Blendtec Vegan Queso

The recipe for vegan-queso is from Blendtec.

Vegan Queso

This vegan "cheese" dip is a cinch to make - just throw everything in your Blendtec and let it do the work! Eat this as a dip or make nachos by pouring this over chips with beans, pico de gallo, olives, jalapenos and guacamole.

Ingredients

8   fl oz water

1   tbsp lemon juice

¹⁄₄   cup roasted red peppers

¹⁄₃   cup cashews, raw & unsalted

¹⁄₃   cup almonds, raw & unsalted

¹⁄₄   cup nutritional yeast

1   tsp onion powder

1   tsp sea salt

1. Add all ingredients to jar in order listed and secure lid.
2. Run on "Soup" or "Hot" or "90" cycle twice or blend on a high speed for 180 seconds.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

• Servings 6.0
• Sodium 410 mg
• Serving Size 3 oz
• Carbohydrates 6 g
• Calories 100
• Fiber 2 g
• Fat 7 g
• Sugar 1 g
• Saturated Fat 1 g
• Protein 5 g
• Cholesterol 0 mg

Vegetable Lentil Soup

This recipe for Vegetable Lentil Soup is from Mercola.com.

On some days, a bowl of warm soup can soothe your senses and bring comfort. This Vegetable Lentil Soup recipe from Mercola.com reader Marina Korsakova-Kreyn does just that by providing a harmonious blend of different vegetables and spices for a mouthwatering experience. This serves 20.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of red lentils
• 1 large onion
• 5 medium carrots
• 5 medium potatoes
• 1 large sweet potato
• Fresh ginger root, 1 inch long
• 4 medium cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
• Optional: 1 tablespoon of dry seaweed mix

Procedure:

1. Boil 3 quarts of filtered water in an 8-quart pot.
2. Add lentils.
3. Add all vegetables (washed, uncut, and unpeeled) to the boiling water.
4. Add ginger (peeled but uncut) and 3 cloves of garlic.
5. Add turmeric, curry powder, and salt and cayenne pepper to taste.
6. Cook vegetables, ginger, and garlic until ready for about 30 minutes. Use a ladle to take them out on a big plate, and let them cool for about 20 minutes (while lentils continue simmering).
7. Blend cooled vegetables, ginger, and garlic in batches with generous amount of filtered water.
8. Return to pot and reheat.
9. Add finely minced clove of garlic (add salt if needed).

Note: If using seaweed, reconstitute them in 2 cups of boiling water, let them cool, and then blend along with vegetables.
Prep and cook time: 2 hours
This recipe makes 20 servings.

Curry Sweet Potato Salad

Thanks Donna for this recipe from UCD Integrative Medicine

Curried Sweet Potato Salad

BY Author Cathy Fisher

Ingredients

• Dressing
• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced
• Salad
• 2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (plus extra for garnish)
• 2 large celery ribs, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

• PREP TIME 30
• COOK TIME 10
• Serves 6-8

Directions

1. Place the 5 dressing ingredients into a blender and set aside so that the cashews can soften.

2. In a soup pot, cover the diced sweet potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until potatoes are cooked through but still firm. Drain and rinse with cold water before transferring to a large bowl.

3. Add the spinach, raisins, almonds, celery, and green onions to the bowl of potatoes.

4. Blend the dressing ingredients until smooth. Stir the orange zest into the blended dressing (but don’t blend it).

5. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly but gently, so as not to overly smash the potatoes. The dressing may look like too much, but it will absorb nicely into the potatoes. Garnish with some sliced almonds and serve the dish right away to keep the potatoes warm or refrigerate for later.

Mandarin Orange Cacao Cheesecake

The original recipe can be found at many websites, so we aren't sure who to give credit. We used the one from Raw Food Recipes. We altered it to our desires, my hubby LOVES orange and chocolate, so we gave it a chocolate twist.

Almond Cacao Ginger Crust
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups almonds (or dried mulberries)
1/3 cup pitted dates
1 TBS minced ginger, grated on a microplane
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 TBS cacao powder
1 TBS melted cacao butter

Directions: Place all the ingredients into a food processor, process until graham cracker crust consistency. Line 8-9" spring-form pan with parchment paper. Press crust into pan.

Mandarin Orange Filling
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups mandarin orange segments
1 1/2 cups cashews soaked 6-8 hours, drained, rinsed, drained
1/3 cup maple syrup (or yacon syrup)
2 TBS lemon juice
1 inch square organic orange peel
1 inch vanilla bean
pinch Himalayan salt

Directions add all the ingredients to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth.

1/2 cup cacao butter
Then add 1/2 cup cacao butter, melted. Pour over the Almond Ginger crust and freeze or refrigerate to set.

Cacao ganache:
Ingredients:
2 TBS maple syrup (or yacon syrup)
2 TBS cacao powder
2 TBS cacao butter, melted
pinch salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
In a small bowl combine until well mixed. Drizzle over the set, cold pie.

Top with Mandarin orange slices.

Slice and eat.

Italian (vegan and beef versions) sandwiches with Pepperoncini

The butcher at the store where we purchase our grass-fed meat suggested we try a crock-pot-italian-beef-with-pepperoncini recipe a few months ago. We also made a vegan version for those who don't eat meat. We served it with herb roasted potatoes and a salad.

Crock pot Italian Beef with Pepperoncini sandwiches
Ingredients

• 2 lb roast
• 10 ounces pepperoncini peppers, including half of juice
• 1 cup water
• ¹⁄4 teaspoon dried oregano
• ¹⁄4 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 4 hoagie rolls, for serving
• 1 ball of mozzarella cheese, sliced for topping

Italian Chickpea  with Pepperoncini sandwiches using gluten free buns and Daiya cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 can organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 ounces pepperoncini peppers, including a portion of the juice
• 1/2 cup water
• ¹⁄4 teaspoon dried oregano
• ¹⁄4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 4 hoagie rolls, for serving
• 1 cup shredded daiya mozzarella cheese for topping

For the Roasted Potatoes, we used a recipe from Sur La Table

Serves: Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 pounds (7 or 8 small) unpeeled Yukon Gold, white, or red potatoes, scrubbed
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• Grated zest from 1 lemon (1 tablespoon lightly packed), plus the juice

Procedures:

With a little chopping of herbs and garlic, you can step up your everyday roasted potatoes to something special. Lemon zest and parsley add sparkle, and the generous coating of olive oil helps ensure crispness. 

Preheat the oven to 450°F. 

Finely chop the garlic and put it in a large bowl. Add the oil, parsley, and rosemary. 

Cut the potatoes into ¾- to 1-inch-wide wedges. 

Add the potatoes to the bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Toss with your hands to evenly coat the potatoes with the oil mixture. 

Spread the potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet, scraping the bowl of any extra oil and herbs, and arrange the potatoes with a flat side down. Roast until the bottom is golden, about 25 minutes, and then turn them with a metal spatula (some potatoes will stick, but do your best to scrape them loose). Continue roasting until golden and crisp outside and tender inside, about 15 minutes more. Gently sprinkle with the lemon zest. 

Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl, making sure to scrape up all the herbs and zest. Add several squeezes of the juice over the top. Toss gently to distribute. Serve hot. 

Vegan Potato and Broccoli Soup

This recipe is from Forks over Knives.We added 4 garlic cloves and 2 stalks of celery to this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes (2 to 3 large), cut into chunks (skin on or off)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 1 teaspoon no-salt poultry seasoning
• 1½ pounds broccoli (1 to 2 heads), coarsely chopped
• 3 large leaves Swiss chard, ends trimmed and coarsely chopped

Broccoli Soup

BY CATHY FISHER ON FEBRUARY 4, 2015

This hearty soup not only tastes great, but it’s easy to make!

From straightupfood.com

Instructions:

1. Combine the potatoes, onion, coriander, granulated garlic and onion, poultry seasoning, and 6 cups water in a large soup pot, and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the broccoli. Cook covered for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes and broccoli are tender (stirring occasionally). Stir in the chard and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

3. Blend the soup right in the pot using an immersion blender, until the soup is fairly smooth but still has some small chunks. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, ladle batches of the soup into a standard blender and process gently before returning to the pot.) Serve immediately.

Deep dish raw cookie

WeI saw the insane deep dish baked sugar laden cookie recipe as a facebook post, thinking we could make this somewhat healthier.
This is a raw date sweetened version. It could be baked at 350 for 20-30 minutes if desired.
The hubby didn't think it was sweet enough. The rest of us thought is was wonderful.

per large cookie (2 are needed to make this recipe):
almond pulp from 1 cup almonds used for 1 quart almond milk
1 cup pitted dates, soaked
1/4 cup cacao nibs
1 tsp vanilla

mix ingredients in a food processor
lined dish with parchment paper, press the first cookie into dish, pull parchment paper and cookie dough, placing on a dehydrator screen at 105 overnight.
repeat with second.

caramel sauce:
1/2 cup pitted dates dates
1/2 cup water
1 inch vanilla bean

all ingredients into high speed blender,  blend until smooth

to make cookie
press the dehydrated half dough back into the glass dish
top with caramel sauce plus another 1/4 cup cacao nibs
press second half over it
cut and serve

Living Light Sweeteners

 We were blessed to listen a webinar from Dan and Cheri from the Living Light Institute. They sent this sweetener cheat sheet. It is filled with wonderful information for natural sweeteners. The chart includes dates, dried fruit, agave, raw cane sugar, maca, mesquite, maple syrup, molasses, raw honey, stevia, and yacon.

Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks

This 66 pages pdf on Food Dyes is from The Science of Public Interest. It is a toxicology report.
 This is a summary chart. There are pages of details.

February Potluck

This month's theme is heart healthy. Each recipe was made with ingredients that are heart healthy. We had tomatoes, a rainbow of vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, omega 3's seeds, cruciferous vegetables, antioxidants, chocolate, legumes, and hibiscus tea.
Next month will be a Mediterranean feast.

Raw Tomato Soup We used hemp seeds instead of cashews due to members having nut allergies.








Sun Burgers with a mushroom gravy

SUN GARDEN BURGERS

From The Complete Book of Raw Food by Julie Rodwel

Page 275

Serves 6

 

Ingredients

6 tablespoons flax seeds, ground in electric coffee grinder

¾ cup water

2 cups sunflower seeds, ground in electric coffee grinder

2 cups carrot pulp (I diced 3 large carrots)

1 cup finely minced celery

¾ cup finely minced onion

4 tablespoons finely minced parsley

4 tablespoons finely minced red pepper

1 tablespoon tamari, nama shoyu, or Braggs Liquid Amino

Cabbage leaves (for buns)

Mushroom Gravy (see below)

 

Directions

Make the carrot pulp by juicing carrots in a heavy-duty juicer.

In a blender, blend the ground flax seeds and water.  Pour the mixture into a bowl and set aside.  Immediately rinse the blender container before mixture thickens.

 

In a medium size bowl, thoroughly stire together the carrot pulp, ground sunflower seeds, celery, onion, parsley, red pepper, and tamari.  Add the flaxseed mixture and mix thoroughly.  Add more water if necessary for burger consistency.

 

Form the mixture into six ½ inch-thick patties.  Dehydrate the patties for 4 to 8 hours or leave in the sun until warm.  Serve in a leafy cabbage bun or make balls rather than burgers and serve with tomato sauce or Mushroom Gravy on the side.

 

Tip:  To ensure equal sized burgers, first make 6 balls of equal size, then flatten into burgers.

 

Mushroom GravyPage 300

Yield 3 cups

 

Ingredients

2 cups Portobello mushrooms, finely chopped

1 lemon, juiced

1 small onion, finely chopped

6 stalks celery, finely chopped

½ teaspoon paprika

 

Directions

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and allow to marinate for 1 to 8 hours.  Transfer to a blender and process until smooth.

Kale Salad

Goji Berry Pudding










Chocomole

Nut Free Raw Raspberry Fudge









Hibiscus Tea 

Kale Waldorf Salad from Wholefoods

This Kale Waldorf Salad recipe is from Wholefoods. It is perfect just as it is! We love there is no oil added. The fat is from the walnuts.

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups packed finely chopped raw kale, preferably dinosaur kale
• 1 large red apple, such as Fuji or Honeycrisp, chopped, divided
• 1 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped, divided
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons raisins, divided
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons water, more if needed
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Method: 

Place kale in a large bowl. Add half the apple to kale along with celery, 1/4 cup walnuts and 1/4 cup raisins. Put remaining apple in a blender along with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts, remaining 2 tablespoons raisins, mustard, water, vinegar and salt. Purée until well combined and slightly thick, adding water if needed to thin. Pour dressing over kale salad and toss to combine. We did hand massage the kale with the dressing.

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving: 140 calories (60 from fat), 7g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 135mg sodium, 20gcarbohydrates, (3 g dietary fiber, 10g sugar), 3g protein.

Napa Cabbage Slaw with a Miso Dressing

We were able to get Napa cabbage for a reasonable price at the farmers market, so we made, Napa Cabbage Slaw with a Miso Dressing from Wholefoods

Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon yellow miso (used chickpea miso)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons canola oil (we used 3 TBS water instead)
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 6 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage (about 1/2 large head)
• 3 carrots, grated
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 (5-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained (we replaced these with artichoke hearts in brine)
• 1/3 cup roasted peanuts or sliced almonds
• Method: 

  Whisk together miso, mustard, honey and rice vinegar in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in canola oil and sesame oil until well blended and emulsified. Add cabbage, carrots, green onions, water chestnuts and peanuts and toss to combine. Coleslaw may be made a day ahead, covered and chilled until ready to serve.
  Nutritional Info: 

  Per Serving: 190 calories (110 from fat), 12g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 170mg sodium, 18gcarbohydrates, (4 g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 4g protein.