massage your kale and keep it ready for salad making in your fridge. As soon as you bring home your bushel, break it up, wash it and place it in a large mixing bowl with lemon juice, olive oil, and a bit of herbamare and black pepper. massage it with clean hands (obviously) until it's soft. use it for any kind of salad you want to make. It makes raw kale more delicious and easier to digest.
pineapple beet juice
for a 16 oz serving: two cucumbers. two beets, half a lime, about a cup and a half of pineapple. The taste will vary depending on what kind of juicer you're using. Have more pineapple on hand to adjust the sweetness. This juice is unbelievable.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Dijon Vinaigrette
The perfect side dish. The easiest recipe. Cut Brussels in halves and place them on a baking sheet with chopped onion, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. Roast at 350 until sprouts are crispy. remove from oven and place in mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the juice of one lemon, a dash of balsamic vinegar, and a table spoon of dijon mustard. Pour mixture over Brussels Sprouts and stir until all of them are coated with the dressing. That's it. Enjoy.
Sweet Potato Mash Tacos
One of my favorites. These are so colorful and completely adorable. They're perfect for parties. I strongly recommend getting the blue corn tortillas because they really make the color of the sweet potato pop.
Peel and cube your sweet potatoes and drop them into boiling water. After they've become soft, remove and strain them and put them back in the pot. Add coconut oil, a pinch of cumin, and herbamare. mash with a fork.
RUSTIC SALSA
cut a package of multicolored cherry tomatoes in halves and place in a small mixing bowl. Add fresh cilantro, lime juice, finely chopped pickled jalapeño, and chopped scallion.
Steam the blue corn tortillas for a few seconds before you place them on your serving platter. Scoop mash onto tortillas, followed by the salsa, a small dollop of Vegannaise pesto spread, and a slice or two of avocado (not shown in photo...ugh sorry). You'll love these. I promise.
Roasted Pumpkin and Sunflower Salad
Pumpkin is awesome. If I could eat it everyday I would. I Kind of already do. Here's a super soothing and really simple pumpkin recipe I make all the time:
Slice a kabocha squash (pumpkin) and lay it out on a baking sheet. Add chopped shallot and a few roughly chopped red onions and dress it with olive oil and sea salt. Bake it at 350 until pumpkin starts to lightly brown.
In a large mixing bowl, combine field greens, the juice of one lemon, black pepper. and herbamare. Toast one cup of sunflower seeds in the toaster oven in foil (keep an eye on these little guys.. they burn quickly!) Mix seeds with greens and after plating the mixture top it with the pumpkin and onion. Really simple. Really good.
Toasted Coconut Maple Oatmeal
when it comes to sweets for breakfast, this hearty oatmeal dish takes the cake…tastes like it too.
cook oatmeal on the stove or in a slow cooker with coconut milk, cinnamon. and maple syrup. mix almonds, pecans and shredded or flaked coconut together with a bit of cinnamon and coconut sugar and pop it in the toaster oven until coconut is light brown. Add some raspberries and pomegranate seeds. Honestly you can top it with whatever you want. blueberries and bananas are another favorite of mine. I mean it's coconut oatmeal…top it with whatever you want. it's tough to mess up.
vanilla spice chia pudding
Oh man. This one’s serious. Honestly, it’s like Cinnamon Toast Crunch.. without the crunch. Great for breakfast. Also great for dessert.
In a blender combine
- one cup coconut milk
- half a vanilla bean*
- a few dashes of pumpkin pie or apple pie spice blend
- (which is mostly made up of cinnamon and nutmeg)
- a pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
blend for a few seconds and pour the mixture into a bowl with 1/4 cup chia seeds. mix, cover, and refrigerate overnight. It will be perfect and ready for consumption by morning.
*I know real vanilla bean is expensive but it’s really worth it. You can use extract if you’re on a seriously tight budget… but slicing that bean open and scraping out the good stuff… oh man, there’s nothing quite like it.
Raw Pesto Noodles
Traditional pesto pasta is incredible. A perfect comfort food with such an intense punch of flavor. But a giant bowl of pasta and cheese leaves me wanting to do nothing but take a long nap. So let's take the unhealthy stuff out of the equation and substitute them with more vibrant and nourishing ingredients. This raw pesto pasta dish is delicious, light, and leaves you feeling fueled and invigorated. The basil works as a fantastic anti inflammatory, the zucchini is hydrating, the garlic boosts your immune system, and the nuts are a great source of protein. Plus, this recipe is real easy to make and is ready to eat in minutes. enjoy it as a side dish or as an entree.
You will need:
- 3 large zucchini
- 1 cup of basil leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds
- 2 lemons
- a pinch of sea salt
- a pinch of black pepper
- two large cloves of garlic
- 1 cup of yellow cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup sun dried tomatoes
To make the noodles, run your zucchini through a spiralizer or cut into long pasta like strips with a sharp paring knife. Squeeze juice of one lemon on noodles along with a sprinkle of sea salt. Mix and set aside in the refrigerator.
For the sauce, put basil, oil, almonds, garlic, and juice of one lemon in the food processor along with salt and black pepper to taste. Pulse until smooth.
Remove noodles from refrigerator and mix with sauce. Roughly chop both sun dried and fresh tomatoes and add to mixture. Toss and enjoy!
(Makes about two hearty servings)
Tamari Kale Salad
Massaged kale with lemon, olive oil, sea salt, pickled beets, roasted carrot, and radish.
Salad Part 1
Roasted rosemary sweet potatoes, toasted walnuts, and homemade pesto on a bed of greens.
Salad Part 2
Here's a really good quick salad idea:
Mix greens with the juice of one lime, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper. Top with black beans and roasted corn (roast corn on a baking sheet at 400 degrees until they just start to brown), pico de gallo, and sliced avocado.
Butternut Squash Soup
Easiest soup recipe ever!
Roast:
- one butternut squash
- one green apple
- one large yellow onion
- three cloves garlic
- 5 shallots
- two sweet potatoes
at 350 until soft
place in food processor or bender with two cups coconut milk, one cup vegetable broth, thyme, sea salt, and black pepper to taste and a drizzle of olive oil. Blend until smooth and serve.
Fried RIce
SUPER FAST LUNCH: GARLIC AND HERB FRIED RICE
I keep a large mason jar of cooked brown rice in my fridge. I make the rice Sunday evening and have it all week long for when I need to eat something fast because I stay in bed till the last minute possible. Here's a recipe for a super delicious rice dish that only takes a few minutes.
throw dried oregano, basil, thyme, savory, and any other herbs you want in a pan with a couple chopped cloves of garlic, some fresh ginger, and sesame oil. Add in one egg and scramble it. Follow that with about a cup and a half of brown rice along with some spinach and green onion. Pan fry for a few minutes and add a drizzle of tamari, balsamic, and lemon juice. Top with avocado and sriracha. That's it.
fajita style tacos
Making tacos doesn't have to be a big deal. We always keep corn tortillas, avocados, hot sauce, and cumin in stock. If you do that you can make tacos with just about anything you have in your kitchen. Here's a recipe for vegan fajita tacos that you can make it like 25 minutes:
Slice one red pepper, one green pepper, and one spanish onion longways. place on baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, and olive oil. Roast in the on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until they're soft yet crispy (fajita style).
Warm corn tortillas in the oven until soft. Fill tortillas with roasted vegetables. Top with sliced avocado, red onion, fresh cilantro, lettuce, and hot sauce of choice. Done.
Raw Noodles
I just bought a spiralizer and holy hell is it awesome. It’s so fun to use that all I want to do lately is crank out veggie noodles all day every day. I think it may be turning into an issue. I just keep making noodles out of zucchini and carrots and cucumber instead of doing important things like calling my mom and socializing and paying my bills. But I mean, c’mon… raw pasta is a really cool way to switch up how you consume your vegetables. Like Homer Simpson said, “you don’t win friends with salad,” and let me tell you, all my friends who have tried these raw noodles think they’re way cool and super delicious. So if you wanna eat well and you want all your friends to think you’re totally hip you gotta make these. And you know what? If you don’t want to dish out the $25-$45 on a spiralizer that’s okay! You can always slice your vegetables with a very sharp knife or peeler instead. I’ve been playing around with zucchini noodles in particular this week so here is a stellar recipe you should try out.
Zucchini Puttanesca
For those of you who don’t know, “spaghetti alla puttanesca” actually means, “spaghetti of a whore”… so there’s that… Basically it’s a traditional Italian pasta dish that’s pretty salty and bold and I’m totally in love with it, so here’s my raw spin on it:
- one large zucchini
- two medium sized tomatoes
- a handful of basil
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- one clove of garlic
- 1/2 cup yellow cherry tomatoes
- a handful of kalamata olives
- 1/2 a handful capers
- black pepper to taste
Send your zucchini through the spiralizer or carefully cut it into thin strips and set aside in a large bowl. Combine medium tomatoes, basil, olive oil, garlic and pepper in the food processor and pulse until it’s at marinara sauce consistency. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in olives and capers.
Assembly
I know my measurements are far from exact but this recipe makes enough Puttanesca for about two (whoa super romantic!) so divide noodles into two portions and pour sauce onto both. slice cherry tomatoes and throw them on top for garnish. That’s it.
Spirulina Smoothie Bowl
I'm surrendering to the trend. I'm making a smoothie bowl.... and I'm not mad about it. This one is super simple and really good. Using spirulina makes me feel like I'm some sort of health god... but I'm not gonna lie it's gross by itself. It needs some help so my advice for using algae in your smoothie is to balance it out with really bright flavors like orange or pineapple. Try this one. It's extra delicious.
two frozen bananas
one table spoon spirulina powder
a hand full of berries
pineapple juice
blend and garnish with whatever's left over (I used banana, berries, and shredded coconut)
Raw Caesar Dressing
Caesar dressing rules. It's super rich, the perfect kind of tangy, and you can put it on almost anything. But caesar salad isn't exactly known for having vital health benefits or being easy on the digestive system. So here's a delicious alternative. A raw vegan version of this indulgent classic that's made with only super clean ingredients that you probably have in your fridge right now.
- 3/4 cup soaked (overnight) almonds
- 1/2 olive oil
- juice of one lemon
- one tablespoon white vinegar
- one teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- two tablespoon course ground dijon mustard
- one clove garlic
- pinch of sea salt
- ground black pepper to taste
Blend all ingredients until smooth. The almonds make the dressing creamy but also create a grainy texture just like parmesan does in traditional caesar. feel free to add more lemon if needed. In fact, you can adjust any measurements to taste. dip any raw veggies you want, toss it with romaine, or drizzle it over kale and add some smoked tempeh (as pictured above).
There you go... enjoy crazy delicious caesar dressing without the belly ache.