For the wilted kale
1 head kale
1/2 t salt
Remove the stems and then wash and cut the chard into small pieces.  Place into a bowl, add salt and start to massage the kale until it wilts and takes on a ‘cooked’ texture.

Add the below to the chard and toss by hand:
1c cherry tomatoes, sliced
1/2 small red onion, sliced
Note - you can also more sliced vegetables like red peppers or cucumbers to this salad.

Spicy and Creamy Almond Butter Sauce
2 tbps raw almond butter
1 inch minced fresh ginger
1/2-1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup or agave
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 pinch cayenne
2 tbps water

Blend all dressing ingredients in a high-speed blender until creamy and mix into kale by hand.

Top with chopped almonds and extra sauce to taste.

It's a roadie!

1 head of Collard Green Leaves - no stems
3 frozen bananas
2 mango
1 white peach
3 cups of water

Blend on High

'Creamy' Strawberry Shake
For a dairy-free treat try this....

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup of strawberries (about 7 med-large strawberries)
• 1 large frozen banana*
• 1 handful of raw almonds (about 1/3 cup)

Blend on high until smooth.

Also try with Nectarines or Peaches!

*easy to freeze (out of the peel) and the secret to making fruit shakes creamy and sweet without the dairy or added sugar.

A fresh, light salad I crave!

The Salad:

Shredded cabbage

Chopped cucumber

Chopped yellow bell pepper

Thinly sliced red onion

Chopped avocado 

Chopped fresh mint 

Black sesame seeds (prettier, but regular sesame seeds taste great too)

Alternative: Adding chopped basil makes this salad even more interesting.

The Asian Dressing...

• 1/4 cup Fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Nama Shoyu
• 1/4 cup Ginger juice or 1-2 inches fresh Ginger roo - how hot do you like it?
• 1/4 Raw Agave syrup
• 1 cup - cold pressed olive oil

Blend all in a high speed blender.

Toss salad in the dressing. Viola! Simple and quick!

Here's a super easy way to prepare 2 raw food dishes with the same marinade.
The Portabello Mushrooms are an 'immediate gratification' dinner item and the Kale is snack for the next day.

   

Click here to download:

Porabello_Steaks_and_Kale_Chip.zip (339 KB)

The Marinade: I was very pleased with the versatility of his marinade to be perfectly suitable for both veggies, and thrilled that I could use one mixture twice.
Economies of effort and dollars = totally satisfying!

1/4 Cup Olive Oil
2 T Lite Tamari
2T Ume Plum Vinegar
3 Cloves Garlic - pressed

Whisk all together in a bowl then pour marinade in a big ziplock bag (or bowl if you don't have a bag)
Place the 2 - 4 Portabello Mushrooms inside the bag and move around to coat the mushrooms.
Let sit for 10 minutes

During the 10 minutes the mushrooms are marinating, wash and dry 1-2 heads of Kale.
Tear Kale into pieces, discarding (or save for juicing) the inside stems and place all the kale into a big bowl.

Now, it's Dehydration time!

Mushrooms:
Take the mushrooms out of the bag, shaking off the excess marinade back into the bag.
Place them on a dehydrator tray with a teflex sheet.
Warm them inside the dehydrator for 45 minutes at 120 temp. setting
Enjoy as the 'meaty' part of any veggie meal. (I served mine with mashed yams and sauteed chard with lemon, garlic and goat cheese)

Kale:
Pour the marinade from the bag into the bowl of kale and work the liquid into the nooks and crannies of the kale until it's all wet and evenly coated.
This should be enough to cover the greens lightly.
Place the kale onto dehydrator screens. I used the Teflex sheet for 1/2 the batch and a tray without for a liner for the other 1/2.  They dried equally as quick, and were actually dry and semi crunchy in a few hours.
Keep them in over night and they will be delightfully light and crisp and perfect by morning.

The second photo shows the Kale Chips in an airtight, glass container, which is what I recommend you store these crispy treats in.
However, I must confess that mine did not stay in that container for long. I could NOT STOP eating them and they were gone by 10am!
I usually make the cheesey kind of kale chips but find this lighter and slightly salty-tasting version a nice diversion. I may have a new favorite.

Every week I buy this "tomato soup kit" at Trader Joe's.

A gourmet flavored, raw-powerhouse of a meal...or what I call a "Bowl of YUM!"

     

Click here to download:

Chai_Chia_Pudding.zip (342 KB)

1/3 cup chia seed- place in a bowl and set aside
In a blender - 1 cup of warm water, 1 T Chai Masala spices, 1 handful of soaked almonds and thenblend on high until you have a frothy, chai almond milk.

Don't strain the milk, just pour the almond chai over the chia seeds and stir.
You can add a dash of vanilla and agave to sweeten and keep stirring until it's pudding-thick.

The almond pulp in the chia seeds will make this pudding thicken quicky.
I topped with some mesquite maple walnuts and ate it for breakfast, but this is also a delicious dessert.

This takes 5 minutes and no cooking is involved. All nutrients and enzymes are alive and well!

Benefits of Chia Seeds:

Chia seed is high in calcium. 5 times the calcium of milk, 631 mg per 100 grams of seed.

Chia seeds are also high in protein, with 18 grams per 100 grams of seed.

The optimum ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 should be 3:1. Chia seed provides that ratio.

Chia seed is hydrophilic. Absorbing up to 14 times
(Mix @ 9-10 times) its weight in water. This helps extend energy and endurance.

Chia seed is rich in antioxidant oils.
Chia contains chlorogenic acid, and caffeic acid as well as myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol flavonols.
These compounds are both primary and synergistic antioxidants that contribute to the strong antioxidant activity of chia.

Chia seed is also low in sodium.
Only 19 mg per 100 grams.

Creamy Curry Carrot Soup

Toppings:
Chopped tomatoes and avocado are great.
Or try Sweet Curry Spiced Sunflower Seeds - as pictured

This refreshing drink packs in the nutrients!
In a juicer, juice the following:
2 heads of celery
1 large cucumber
5 apples
3 inches of ginger
I added 3 broccoli stems, but you can any green stems such as kale or chard or leave them out.

Pour the juice into a blender and add the following:
10 oz of frozen pineapple
The juice of 2 lemons
Blend untill smooth. Makes 8 cups. There will be some foam. Just skim that off the top when the smoothie settles, and enjoy!

Benefits of Celery Juice 

Benefits of Pineapple

Pineapple is Loaded with Vitamins and Minerals
The obvious benefits of pineapple are all the vitamins and minerals the fruit is loaded with. Its nutrients include calcium, potassium, fiber, and vitamin C. In addition it is low in fat and cholesterol.

Pineapple Strengthens Bones
One of the benefits of pineapple is that it helps to build healthy bones. Pineapples are rich in manganese, a trace mineral that is needed for your body to build bone and connective tissues. Just one cup of pineapple provides 73% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. The benefits of pineapple can effect the growth of bones in young people and the strengthening of bones in older people.

Pineapple is Good for Colds and Coughs
While many people often take extra vitamin C or drink extra orange juice when they have a cold, few consider eating pineapple. The benefits of pineapple when you have a cold or cough are the same as the benefits of orange juice, but there is an additional benefit of pineapple. Bromelain, which is found in pineapples, has been found to help suppress coughs and loosen mucus.

After pondering raw food sweeteners and wondering if could make a treat with Yacon Syrup, I created this raw treat to satiate my sweet tooth without messing with my glycemic index.  I think they are better tasting than the ones I make with Agave, so I will certainly keep experimenting with Yacon!

Almond Chocolate Chip Truffles 

The almond pulp left over from making almond milk. A little less than a cup of pulp.
1/4 cup raw cocao powder
1/2 T vanilla powder
1/4 cup Yacon Syrup
3 T melted coconut oil
2 T currants
2 T cocao nibs (the chocolate chips)
1/2 tsp almond extract
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Roll into balls and then roll into raw cocao powder to coat the outside.

Freeze for 15 - 30 mins. So they firm up a bit.

They will keep in the refrigerator for one week or they keep in the freezer for 2 months.