rawktober: day six

I guess I haven't really been talking about how I've been feeling since starting this rawktober cleanse, have I? Of course, I can't be sure if the two are related, but I definitely think I've been having some detox symptoms including headaches and fatigue. But maybe I could just be having a slight hangover today... Hmm. On the flip side, my poops have been RAWSOME and frequent. I know we all feel uncomfortable talking about these things but hey, it's an essential part of our lives! Why so awk?

     In a nutshell, I've been eating, pooping, and sleeping a whole lot. How about you? Do you feel the detox?

     ANYWAY, today I'd like to share a recipe for bbq cauliflower bites.

rawktober: day one

     Today went more smoothly than I thought. A 13 hour day at school, with one midterm in the morning and the other late at night? I didn't think I'd have the energy to resist non-raw campus food and carry around my own 3 meals all day. Alas, I pulled through. Now, a warm cup of tea and off to bed to soothe my pounding brain.

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A COMFORT ZONE IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE, BUT NOTHING EVER GROWS THERE. 

unknown

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mango millet salad

Serves 1 (can easily be doubled and/or tripled-- makes a great packed lunch)

1/4 cup millet

1/2+ cup water or vegetable broth

1/4 red onion, chopped

handful kale or other greens, chopped

handful fresh parsley, cilantro, basil, chopped

1 mango, diced

1/8 cup cranberries or dried cherries

1/8 cup slivered almonds

salt and pepper, to taste

tahini mustard dressing, to taste (I like to use fresh garlic)

Bring millet and water/broth to a boil, bring heat to medium-low, cover pot and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes. 

When cooled, combine along with other ingredients. Devour.

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! ;)

lick yo lips pumpkin spice mocha

As you can probably already tell, I've got an abundance of leftover pumpkin and I'm not afraid to use it! On with the pumpkin recipes, shall we?

For a little over a one cup serving

3/4 cup strong coffee

1/4 cup non-dairy milk (eg. coconut- yum), or more

1/2 banana

about 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, or add until desired thickness

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

1-2 tbsp cacao powder

sweetener, to taste

Dunk everything in your blender and combine until smooth and frothy. One word: nom.

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

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.

vegan eggnog cupcakes with dandies and spiced chai frosting!

Diet failed. Time for some cupcakes instead! (Who cares about being healthy in the holidays anyway?) I decided to spent my whole afternoon baking, and made a crust as well as a frosting for these cupcakes, although I'm sure that either are omittable!

Serves 12

the cupcakes:
1 cup Almond Noel nog (or any vegan eggnog)
1/2 cup rum (+more to drink with leftover eggnog whilst baking)
1/4 cup oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups spelt flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
dandies (vegan marshmallows)

the crust:
3/4 cup nuts (pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds)
1/4 cup soaked dates
1 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp honey/agave (if needed; or additional molasses)
pinch of nutmeg, cardamom, cloves
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
coconut flakes (optional)
1/4 cup candied ginger (optional but recommended)

the frosting:
1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery spread
2 tbsp eggnog
1 tbsp rum
pinch of nutmeg
2 1/2 cups icing sugar (or more, if needed)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup powdered chai tea


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In your food processor, grind the nuts, then add the remaining crust ingredients and process until it is like a paste. Push 1 or 2 tbsps of the "crust" into lined mini-muffin tins.
Combine first 4 ingredients of the muffins in a small bowl, and combine the others in a large bowl. Whisk the wet into the dry (the mixture will be fairly runny), and add coconut flakes if desired. Spoon a little less than 1/4 cup measures of the mixture into lined muffin tins; add one marshmallow (or more) to each cupcake and cover with remaining mixture. Bake for approx. 15 minutes, until the cupcakes spring back at the touch and a toothpick comes out clean when they are poked. Be careful not to overbake; the crust may burn slightly (though it will not necessarily taste bad, it will be very hard).
Meanwhile, prepare the frosting by combining all the icing ingredients in a blender, food processor, or electric whisk. 
When the cupcakes are cooled, use a toothpick to claw little wormholes through their middles and spoon the frosting into them, as well as glazing the muffin tops. Next, if you still have cupcakes left ( and haven't eaten them all up in the process like I did), eat 'em up!

Note: Recipe can also be made into an "eggnog pie". Simply spoon the crust, muffin, and frosting batters into a pie pan instead. in the same order as above. (Being ambitious as I am, I made both cupcakes and a pie! Deeeelish)