Beet Salad

I made this salad two nights in a row.  My hubster and my son loved it, I loved it more!  Being the RAW eater that I am, this was the most delish salad I've made, since last week :)

This yumminess has arugula, mixed greens, walnuts, pine nuts, sweet kumato tomatoes, and some goat cheese.  Yes, as a RAW eater I can consume cheese now and then, this is my one of choice.  I don't eat other cheeses any longer, even though I was addicted!  My taste buds changed and I no longer desire it.  The natural enzymes in a goat are closer to those in humans, making digestion much better.  Much of the RAW way of eating is about digestion. You can find more of this in The Beauty Detox Foods book. This book is my Goddess! (I do not receive any compensation for mentioning this book.  All comments are personal.) Anyway, do you know what I call this a beet salad? Duhhh, because I top it with beets.  Oh my gosh, if you love beets like we do, eat them on your salad. The benefits of beets are great. Beets are rich in antioxidants, calcium, iron and magnesium, fiber and high in vitamins A and C. (Refer to Beauty Detox for more information.) Yummy, yummy goodness. Nothing fancy to this salad in way of measurements. Just add the greens and other ingredients as desired, depending on the number of people you are serving. You can add any dressing to this.  I cheat  and do the lazy move by using a healthy vinaigrette. But if you really love beets, you can use this beet dressing. 

Happy Tuesday!

Portobello & Muhammara Dip!

Yum!  I really am enjoying the RAW food recipes I've been experiencing lately.  Although it can be time consuming trying to make it taste like real food, it is definitely worth the time.  Wait, did I really just say that?  "Real food"!  Wow.  I suppose most of us have been eating the same meals of meat and potatoes, throughout the years, so I guess that is considered 'real food'.  What we don't see is how processed it really can be, that's the unhealthy part.

I was a vegetarian when I was younger, so going almost totally raw isn't an issue for me.  I can find it very fulfilling and a natural way of eating.  Meat was never my favorite, so I did only consume chicken and fish for the longest time.  What really made me change to NO meat, is a book called Skinny Bitch.  Sound familiar?  This book is so funny they way these ladies write it, but it is also sad how animals are inhumanely tortured and slaughtered. Sorry, but the truth always hurts.

With respect to you meat eaters out there, I do cook it for the family.  I just don't eat it. (All the while apologizing to the meat, wherever it came from or how long it sat there before getting to our table :) I have gotten more into the pre-packaged marinated meats, or toss everything but the kitchen sink into a crock pot, putting my focus on the vegetables and salads.  I can put together a mean salad, such as last night.

This is what I'm talking about!  Salad as a full meal.  This one I put avocado in it, kale, romaine, tomatoes, mushrooms, edamame, shaved carrots, hemp seeds, and a RAW made parmesan (by processing some nutritional yeast and almonds, tastes like the real thing), and light vinaigrette dressing.

I get a proud feeling when I make my RAW food and it tastes like an original food.  Such as my tuna-fishless sandwich. That was good.  I haven't made that lately, but it's a good weekend lunch.

Over the holiday weekend with my sister visiting, we made the Muhammara Dip and Portobello Burgers.  Oh so good!  Little Sis' marinated some portobellos and I made a burger out of some.

I cooked the porto-burger on the grill, in my cast iron pan.  I love cooking that way.  It seared it on the outside and it made for a nice juicy burger!  No worry about any 'raw meat' in the middle, it's always edible.  

(See the recipe below)

I used sprout bread and slapped some Muhammara Dip on this baby, along 

with some romaine and tomatoes.  It was so delicious.  (See the recipe below.) 

Muhammara Dip.  So good with fresh cut vegetables.  

This is full of amino acids, omega fats & vitamins.  

The vitamin C in red peppers, helps to repair and regenerate collagen. 

Both of these recipes are from my Beauty Detox Foods book.  I am not compensated in any way to mention this book, I just love the recipes!  You can find some of the recipes free on line by searching.  Check out the link, it is very informative.  For those of you interested in RAW eating or just some healthy tips and dips.  

  

Raw Muhammara Dip 

Combine all ingredients in a blender/processor until smooth.  You can add roasted peppers (dried) if you want a thicker consistency. I add hemp seeds and flax meal also.  

3 red peppers

1 cup raw walnuts (soaked in water for 15 minutes)

1 medium garlic clove

1 T nutritional yeast

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp powdered stevia (I chose not to add this sweetener)

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

Portobello Mushroom Burger

This is the best veggie burger "I" have ever had, and the first I ever made! Use your food processor for the mushrooms and parsley first.  Move to a large bowl and set aside.  In a skillet, cook the garlic and onions in the vegetable broth, until translucent.  Add celery and cook another minute.  Add spices and everything together with the porto-parsley bowl and mix.  I formed them into patties and cooked on the grill in my cast iron pan, from there.  You can refrigerate for 45-mintues, and then form into patties.  Place into the oven at 350, for 30-minutes.  

4 portobello mushrooms     

1/2 c fresh chopped parsley

1 T low sodium vegetable broth

1 glove garlic, minced

1/2 c finely chopped celery

2 1/2 T organic ketchup (I did not have, and did not add any)

1/2 T fresh chopped thyme (You could use dry if needed, on all the spices)

1 tsp fresh chopped oregano 

1/2 tsp fresh chopped sage

1 T low-sodium tamari

1 tsp sea salt

2 c gluten free bread crumbs

So there you have it!  If you want to go RAW, you can always start slow.  Or, just use it as an ultra healthy way of eating for a couple days during the week.  You could even see yourself shedding some unwanted pounds.  Find the recipes you like most and work with them.  I'm always improvising with different ingredients.  Especially if I don't have them available to me.  

Have you tried any raw recipes? 

Share your favorites!

Mean green salads!

Happy Friday Peeps! 

Salads are such a refreshing meal to have for lunch or dinner, don't you think?  Especially on a hot and humid day.  I like it different, not too plain or traditional.  The hubster loves when I make a good, fulfilling salad.

This salad was a light one, having baby spinach, baby kale, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, and some pine nuts. (I put some kind of nut in every salad.) The carrots took on the color of the beets that I used in the dressing.  It had a nice soft sweetness to it.  This dressing is called Magenta Goddess Dressing (beet dressing).  Again, I took the recipe from my Beauty Detox Recipes book.

Here are the ingredients of the dressing:

2/3  c water
  1   very small clove garlic
  2   Tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2  tsp sea salt
  1   tsp low sodium tamari*
1/2  tsp powdered stevia  (to sweeten, if desired)
3/4  chopped raw beets
1/3  c almond butter (raw or un-roasted)

Use any combination of dark and light leafy greens for your salad.
Yields about 1 3/4 cups

Directions:
Place all the ingredients, except for the almond butter, in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Then add the almond butter and blend again.

* For those of you that do not know what tamari is, it is very similar to soy sauce.  Both are made from fermented soybeans, only tamari doesn't contain the wheat that soy sauce would.  Tamari is also less salty and gluten free.

This next very yummy salad, is made up of different greens and veggies with a healthy store bought dressing.  No measurements, just toss it all in to your desired amount and enjoy!

These were my ingredients:
2 small cooked beets, cubed
1 medium avocado, cubed
1 small red pepper
1 small orange pepper
1 handful of pin nuts
1 handful of walnuts, broken to smaller pieces

Baby Kale
Baby Spinach
Romaine

This is the dressing:

One of my favorites.  All natural, no sugar, no MSG.  Personally, I don't like putting too much dressing on.  I prefer a light coat with just a hint of dressing.

The avocado added a nice texture to the salad once you put the dressing on and tossed.  A big dish of this, and you have a nice filling salad to enjoy alone, or perhaps with a glass of wine :)

Try one of these salads and let me know what you think.  Or, if you tweaked it with your own special ingredients.  Tweaking always turns out best!

What ingredients are in your favorite salad?  

Tuna Fishless!

I really l-o-v-e fish!  However, fish isn't getting a good rap lately, with all the mercury statements out there.  Plus, I am trying to commit to my RAW habits regularly, so I wanted to try this Raw Fishless Tuna Fish Salad, that I found in my Beauty Detox Recipe book (of which I am not being paid to promote).  I fell in love.

This was so good, that I had it for lunch 3-days in a row.  Yum. Yum.

No, the butterfly is not real :)

 On some toasted brown rice bread, I added a romaine leaf, a smidgen of hummus, & cherry tomatoes.

Oooohh, sooooo, GOOD!

Doesn't this look like the real thing?

This is so easy & quick to make:

Ingredients

1 1/2  cups of sunflower seeds, soaked overnight

2 1/2  Tbs fresh lemon juice

2/3     tsp sea salt

   1     Tbs minced fresh dill or 1 tsp of dry

1/4     tsp freshly ground black pepper

2/3     cups diced celery

1/2     cup chopped scallions, white part only

Directions

Rinse sunflower seeds well, and then put them in a food processor, until seeds are chunky.
Add the fresh lemon, sea salt, dill and pepper. Pulse lightly.
Add to a bowl, and mix in the celery and scallions to combine.


Oh...and THIS...

The Hubster Sandwich
White bread, fluff, grape jelly, peanut butter & chocolate chips

Now that, my peeps, is a special sandwich!  It looks like a dessert to me, one that I don't consume.  My hubster prides himself with these.  And yes, he even has fluff on the corners of his mouth while consuming this...candy? (I'm not allowed to show those photos :) Although, I have to give my hubster the kudos he deserves.  He is on his nearly 900th, day of working out.  I'm talking hard workouts here, swimming and biking and versa climbing, etc.  We're not talking light weight, either :) I am very proud of him.

Even though I run (thanks to the hubster) and workout, unfortunately I don't have nearly as many days in a row.  Because of that, I'll stick to my RAW Tuna.


Would you try RAW fishless tuna? 
What kind of crazy food concoctions can you come up with?  Or eat?