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Black Forest Ice "Cream"

This is incredibly chocolatey and not too sweet. If you prefer more sweetness, you can definitely add more agave or dates. With ice creams, make sure that the pre-ice cream freezer mixture is sweet enough to your liking or even a little too sweet. For some reason, ice creams taste less sweet after they are frozen in the ice cream freezer.

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least an hour in purified water (do not reserve the water)

1/2 cup raw cacao powder

1/2 cup agave syrup or mild date (such as halawi)

20 oz cherries, divided (pitted)

1/2 tsp almond extract, alcohol-free (optional)

Pre-freeze your ice cream freezer bowl overnight.

Take 1 cup of cherries, chop and put in a bowl in the refrigerator. These will be the chips for later. Drain cashews and add to high powered blender along with cacao powder and agave syrup (or dates). Blend on high until thick and creamy and no chunks of cashews are left. This should look like a very thick pudding. Add remaining cherries and blend again until creamy and no chunks. Taste at this point for sweetness. If it is not sweet enough add up to another 1/4 - 1/2 cup of agave or dates. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and set in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

Start the ice cream freezer, and pour the chocolate cherry mixture into the freezer. My ice cream takes a total of about 20 - 25 minutes depending on how warm the house is. Check the ice cream after about 10 - 15 minutes. When the mix is starting to set, add the chopped cherries. Adding them at this point will ensure you have an even distribution and that the cherries do not fall to the bottom of the freezer. Let the ice cream freezer run (according to manufacturers instructions) until mix is completely frozen. You can serve and enjoy at this point and the ice cream is like soft serve. Or spoon mixture into a freezer safe container, and freeze overnight so it sets up hard like carton ice cream.

Hemp Milk

Ingredients:

1/4 cup shelled hempseeds

1 cup water

1 Tbsp Agave Nectar or 1 medjool date

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the blender and whirl - this takes about 15 seconds in a high powered blender. Flavor with vanilla, honey, almond extract, etc. (if desired) Optional - strain using cheesecloth, a nut/seed bag or very fine sieve.

For a sweet treat - use 1/4 cup hempseeds, 1/2 cup water, and a very ripe frozen banana - tastes like a nutty banana milk shake!

Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce and Flax Bread Sticks

This may be my sons favorite meal. I was making the zucchini noodles for me and some gluten free packaged pasta for him. After he saw what I had, he asked for "mommy noodles" and would much prefer these over packaged pasta.

Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Pasta:

1 zucchini per person - spiraled with a vegetable spiralizer or you can use a vegetable peeler to make fettucini style noodles.

Sauce:

1/2 cup cashew chreese

1 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour (reserve soaking liquid)

1 large tomato

1 Tbls dried Italian herbs (I use a mix of basil, oregano, parsley, sweet fennel, and parsley)

Put all sauce ingredients in high powered blender and whirl until desired thickness. I prefer this to be smooth without any chunks. If it is too thick, add some sun dried tomato reserve liquid. If it is just right, then you can discard the reserve liquid.

Place zucchini noodles on a plate, top with a large spoonful of sauce. Top with parmezano if desired, and flax bread sticks. Serve right after plating otherwise the zucchini starts to release a lot of water and this will make for a soggy plate. Sauce is fine to keep as a leftover and will store for up to 3 days, but make the noodles fresh each time and right before dining.

Orange Banana Smoothe - Post Running Smoothie

Everytime I finish a run, I crave this smoothie.  I always keep about 5 peeled bananas in the freezer to add to smoothies - this is a great reason to do that.

Ingredients:

2 frozen bananas

3 medium oranges, peeled

Place all ingredients in high powered blender and whirl until creamy and smooth. Makes approx. 1 quart of smoothie.

Pina Colada Green Smoothie

This is my son's favorite smoothie and we split it every morning for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 large banana

4 cups of spinach

1/2 a large pineapple

1 Tbls coconut oil

Put all ingredients in a high powered blender an whirl until creamy and smooth.  This makes abut a quart of green smoothie.

Parmezano

This is more of a condiment recipe, but it is very versatile in application and incredibly simple to make.  Use it anywhere or in any recipe calling for Parmesan Cheese.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw nuts or seeds - I prefer the flavor of raw pine nuts

1/2 cup nutritional yeast flake - if you can only find powder, then use 1/4 cup

1/2 tsp garlic powder

a pinch of sea salt

Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse until nuts are the texture of sand.  If you have a high powered blender (like a Vita-mix) this takes about 20 seconds to make.  Make sure you do not over grind, or you will get a nut/seed butter.  

This is technically a raw transition food - some raw foodists treat nutritional yeast as a raw food, and others do not.  It is up to you but right now it is part of my raw diet and is also enjoyed by my husband and son who are not on a raw diet.

We use this to top pizza, pasta, baked potatoes, popcorn, raw veggies, etc.  

Blueberry Cashew Creme Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours

5 halawi dates (or other dates - if using medjool, only 2 or 3 are needed)

1/2 cup water

2 cups frozen blueberries

Put first three ingredients in Vitamix and whirl until creamy.  Add frozen blueberries and whirl again.  More water may be added to thin consistency, but we like it nice and thick so it is more like a milk shake than a smoothie.

Broccoli and Olive Pizza

This was a very quick dinner with some prepackaged foods - better than most take-out but not as healthy as what we typically eat.

Ingredients:

1 Pre-made Gluten-free pizza crust - I used Sami's Bakery which has the density of a deep dish pizza crust

5 oz. Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella

1/4 cup of Pizza Sauce (recipe below)

1/2 cup chopped broccoli

10 large olives, sliced or diced

Sauce:

1 14.5 oz can of organic diced tomatoes, strained - reserve liquid

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp sun dried tomatoes

Place diced tomatoes, italian seasoning and sun dried tomatoes in blender and whirl until everything is incorporated.  If sauce is too thick, add some reserve liquid.  If sauce is too thin, ad a few more sun dried tomatoes.

Preheat over to 425 F.  Place pizza crust on cookie sheet.  Top with sauce, broccoli, then shredded cheese.  Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until cheese begins to melt and crusts start to brown.  Remove from oven and top with olives.  Let cool.  Slice and serve.  16 pieces.

Peanut Noodles

We eat this dish as a substitute for mac & cheese - pictured are Deboles Gluten Free Corn Elbows, chopped broccoli, peas, and straw mushrooms in peanut sauce.

Ingredients:

12 oz to 1 pound gluten free noodles 

4 cups of chopped veggies - I typically use a combo of broccoli, peas, straw mushrooms, mung bean sprouts and shredded carrots

Sauce:

1/4 cup peanut oil

4 green onions

2 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

Chili paste to taste, or cayenne pepper

1/4 cup of agave syrup (or brown sugar)

1 cup peanut butter

6 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

6 Tbsp Braggs Amino Acids

3/4 cup hot water

Boil pasta according to package.  Put 4 cups of veggies in a colander.  When pasta is ready to be strained, pour into colander - this is plenty of blanching for the veggies.  In a sauce pan, heat peanut oil.  Add green onions, ginger, garlic and chili paste.  Cook and stir until soft and fragrant (about 1 minute).  Mix in remaining ingredients.  Stir until peanut butter is smoothed out.  Serve garnished with the scallions,  sesame seeds,  and cilantro.

Freckled Green Smoothie

Freckled Green Smoothie

2 frozen bananas

1 mango

1 large handful lambs quarters (edible weed)

1 large handful beet greens

1 cup water (if needed for blending)

Place all ingredients into a high powered blender (like a Vita-mix) and whirl for about one minute until everything is nice and creamy. Red flecks from the beet greens remain which is why I call this freckled.

Cucumber Orange Juice

Whenever I find something that passes my son's taste test and that I enjoy as well, I am posting because it will become a staple in our home.

I was able to get about 15 pounds of overgrown cucumbers from a local organic farmer and while they taste great, they are very seedy and the skins are pretty tough.  I decided to juice them, and so far my sons and my favorite combo juice is a simple cucumber orange.

Cucumber Orange Juice

2 cups Cucumber, washed, cut into chunks that will fit in the juicer (I use a Champion)  Use organic cucumbers so that you can juice the peel as well.

2 cups Oranges, washed, peeled, cut into quarters and peeled.  You can juice the peel and pith, but it will be a little bitter.  I used Valencia Oranges - a really good juicing orange, but any orange will work.

Run all the fruit through the juicer, stir, strain and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.  This tastes best very cold but my son and I enjoyed it straight from the juicer as well.

Fun info about cucumbers and oranges

Cucumbers are beneficial for both skin and hair.  The cucumber is high in silica - a mineral which strengthens connective tissue.   The cucumber is best natural diuretic known,  secreting and promoting the flow of urine.  The potassium content of cucumber makes it highly useful for conditions of high and low blood pressure.  Cucumber contains erepsin,  the enzyme that helps to digest protein.  

Consumption of large quantities of oranges will decrease the outpouring of mucus secretions from the nose.   Oranges are very well known for thier high Vitamin C content, but also contains the following nutrients

Nutritive Values : Per 100 gm. of raw orange juice (acc. to nutritiondata.com - please not these are values for RAW OJ - once pasteurized, the vitamin and mineral content is significantly diminished)

• Vitamin A - 496IU - 10% USRDA 
• Vitamin C - 124mg - 207% 
• Thiamin - 0.2mg - 15%
• Riboflavin - 0.1mg - 4%, 
• Niacin - 1.0mg - 5%
• Vitamin B6 - 0.1mg - 5%
• Folate - 74.4 - mcg19%
• Calcium - 27.3mg - 3%,
• Iron - 0.5mg - 3%
• Magnesium - 27.3mg - 7%
• Phosphorus - 42.2mg - 4%
• Potassium - 496mg - 14%
• Copper - 0.1mg - 5%,

Raw Chocolate Brownies with Caramel Sauce

I was really craving chocolate tonight so I whipped up these "brownies." They have a strong cacao taste but the flavor of the walnuts still comes through as well. If you do not care for walnuts, you can use other nuts that are not quite as strong.

Raw Chocolate Brownies

Makes 12 brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup raw walnuts

1 cup raw almonds

2/3 cup raw cacao powder

1 Tbs agave nectar

2 cups dates

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp celtic sea salt

Process all ingredients in a food processor. Press into a brownie or pie pan. Cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour to firm them. Slice into squares or wedges. These are very rich so cut them small. Serve with Raw Caramel Sauce.

Raw Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup raw agave nectar

5 dates, pitted

1 tsp celtic sea salt

1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla (to taste)

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Put all ingredients in Vitamix or other highspeed blender and blend for 20 - 30 seconds on high. Place in container and chill for at least 2 hours. Drizzle over brownie wedges/squares.