Raw Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is from Jennifer Cornbleet with a few alterations to fit our needs and taste. Thanks Faith for your help today!!!

Raw Oatmeal Cookie Bites

Yield: 12-15 cookies

3/4 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup raw cashews

10 pitted medjool dates

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, we used cacao butter instead

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup raisins, currants, or vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Put the oats, cashews, and dates in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, and process until the mixture sticks together. Add the optional raisins and pulse to combine.

Form the mixture into small balls and dehydrate for several hours. Stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, Raw Oatmeal Cookie bites will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator and 2 months in the freezer.

Thanksgiving Dinner Italian Style 2015

 We have made our Italian Style Thanksgiving Feast a tradition in our home. Many of the dishes are the same as last year. 

antipasto platters

Course 1: Antipasto platter consisted of a nitrate free chorizo, olives and artichokes. The vegan one was a raw vegetable antipasto platter  consisting of onion, zucchini, mushrooms, red pepper, and green beans in a orange marinade.
The wine for this course is a pinot grigio






Course 2: Salad consisted of mixed greens and radishes from our garden, red peppers, carrots,, cucumbers, and sprouts.
The wine for this course is a pinor noir







Course 3: Last year the guys "complained" that there was no turkey, so this year instead of chicken soup we made turkey soup. For the vegans we made Black Forest Mushroom Soup.

Black Forest Mushroom

The wine for this course is a Sauvigon blanc

Turkey

Course 4: Rice pasta with a living tomato sauce
The wine for this course is Chianti

braciole

Course 5: For a main dish we served braciole stiffed with ricotta cheese and a herb mix, as well as a raw zucchini manicotti

Zucchini manicotti

The ricotta cheese recipe is

Herb Ricotta cheese
1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup pinenuts
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
1 probiotic capsule
1 cup filtered water

green beam casserole

Directions: combine everything in a high speed blender and process until smooth. Place in a glass container leaving on the counter overnight. Refrigerate until ready to use.
As a side we had raw green beans casserole, using celery instead of mushrooms.
The wine for this course is Sangiovese

Course 6: Fruit and cheese platter was served. We used a soft cheese, as well as an almond feta served with pitted dates, raspberries, and pear slices
The wine for this course is Riesling



Course 7: Dessert is Raw Raspberry White Chocolate Tort using cacao butter instead of coconut oil, served with sparking apple or lemon kefir, herbal teas, and coffee.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

12-Genius Foods

This is a wonderful chart on 12-Genius Foods from Steph Jackon

The foods included are blueberries, broccoli sprouts, cabbage, celery, chia seeds, kale, peppermint, pumpkin, rosemary, spinach, tomatoes, and walnuts. Ir lists the nutrients provided as well as other health benefits.

Black Forest Mushroom Soup

This recipe for Black Forest Mushroom Soup is for Dr Fuhrman's website. We altered it to fit our needs.

Serves: 5

• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 pounds mixed fresh mushrooms (button, shiitake, cremini) sliced 1/4 " thick
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
• 4 cups carrot juice (5 pounds of carrots, juiced)
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 3 leeks, cut in 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 1/2 pound rice pasta
• 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 5 ounces chopped kale
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat the water in a large saute pan. Water saute the mushrooms, garlic and herbes de Provence for about 5 minutes, or until tender, adding more water if necessary to prevent from sticking. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, bring the carrot juice, 1 quart cups of broth, carrots, onion, celery, leeks, pasta, and lentils to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

In a food processor or high-powered blender, puree the cashews and remaining 2 cups broth. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Return the pureed soup mixture to the pot. Add the remaining herbs, mushrooms, kale and parsley. Heat until the kale is wilted. 

Raw Apple Cranberry Cobbler

With cranberries available this time of year, we wanted to make a low fat, high fiber Raw Apple Cranberry Cobbler. This recipe is so easy. You will need a food processor.

Ingredients:
Crumble
1 1/2 cups of dried mulberries
6 pitted medjool dates
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
juice of half a lemon, 1-2 TBS
In a food processor, chop all ingredients together into a crumbly, but moist texture. Set aside in a bowl.

Apple filling
9 organic apples (organic are usually a little smaller, if using large apples, 6 should do), cored and quartered
1/2 cup raw cranberries
6 pitted medjool dates
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
juice of half a lemon, 1-2 TBS

In a food processor pulse 6 of the apples and cranberries into small chunks and transfer to a mixing bowl. Don’t pulse too much. Process the remaining 3 apples with the dates, cinnamon and salt, until smooth (like applesauce).
Mix both together and spread into the bottom of a 9x9" pan and then sprinkle the crumble on top.

raw-vegan-creamy-pasta-alfredo

This recipe is altered from Raw-vegan-creamy-pasta-alfredo

Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
• 2 T lemon Juice
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 1/2 t onion powder
• dash of white pepper
• dash of nutmeg
• 1 T tahini
• 1 t miso
• 1 T nutritional yeast
• 1 small zucchini (we used the ends from the zucchini that we spiralized)
  
  Blend pine nuts, zucchini, lemon juice, garlic, onion powder, nutritional yeast, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, tahini, and miso in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy.  

For zoodles we spiralized 4-6 zucchini. This served 2 as a main dish and 4 as a side.

To serve warm we plated this and placed it in the dehydrator for 1 hour..

Raw Potluck November 2015

This month's theme was to use at least one ingredient from the squash family

As usual everything was delicious!

Our December Potluck is the 5th. The theme is a holiday dish.

Zucchini Hemp Casserole

Hemp Tabouli
Ingredients:
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup parsley, minced
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS green onion, sliced
2 tsp mint leaves minced
1 TBS lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chickpeas, canned, drained
salt and pepper to taste

Spinach salad with apples and cucumbers with

a balsamic dressing

The Spectacular Broccoli Salad was a take off from Kris Carr's recipe
Pomegranate seeds were used instead of goji berries, cauliflower was added as was chayote squash






Almond Butter Cacao Cupcakes

Lemon Kefir/ Kombucha Tea (from one of our  Healthy Self students)

Raw Nut-free Fat Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream

We try to keep our fat consumption to under 20%. The coconut whipped cream will not allow that but it is much less without the nut crust.

Ingredients: for 1 12-slice pie
Crust ingredients:
12-15 pitted medjool dates
2 cups dried mulberries
2 TBS cacao powder
small piece of cinnamon stick (1/2 tsp ground)
Directions: place all the ingredients in the food processor, processing until "graham cracker crust-like". Press into a pie plate lined with parchment paper.

Pie filling ingredients:
3 cups raw pureed pumpkin **
a pinkie inch of ginger (1/2-1 tsp ground)
an inch of a cinnamon stick (1 tsp ground)
1 pound of medjool dates
an inch of a vanilla bean (1 tsp liquid)
1 cup ground crispie* pumpkin seeds (high in zinc and lower in fat than cashews)
Directions: place all the ingredients in a high speed bender until smooth. Pour into the pie crust, smoothing with a spatula.

Coconut Whipped Cream:
1 can Thai organic coconut milk
1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Refrigerate the can of coconut milk at least 8 hours, do not shake. Open the bottom of the can using a electric or hand can opener. Pour off the coconut water. Scrap out the coconut cream. Whip with the maple syrup and vanilla.

Topping:
2 TBS cacao nibs
Directions: Sprinkle nibs over the top.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

* soaking the nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains helps the phytic acid bind to  minerals and using salt water helps neutralize the enzymes allowing more nutrients to be utilized by one's body.

** We sliced, seeded, and peeled the pumpkin as if it was a cantaloupe. Then we diced the pumpkin and used a high speed blender to puree. We froze the pureed pumpkin in 2 or 3 cup portions.

Nutritional facts: without the cacao nibs and coconut cream
calories: 281.5
Fat: 2.0 g
Carbs: 53.05 g
Protein: 4 g

Fruit and Vegetable Substitution List

This Substitution List is from Reboot with Joe

Item	Substitution
Apple	Any variety, pear, red grapes, black grapes, cherries, blackberries, blueberries
Arugula (Rocket)	Spinach, kale, watercress
Avocado	Roasted veggies (squash, mushroom, eggplant), banana, olive
Banana	Avocado
Basil	Parsley, cilantro, mint
Beets (Beetroot)	Golden beets, red cabbage, tomato, radish
Blueberries	Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries
Bok Choy	Kale, beet greens, dandelion greens
Broccoli stalk	Celery, cucumber, cauliflower
Broccoli	Cauliflower, green cabbage
Butternut squash	Pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, delicata squash, Hubbard squash
Cantaloupe (Rockmelon)	Mango, papaya, peach
Carrots	Sweet potato/yam, winter squash, pumpkin, parsnip
Celeriac root	Celery, turnip, parsley root, kohlrabi, jicama, daikon
Celery	Cucumber, zucchini, jicama
Cherries	Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries
Chives	Scallion
Cilantro (Coriander)	Basil, parsley
Coconut water	Water, diluted fresh juice
Collard Greens	Mustard greens, kale, beet greens, dandelion greens
Cranberries	Cherries, raspberries
Cucumber	Celery, zucchini, jicama
Dandelion Greens	Kale, mustard or collard greens, beet greens
Eggplant	Mushrooms
Fennel	Celeriac root, kohlrabi, jicama, daikon, endive
Garlic	Shallot
Ginger	Lemon
Grapefruit	Another variety of grapefruit, clementine, orange, tangerine, blood orange, star fruit
Green Beans	Asparagus, long bean, french bean
Green cabbage	Red/purple cabbage, kale, arugula, watercress, endive
Green peppers (Capsicum)	Red or yellow peppers, mushrooms
Honeydew (Melon)	Green grapes, avocado
Jalapeno (Chili pepper)	Serrano pepper, yellow wax pepper, chile pepper of choice
Kale (Tuscan cabbage)	Arugula, watercress, spinach, Swiss chard, green cabbage, mustard/collard/beet/turnip greens
Kiwifruit	Mango, orange, tangerine, lime
Lemon	Ginger
Lime	Lemon, orange, clementine/tangerine
Mango	Papaya, kiwifruit
Maple Syrup	Honey
Mint	Ginger, sweet basil
Onion	Garlic, leeks, shallot
Orange	Grapefruit, clementine, tangerine, kiwifruit, mango, papaya
Oregano	Sage
Parsley	Cilantro, kale, arugula
Parsnips	Turnip, parsley root, celeriac root
Peaches	Nectarines, plums
Pear	Apple, celery root, peach, plum
Pineapple	Orange, grapefruit, mango
Pomegranate	Pineapple, strawberries
Portobello Mushroom	Any variety mushroom, eggplant
Radish	Red cabbage, tomato
Raisins	Dried cranberries, figs
Red/purple cabbage	Green cabbage, radish, cauliflower, broccoli, radicchio
Romaine	Bib lettuce, radicchio, endive, Boston lettuce, green or red leaf lettuce
Shallot (Eschalot)	Garlic, onion
Spinach	Kale, Swiss chard, romaine lettuce
Strawberries	Raspberries, blackberries, cherries
Summer Squash	Zucchini, cucumber
Swiss Chard (Silverbeet)	Kale, spinach, romaine, mustard/collard/beet/turnip greens, green cabbage, arugula, watercress
Tangerines	Orange, grapefruit
Thyme	Rosemary
Tomato	Radish, red pepper, watermelon
Watermelon	Red grapefruit, cantaloupe, honeydew, tomato, radish
White Wine vinegar	Red wine vinegar, cider or champagne vinegar

Raw Hemp Crusted Squash Cassarole

The original recipe for Brazil Crusted Squash looks amazing. Brazil nuts are a wonderful source of selenium and hemp for the omega 3's, we only had hemp. We altered the recipe to fit our needs. This would make a wonderful side dish for any holiday meal. If raw isn't your thing, bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Herby Squash Ingredients:

• 4 cups summer squash, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup red onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup filtered water
• 1 tbsp unflavored kombucha
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/2 tsp fresh sage, minced,  or 1 tsp dried
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried

Breading Ingredients:

• 1 cup hemp seeds
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp dried parsley, or 1 TBS fresh
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Cover and let sit out for at least three hours to soften. Or you can use a dehydrator the speed up the process, but make sure it is covered so it doesn’t dry out.
3. Make the breading by putting breading ingredients in food processor and process until it becomes a crumbly texture.
4. Put the zucchini mixture on your serving dish and top with breading.
5. Dehydrate at 105 for 4-6 hours to warm, overnight to soften and warm

Sweet Potato, Acorn Squash, Mushroom, and Wild Rice Soup

This is the original recipe from Jackie Gonzalez-Geezer Winter Vegetable Soup with Squash, Garbanzo Beans, and Quinoa . We altered it to fit our needs.

Ingredients

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small acorn squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cubed
• 3 small sweet potatoes, cubed
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups crimini mushrooms
• 2 cups cooked wild rice

Instructions

1. In a large pot, combine the minced garlic and the chopped vegetables. Stir to combine, and cook over medium-high heat until the vegetables start to soften, about 6-8 minutes. Use vegetable broth to saute.
2. Stir in the vegetable broth, parsley, and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then partially cover the pot and simmer on medium heat until the vegetables are fork-tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Taste the soup and add a few more pinches of salt, if needed. Stir in the cooked wild rice, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve, and enjoy!

Buddha Bowl

There are so many Buddha Bowls out there. We like this one from Crazy Vegan but altered it to what was in our refrigerator and our taste. For my hubby, we marinated a 1/4 pound of pork in the chickpea marinade but used the remaining ingredients. This was delicious!

Spicy Buddha Bowl loaded with Brown Rice, Maple Sriracha Chickpeas, Roasted Sweet Potato, Veggies and a creamy Turmeric Tahini Dressing. Vegan | Gluten Free

Author: Crazy Vegan Kitchen

Recipe type: Vegan Meals

Serves: Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 cup Cooked Wild Rice

Sweet potatoes

• 2 Sweet Potato, cut into large chunks
• 2 teaspoon water
• Salt/Pepper

Chickpea marinade

• 1 can Organic Chickpeas, drained
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha
• 2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
• ½ teaspoon Paprika
• ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• Salt/Pepper

Lightly stirred veggies

• 2 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup  red bell pepper
• 2 cup broccoli 
• 1 cup haricot vert beans
• 2 cup sliced mushrooms

Turmeric Tahini Dressing

• 1/2 cup Tahini
• 1/2 cup Warm Water
• 2 teaspoon Maple Syrup
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat sweet potato in 1 tsp oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking tray and pop into the oven to roast for 35 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking time.
2. Whilst sweet potato is cooking, prepare chickpeas.
3. In a bowl, combine chickpeas, sriracha, maple syrup, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Heat a saucepan and transfer chickpea mixture into saucepan to cook for 5-10 minutes. Make sure to keep the chickpeas moving so they don't burn. Cook until chickpeas are slightly sticky and no longer watery. Keep aside. We also sauteed the mushrooms with the chickpeas.
4. In a clean saucepan, lightly water saute and season the veggies. Transfer to a bowl.
5. Once sweet potato is cooked through, prepare your Buddha Bowl by placing your rice in the bottom of a bowl and then topping with the sweet potato, chickpeas, and veggies.
6. To make dressing, whisk all ingredients together. Liberally splash on Buddha Bowl and enjoy!!!

This one from Oh How She Glows has been recommended to us as well, but we haven't tried it.

Cook Once and Eat Healthy All Week

These recipes are wonderful from Mind Body Green cook-once-eat-healthy-all-week-heres-how-to-actually-do-it-for-under-35 by Leah Vanderveldt, Associate Food Editor

Sunday Prep

Cook-ahead ingredients

• 4 zucchini
• 4 bell peppers
• 1 large red onion
• 1 medium delicata squash
• 2 cups uncooked quinoa
• olive oil
• salt + pepper

Fresh ingredients to buy ahead

• 16 oz. fresh baby spinach
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 avocado
• salsa or tomatoes
• hummus
• harissa (a North African chili paste) or other hot sauce
• za'atar (a Middle Eastern spice blend) (optional)
• scallions
• lemon
• ginger
• garlic

1. Heat oven 425 F. Slice zucchini, bell peppers, red onion and delicata squash into even-sized pieces.

2. Coat baking sheets in olive oil and arrange vegetables on baking sheets. Place in the oven to roast (2 baking sheets can go in at a time). Roasting times vary depending on the size of your pieces, but this in how long mine took: 

• Zucchini: 20 minutes
• Bell Peppers: 20 minutes
• Delicata squash: 25-30 minutes

3. While vegetables are roasting, bring 2 cups of quinoa and 4 cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes until the water is absorbed. Cover and let stand for another 15 minutes.

1. Curried Quinoa Bowls

Cooked ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
• a big spoonful of each roasted vegetable per bowl

Added Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated on a microplane
• 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon salt + pepper
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• Cilantro, chopped (optional)

Preparation

1. Heat coconut oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add ginger, curry powder, cumin and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

2. Stir in coconut milk, salt and pepper. Add quinoa, and cook for about 2-4 minutes until the coconut milk has absorbed a bit and the quinoa is a golden color. Stir in spinach and allow it to wilt (about 1 minute).

3. Remove from heat and put quinoa into bowls with the roasted vegetables (you can reheat these before adding to the bowl or let the quinoa warm them). Top with cilantro.

2. Mezze Bowls

Cooked ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
• a big spoonful of each roasted vegetable per bowl

Added Ingredients

• 1/4 cup hummus
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt + pepper
• 1 cup chickpeas (if canned, drained and rinsed)
• 2 teaspoons harissa or other hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon za'atar (optional)
• fresh cilantro (optional)

Preparation

1. Make the hummus dressing by combining hummus, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

2. Combine chickpeas and harissa in a small bowl. If you want a warm salad, reheat vegetables and chickpeas in a pan and add spinach just long enough to wilt.

3. Arrange quinoa, spinach and roasted vegetables in bowls. Top with chickpeas, hummus dressing and a sprinkling of za'atar and cilantro.

3. Quinoa Stir Fry

Cooked ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
• a big spoonful of each roasted vegetable per bowl

Added Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 scallions/green onion finely chopped
• Pinch of red chili flakes (optional)
• 1 fried egg per bowl (optional)

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.

2. Add cooked quinoa, tamari and peas and stir, cooking for 2 minutes. Add spinach and other roasted vegetables and cook for another 2 minutes.

3. Fry an egg for each bowl, if desired. Fill bowls with fried quinoa and top with scallions, chili flakes and an egg.

4. Fajita Salad Bowls

Cooked ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
• a big spoonful of each roasted vegetable per bowl

Added Ingredients

• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely diced red onion (optional)
• Pinch of red chili flakes (optional)
• 1 cup cooked black beans (if canned, drained and rinsed)
• Salsa or fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 lime or lemon

Preparation

1. Make guacamole by combining avocado, cilantro, red onion, chili flakes, salt and pepper, smashing with a fork as you go.

2. Arrange quinoa, spinach and roasted vegetables in bowls. Top with black beans, salsa and guacamole and spritz with a little lime or lemon juice.

Photos courtesy of the author