rawtkober: day sixteen

Yesterday, I ran into a raw foodist friend of mine from a few years back. He immediately asked, "are you eating raw? Because you're absolutely glowing!" He told me twice. I blushed the whole way home. Maybe he's right- I do feel lighter, airier, and my skin has been clearer than usual. It sure is nice to hear, though. Do you feel any changes?

     Oh! I absolutely have to share my corn salad recipe. It's heaven, I swear. I feel like it's summer again. Also, I put up the recipes for raw carrot cake and my raw thanksgiving, like I promised. Sorry for the delay-- I don't think I can commit to this whole post-a-day thing long term, I just get so busy with schoolwork (and wine- ahem) sometimes!

prepping for rawktober

Hey guys! Just so you know, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth- I've just been out travelling for 4 months, and spent the last month getting back into the routine groove. But I'm back! 

While I was drifting off to sleep the other night, I decided I needed a change. Something to help me jump back on the health-conscious bandwagon (which I've been unceremoniously slipping off of during my adventuring). I thought, rawktober. Now that sounds cool. No, it sounds cheesy and ridiculous and so very me. So here we go, I'm commiting to a month of eating live foods. Join me, and let's make it fun times for all of us! (Oh, yeah, I've even gotten around to the whole #rawtkober on Tweeter. psh, I'm no noob anymore! By the by, here's a link to my account, follow me, I'm new!)

The most important thing whilst embarking on a raw food diet is planning. You don't want to be stuck with a burning hunger or low blood sugar with nothing but processed food around you! Sounds like a recipe for disaster, in my case at least. It's essential to remember to EAT, and to eat everything you need to be eating. Don't restrict yourself to munching on raw fruits and veggies. Keep your fat intake at a healthy level with avocados, nuts, seeds, nut butters and oils. You CAN eat grains and legumes, you just have to sprout them! Raw food doesn't have to be skimpy. It is rich, energizing, and satisfying. You just have to know how to go about it.

I've put together a list of basic food staples that are going to come in super handy in the kitchen for the next 4 weeks. Make sure your home is stocked with [some of] these essentials so you don't experience a "there's no food!" crisis mid-week. Alter according to season and preference:

FRESH FOODS:

apples; bananas; plums; pears; grapefruit; oranges; grapes; lemons; tomatoes; cucumbers; celery; cabbage (savoy, green, purple); avocados; leafy greens (kale, swiss chard, mustard greens); eggplant; mushrooms; cauliflower; broccoli; cayenne, bell, poblano & jalapeno peppers; fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, parsley, dill, mint); root veggies (ginger, turmeric, carrots, beets, yams, garlic, onions - red, yellow, green), squash (zucchini, spaghetti, acorn); frozen spinach; frozen berries; wheatgrass shots.

PANTRY::

almonds; cashews; pecans; sunflower & pumpkin seeds; sesame seeds; nori sheets; quinoa; wild rice; buckwheat groats; oats; tahini; apple cider vinegar; dates; dried fruit; raw chocolate; kelp noodles; maple syrup; honey; coconut oil; COCONUT & CACAO BUTTER (nom!).
ADD-INS:
nutritional yeast; maca powder; cacao powder; bee pollen; spirulina; chlorella; acai powder; dulse flakes; spices.

warming up to quinoa

Although these dreary days are slowing turning into warmer, spring ones, I'm still working on getting over my winter blues. I've never been a big fan of quinoa (gasp in astonishment here), but lately I've been experimenting with ways to make it please me. The other day, I had a warm quinoa/tomato/kale salad, which wasn't all too bad. I have a feeling quinoa would be pretty good risotto-style; I don't seem to mind it when it's coated in something else altogether. This morning, however, I felt confident enough to try the ever-so-popular-on-Google-searches apple cinnamon breakfast quinoa! Gotta admit, I was hesitant to add the raisins, as I've never done so before to any porridge, but they definitely made the meal. (And maybe you've noticed that cooked bananas are an indispensable component of any porridge- no need for sweeteners when I've got these babies on hand!)

Serves 1

1/8 cup cooked quinoa

approx. 1 cup almond milk

1/2 banana, mashed

1/2 apple, diced

1 tbsp raisins

vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, coconut flakes, etc.

Cook the already-cooked quinoa in the almond milk. When it expands to desired consistency, add the remaining ingredients and heat until the banana caramelizes, and the apples and raisins soften (if you so desire). Enjoy topped with coconut flakes, walnuts, or whatever else tickles your fancy.

nutrition (entire recipe):

268.0 kcal

fat 5.2g

carbs 55.4g

protein 5.4g

no better way to wake up on a rainy saturday

Fruit in the morning is my favourite. Especially bananas. I've been feeling pretty down in the dumps lately, I feel like I'm about to come down with something, but it's only hit me 3/4 of the way. It's a pretty crappy feeling. I resisted the urge to gobble down some snickerdoodles and decided to prepare myself a lovely fruity "cereal-less" bowl instead. And now I'll move on to my favourite chocolate-kiwi-kale smoothie, and I'll be set for the day!...hopefully.

Although this so-called "recipe" is basically just throwing a bunch of the fruits you have on hand into a bowl and topping them with non-dairy milk, here's my combo this morning:

Serves one

1 banana

1 plum

1 nectarine

6 strawberries

handful of blueberries

1 cup of non-dairy milk (or yoghurt)

Dice the fruit, toss in a bowl, and feel free to garnish with nuts, toasted buckwheat groats, coconut, peanut butter, or agave. Get creative! ;)

raw pumpkin pie porridge

I always do this. I start eating clean, I feel clean, I feel great, and then I go and eat 3 muffins in a day (despite cravings for fresh fruit and veggies) and I wonder why I've got a stomach ache and a sore ego. And so then I resolve to start eating more living foods again- I keep that up for a while, and the same thing happens. Oh well, that's life. Either way, today was muffin day. I'm not feeling so fly on the whole; maybe my lack of clean foods lately isn't helping me fight off this bug that seems to be taking over my body. So, I decided to blend up some raw, healthy porridge to have ready for the next few days in case I'm too bed-bound to prepare anything else!

Based off happyhealthylonglife's recipe.

Enough for 3 small servings, but top them off as you wish!

1 + 1/4 cup soaked buckwheat* (measured after soaking)

3 oz non-dairy milk (a little over 1/4 cup)

1/2 large banana

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 tbsp ground flax

1 tbsp chia seed

vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice etc.

sweetener, to taste

In your blender or food processor, combine 1 cup of the soaked buckwheat groats (reserving the remaining 1/4 cup) and the remaining ingredients, processing until smooth. Stir in the leftover groats. Sprinkle with some coconut, walnuts, and more fresh/dried fruit. Eat it up, and/or refrigerate the leftovers.

*For some simple, uncomplicated help with soaking, click here!

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EVERYONE THINKS OF CHANGING THE WORLD, BUT NO ONE THINKS OF CHANGING HIMSELF.

leo tolstoy

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nutrition (1/3 of recipe):

168.5 kcal

fat 3.3g

carbs 22.4g 

protein 5.6g

chocolate & vanilla kale smoothie variations

When you can't decide on breakfast, have it all - a saying I live by. The other day, I decided to have raw crepes, raw buckwheat cereal, a smoothie, and a raw bagel with avocado mash for breakfast. 

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EAT BREAKFAST LIKE A KING, LUNCH LIKE A PRINCE, AND DINNER LIKE A PAUPER. 

adelle davis

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Okay so maybe I haven't been entirely true to that statement lately-- I feel as though I've been dining majestically at all meals. But hey, who's to judge? Either way, part of today's breakfast included some smoothies that I never thought of trying before. You see, usually when I think of smoothies, I think of loading in everything I can to make it the most nutrition-packed green goodness possible. I guess "keeping it simple" never crossed my mind, even though I've heard claims that the simplest smoothies are, in fact, the tastiest. Halfway through my blending this morning, I decided to pour out some of my original smoothie into a cup, and add a few more ingredients to the rest to test out a few new flavours. The verdict? Heaven. And for those of you who aren't completely in love with kale (yet) like I am, great news: You can't even taste it!

Note: don't question the kiwi, just throw it in. You can thank me later ;)

The recipes: 

Make one cup of thick smoothie each, or 2 cups thin (if you dilute it with some more milk)

Basic vanilla shake

1 cup kale

1 cup non-dairy milk

1 banana

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of cardamom

sweetener, to taste

Chocolate kiwi shake

1 cup kale

1 cup non-dairy milk

1 banana

1 kiwi

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp cacao

pinch of nutmeg

sweetener, to taste

Blend together, pour into glasses, and savour the deliciousness. 

sweet & sour portobello "steak" and cauliflower/carrot mash

Based off Quiche-a-week's delicious recipe. Details to come!

garlic zucchini noodles with roasted brussel sprouts, fennel, and mushrooms

Serves one.

1 zucchini, spiralized or hand-cut into noodles

lemon juice

5 brussel sprouts, sliced, halved, or roughly chopped

1/3 bulb fennel, roughly chopped

2 mushrooms, sliced

1/3 onion

1 clove garlic

oil

spring onion

nutritional yeast

salt and pepper

liquid smoke

garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Prepare the zucchini, set aside with a squeeze of lemon juice to soften them up. Combine brussel sprouts, fennel, onion and garlic in a dish and coat lightly with oil. Place in oven for approx. 15 min; give the veggies a stir and add in the mushrooms for another 10 minutes or so. Remove from oven, and combine with the noodles, spicing it up with the toppings. 

Devour, guilt-free.

carrot pasta with creamy dressing

Today's been a tough day. PMS and complete exhaustion don't go hand-in-hand. I tried to cheer myself up by spreading some joy, but my speech failed me and I ended up complimenting a random chick on her "awesome boobs!" instead of boots... Sigh. A compliment's a compliment, I guess, even though I did come off as a massive creep. The minute I got home I fixed me up a delicious raw dinner -- and gobbled it down before I could even snap a photo or two. Below is my variation of the recipe, and here's the inspiration. One Vegan Bite's also got a picture of it on the post to tickle your tastebuds.

Serves one.

1 large carrot, spiralized or cut on a mandolin and sliced into "noodles"

some kelp noodles

2 tbsp milk (I used flax)

2 tbsp tamari

1 tbsp Dijon mustard (because it's my favourite condiment; although I 

          can imagine that the almond butter originally called for would be

          quite delicious here as well)

1 mushroom, chopped

handful of broccoli, chopped (or any other veggies)

sprinkling of 1/2 nori sheet, crumbled

pinch of kelp, nutritional yeast, black pepper, and garlic powder

Prepare the carrot and throw in some kelp noodles; set aside.

Combine the 3 sauce ingredients and pour onto the "noodles." Allow to marinate and soften them while you prep your veggies. Shouldn't take long- devour!

nutty coconut broccolini and sprouts-fry

Delicious vegan 5-minute dinner! Can be low-calorie (substitutions below).

Serves one generously

1 tbsp peanut oil, or water
3 tbsp chopped onion
1 tsp miso paste
1 tbsp crunchy peanut/almond butter
2 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1/8 cup light coconut milk, or other milk
2 cups mung bean sprouts
1 1/2 cups broccolini

optional:
garlic powder
nutritional yeast
red pepper flakes
black pepper
kelp granules

Heat the onion in a pan until transparent, either in oil or water. Add miso paste, milk, and nut butter; next, throw in sprouts and broccolini, drizzling them with soy sauce and additional toppings. Heat through and devour!

per serving:
430 kcal (calculated using oil, nut butter, and coconut milk)
311 kcal (calculated using water, nut butter, and coconut milk)
252 kcal (calculated using water, nut butter, and unsweetened almond milk)
Remove an extra 100 calories if excluding the nut butter; I can't vouch for the authenticity of taste when these substitutions are made!

crunchy cauliflower and brussel sprout "chips"

This snack is super easy to make, and a great low-calorie, healthy alternative to chips or fries!

Serves 2

1 small head cauliflower (or broccoli works too, but bakes faster-- watch the tree-tops so they don't sizzle into charcoal!)
30 brussel sprouts
oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Break the cauliflower up into little heads, and halve the brussel sprouts. Spray lightly with cooking oil and stick in the oven for ~ half an hour. Keep checking regularly for desired crunchiness.
I like to eat 'em up with a mixture of ketchup, dijon, tamari, tabasco and liquid smoke.

156 kcal per serving, oil and sauce not included