoa-bowl recipe and altered it to fit our needs. We served it at our mini family reunion.
We kept the tomatoes, olives, and cucumbers in separate bowls for those who don't like them.

Serves 12
For the bowl

• a bowl full of cherry tomatoes, halved
• a bowl full  small cucumbers, sliced
• a bowl full   kalamata olives
• ~ 10 chives, roughly chopped
• olive oil
• small chunks of almond feta 
• 8 cups of cooked quinoa with slivered sundried tomatoes, using vegetable broth instead of water

For the Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette

• 5 lemon, juiced (~ 1 cup)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• salt + pepper

Preparation

1. Drizzle olive oil over bowl of tomatoes and bowl of cucumbers, add chives to each bowl. 

2. Add chives to almond feta
3. To make the dressing: add the lemon and vinegar to a small mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until incorporated. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

4. Evenly distribute the veggie mixture over quiona and top with dressing

Southwest Honey Vinaigrette Recipe

Southwest Honey Vinaigrette Recipe

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup honey
2 t Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
3-4 TBS Frontier chili powder 
1/2 tsp salt
1 t lime juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions: whisk all the ingredients together and allow to rest for at least an hour for the flavors to infuse.

raw-berry-chia-pudding-pie

We saw this recipe from Wholefoods raw-berry-chia-pudding-pie. We made a larger pie and adjusted the amounts for the tart pan.

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/4 cup pitted dates
• 1 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 4 tablespoons flaxseed meal
• (we added a dash of cinnamon and an inch of vanilla bean to the crust mix)
• 8 cups mixed fresh berries, divided
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened white grape juice (we used apple juice)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Method: 

To make the crust, in a food processor, combine dates, almonds and flaxseed meal, and process until the mixture is finely ground and begins to clump together, 1 to 2 minutes; stop several times to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Scrape the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and press down with your fingers or the bottom of a glass to evenly cover the bottom and sides of the plate. Set aside. 

Wipe out the food processor and add half of the berries, chia seeds, apple juice, honey and vanilla. Process until fairly smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in remaining berries. Pour into the pie plate, cover and refrigerate until chilled and chia seeds have thickened the filling, at least 4 hours.

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:Serving size: 1 piece, 280 calories (100 from fat), 11g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 0mg sodium, 45g carbohydrate (9g dietary fiber, 26g sugar), 6g protein

July 2015 potluck

We made Living Lasagna as a group. This is delicious and takes a team effort!

Zucchini noodles
6 zucchini, sliced thin, use a mandoline if desired.

Ricotta Herby Cheeze
2 cup raw cashews

1 cup macadamia nuts
4 tbs. pine nuts
1 tsp. salt
4 tbs. lemon juice
2 tsp. fresh basil, dill, oregano, parsley, etc..
1 1/2 cup and 2 tbs. of water, or less

Directions: Combine everything in a food processor and process till smooth. Add more water to give it a ricotta cheeze consistency, add less water if too watery. When smooth, put into a glass bowl, cover it with a moist terry cloth towel and set it out for 6 hrs. at room temp. After 6 hrs. keep it refrigerated till ready to use.

In the future, we would use 1/2 cup of cashews and 1 cup of macadamia nuts


mushroom layer 
6 cups mushrooms (sliced)
6 tbs. or more of raw soy sauce or 1 tbs. miso and 2 tbs. water
4 tbs. olive oil
marinade for overnight, then drain

Marinara sauce

2 cups sun dried tomatoes soaked for 6 hrs, save the soaking water

7 roma tomatoes

4 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbs. red or yellow onion

3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

2 tbs. lemon juice

2 tsp. dried basil

1-2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

3 pitted dates

Add all ingredients to a high speed blender. Add the soaking water until the desired consistency.

Onion and pepper layer
1 small onion sliced really thin
1 red bell pepper sliced really thin
1 yellow bell pepper sliced really thin
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. lemon juice
marinade at least 16 hours

Green layer
food process
1 cup parsley
2 cups spinach
1 cup of basil

Hibiscus/lemon balm Tea
hibiscus petals
lemon balm leaves
water








cantaloupe and apples for dessert

The order of layering is

zucchini

cheeze

mushrooms

zucchini

tomato sauce

onions and peppers

zucchini

cheeze

green (spinach/pesto/basil...)

mushrooms

onions and peppers

zucchini

tomato sauce

Our Family's Smoothie Recipes

We have smoothies every day, either as breakfast or our afternoon snack. I like them the least sweet and the hubby is the sweetest. (Becky and Diane, you want the middle recipe)

Cherry Cacao Smoothie
Ingredients:
8 oz tart cherry kombucha
1 cup frozen cherries (other frozen fruit can be used)
1 small cucumber (about 1 cup) (celery works well)
1 handful kale (about 1 cup) (spinach works just as well)
1 small handful of mint (if in season)
1/2 tsp lucuma powder (optional)
2 TBS flax seed or meal
1/2 tsp high quality probiotic powder
1 scoop amazing grass
2 TBS cacao powder

Directions: Blend in a high speed blender

The mid-point sweetness
Ingredients:
a couple of dates
1 banana
1 cup frozen berries
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 small cucumber (about 1 cup)
1 handful kale (about 1 cup)
1/2 tsp lucuma powder (optional)
1/2 tsp high quality probiotic powder
2 TBS flax seed or meal
1 scoop amazing grass

Directions: Blend in a high speed blender

For the sweetest version
Ingredients:
a couple of dates
1 banana
1 cup frozen berries
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 tsp high quality probiotic powder
2 TBS flax seed or meal (if i can sneak it in)

Directions: Blend in a high speed blender

A cheesy taste but dairy free Pesto

We love pesto and have a lot of basil. Dairy isn't my friend, but i miss the dairy taste with pesto. When making alternative cheeses we add nutritional yeast and miso, so we tried using them in our pesto. This is wonderful for those who would prefer a dairy alternative.

Ingredients:

10 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup flax oil

1 ¼ cup pine nuts

10 cloves garlic
1  tsp sat

3 TBS nutritional yeast

3 TBS chickpea miso (it is gluten free)

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in the food process all but the pine nuts. then process. Once it is smooth process again with the nuts
We froze the pesto placing a heaping tablespoon on parchment paper. Once frozen we placed the pesto "cookies" in an airtight container.

Sweet and Sour Coleslaw

While we were on vacation my hubby bought a BBQ plate with coleslaw containing pineapple. He doesn't like mayonnaise, so we thought we would create something. We went to the Flavor Bible and found red cabbage doesn't pair with fruit. Going against the recommendations, we created a Sweet and Sour Cabbage and even my hubby loves it.

Ingredients
1 head red cabbage, sliced
1/2 pineapple, cored and diced
1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced

Dressing:
1/4 cup green onions, minced
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro (or parsley)
1/4 cup freshly juiced limes
2 TBS honey
1/4 cup EV olive oil
1 TBS minced ginger
salt and pepper to taste