Awesome Pea and White Bean Dip! May 31, 2012

 

I know what you are thinking, peas and white beans??? That CANNOT taste good! I know, I was skeptical at first too. Trust me it is delicious! In fact, I have made this dip three times in the last two weeks and have been devouring it almost every single day, it is that good!

 

Reminiscent in color and taste to guacamole, this dip has hints of lemon, lots of yummy cumin, and unlike the creamy avocado counterpart, it has no fat. Do not get me wrong, I love me some guacamole! But it is nice sometimes to have an alternative that you can feel a tad less guilty about when you devour half of it in one sitting!

 

For this dip I really like using raw peas (I buy the shelled raw peas from Trader Joe’s) but frozen peas would work just fine too. Also, I keep this recipe pretty simple, but like guacamole, there are a million ways you can vary it and make it your own. I have added diced tomato and red onion, you could add some jalapenos to spice it up, and it would probably be good with a summery twist by adding mango, pineapple, or strawberries!

 

Enjoy!

 

Awesome Pea and White Bean Dip

by Katie Barlow

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

 

Ingredients (about 5 cups)

• 10 oz fresh or frozen peas
• 1 can white cannellini beans
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 green onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Place everything into a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

Place in an airtight container and store the dip in the fridge.

Enjoy with your favorite veggies, chips, crackers, etc!

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Banana-Chia Soft Serve and Granola parfaits October 10, 2011

 

All I have to say about this recipe is Oh My Gosh YUMMMMMMM! This parfait is decadent enough to be dessert yet healthy and filling enough to be breakfast! The banana chia soft serve is so sweet and creamy it is reminiscent of soft serve frozen yogurt and pairs perfectly with the crunchiness of granola! I know fall is among us and most of you are probably craving warm breakfasts like my pumpkin oatmeal so here is my suggestion for you: Eat this with a nice steaming hot cup of coffee or tea because you need to try this now! Cold weather be darned!

 

You might have noticed that I used chia seeds in a lot of my recipes. Chia seeds have more uses than just for chia pets! Chia seeds are very rich in Omega-3 fatty acids (even more so than flax seeds!) and are full of anti-oxidants! Chia seeds also provide fiber as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc. Talk about SUPERFOOD!

 

Chia seeds do this really cool thing when you put them in a liquid, they turn into gel. It is great for making puddings and soft-serve ice creams because it makes liquid very thick and gelatinous.

 

To make a basic chia gel:

 

1 cup liquid: water, juice, non-dairy milk

1-3 tablespoons chia seeds

 

Place the liquid and chia seeds in a container with a lid and shake to mix. Let sit 20 minutes to half an hour to thicken. The more chia seeds you use, the thicker the gel will be. This gel is now ready to be used in smoothies, in puddings, or drink it as is!

 

Banana-Chia Soft Serve and Granola Parfait

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Can be Raw

 

Makes 2 Servings

 

1 cup almond milk (or other non-diary milk of choice)

2 tablespoons chia seeds

2 scoops Sunwarrior vanilla protein (optional but highly recommended!)

3-4 bananas, cut into pieces and frozen

Your favorite Granola (to keep it raw use raw granola!)

 

1. Add the almond milk, chia seeds, and protein powder (if using) to a blender and pulse a few times to mix. Let sit 20 minutes to overnight to allow the chia seeds to gel.

2. Blend in bananas, adding a few at a time, until you have a very thick and very creamy mixture (a Vita-mix or Blendtec work the best for this)

3. Use your favorite clear glass or bowl or wine glass and spoon about an inch thick layer of soft serve. Top with granola and repeat until you have used all the soft serve. Makes enough for two servings.

4. Drool, and then devour!

Kitchen Sink Bars September 23, 2011

 

We are going camping this weekend! Ok we are bringing an RV, does it still count? As always, I am in charge of the food. Camping food should be portable, simple to make and eat, and filling. Since we have an RV we have a little more flexibility because we have an oven, a stovetop, and a microwave. I know, we are totally cheating!! Although, I do not really plan to use anything except maybe the microwave. Here is what we are bringing for food for our two day camping trip:

 

Chia Oatmeal

Bananas

Tons of Fruit

Rainbow Kale Salad

Field Roast Sausages

Sprouted Buns

Hummus and raw veggies

sweet potatoes

Sprouted bread

peanut butter

jelly

Collard greens (For banana peanut butter collard wraps)

vegan marshmallows

chocolate

vegan graham crackers

and these bars…

 

I call them the kitchen sink bars because they have so many different things in them. I kind of love that about them. They are also moist unlike most energy bars, and the best part is they have no sugar! They are sweetened with date paste and a little bit of brown rice syrup! These are definitely bars I feel good about eating and giving out to the people I love!

 

One note about these bars, I used dried cherries and apricots because that is what I had on hand and I do not love the combination. Especially with the little bit of chocolate I put in these bars, it is a bit too tart. Next time I might just do cherries and leave out the apricots, or do apricots and leave out the chocolate, or make them tropical with some papaya and pineapple!

 

As always, the measurements here are approximate. I am really bad about actually taking the time to measure out specific ingredients so take this recipe as a general guideline and feel free to add less or more of something to suit your preference and taste! Also, substitutions here are really easy! The only think I would not change is the dates and the quinoa flakes/oats measurements. Everything else is fair game!

 

Kitchen Sink Bars

Vegan, Soy Free, Gluten Free, Can be Raw

Makes 16 Bars

 

8oz pitted dates

1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes or old fashioned oats, finely ground

1/2 cup hazelnuts, finely ground

1 cup pecans, finely ground

2 small handfuls dried cherries, chopped

2 small handfuls dried apricots, chopped

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup sprouted buckwheat groats

1/4 cup coconut flakes

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (I use enjoy life brand)

2 dashes cinnamon

3 tablespoon brown rice syrup

 

1. Cover the dates with water and let sit a couple of hours until plump and soft.

2. Place the dates and water in a blender and blend until smooth.

3. Add the date paste and the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.

4. Heat the oven to 350degF and grease an 8” square pan with coconut oil, or line it with parchment paper.

5. Pour the mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for thirty minutes until dry but not hard. Cool to room temperature before slicing into bars.

 

Raw version: replace the flakes/oats with buckwheat groats and dehydrate in a dehydrator until firm.

Creamy Oil Free Pesto! September 17, 2011

 

Mmmm…. Pesto! Definitely one of my favorite sauces to use on pasta, besides this vegan cheese sauce! One thing I do not like about pesto, however, is all the oil you have to use for the sauce. So I decided to just leave out the oil and replace it with extra nuts and water, just to see what it would taste like. Well, it was delicious! The flavors are a little more subtle, and the lemon is more pronounced than traditional pesto sauce, but it is also creamier than traditional basil sauce and so much healthier! I will never use oil in my pesto again!

 

Creamy Oil Free Pesto

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Raw

 

Makes enough sauce for one pound of pasta

 

1/3 cup raw pine nuts

1/3 cup raw hemp seeds

Juice from two lemons

Large handful or two of basil (I prefer two, but I really like a strong basil taste!)

small handful of mint (optional)

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon balsalmic vinegar

2/3 cup water

 

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Use on your favorite pasta or as a dressing on a salad. If you want to use it as a spread for sandwiches or wraps reduce the amount of water. Start with 1/3 cup of water and add 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.

 

Note: This sauce works best when blended in a high-speed blender such as a vitamix. If you use a regular blender it will probably not be as creamy but it will still taste good!

Another Note: The lemon is really strong in this sauce. I really enjoy it but if want a less lemony tasting sauce just use the juice from one lemon.

Green Oatmeal! September 16, 2011

 

Who needs green eggs and ham when you  have green oatmeal? Okay, so the picture is not exactly appetizing but this is seriously one of my favorite breakfasts! Most days I am fine with a chia pudding or smoothie for breakfast but sometimes I just want something salty and savory. This totally hits the spot for me. It is oatmeal with chia seeds, raw broccoli chopped up very finely, nutritional yeast, and tamari. So simple, so satisfying, so healthy, so YUMMY!

 

If you do not like raw broccoli, you can heat the broccoli with the oatmeal to make it soft. You can also substitute other veggies as well. I have eaten this with kale and spinach, but peas, carrots, and red bell pepper would also be really yummy with this.

 

I just use nutritional yeast and soy sauce to flavor this and let me tell you, this combination is right up there with peanut butter and jelly. I use it in everything! It is great for salads, in mashed potatoes, and in oatmeal!

 

Also, for some added protein, throw in some hemp seeds or cubed tofu. Just like any bowl of oatmeal, this one is endlessly adaptable to suit your taste buds and nutritional needs!

 

Green Oatmeal

Vegan, Dairy Free, High Raw, Can be made Gluten Free, Can be made Soy Free

 

Makes 1 Serving

 

1 cup Irish steel cut oats

4 cups water

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1 small head of broccoli, roughly chopped (including stem)

2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

soy sauce, tamari, liquid aminos- to taste (I like mine salty so I use a lot!)

Hemp seeds or cubed tofu (optional)

 

1. Place the steel cut oats and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

2. Turn off the stove and add the chia seeds. Stir to mix. Cover the pot and let sit overnight.

3. The next morning when you are ready to make your breakfast, turn on the stove and heat the oatmeal until warmed.

4. While the oatmeal is heating, throw the broccoli into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Place chopped broccoli in a bowl.

5. Add about a cup of the oatmeal to the bowl with the broccoli and add nutritional yeast (store the leftover oatmeal in the fridge, it is good for about a week). Stir to mix. Add desired amount of soy sauce and hemp seeds or tofu if using and mix well. Taste and add more soy sauce as needed.

6. Enjoy warm and feel good about the fact that you are getting a serving of nutrient dense veggies for breakfast!

Finger Food September 15, 2011

 

This has been a week of sleep deprivation, stress, and tantrums (baby and mommy!). So when it came to making dinner tonight I was craving something simple, easy, and yummy. I also wanted a variety of things on my plate because since I was having a hard time finding pleasure in most things, I was going to find pleasure in my meal! This is what I came up with:

 

 

Peanut Butter Banana Rolls

Yummy Eggplant Pate with raw carrots

Tempeh lightly sautéed in coconut oil

Homemade Raw Sauerkraut

Mango (not pictured)

 

This dinner was filling, healthy, and so fun to eat! Do you ever crave snacky finger food for dinner?

A Simple Salad September 11, 2011

 

I am in the Bay Area this weekend with my family. As soon as I found out my grandpa had passed away I felt this huge need to be near my grandma and my family during this difficult time.

 

My family are hardcore meat-eaters and with 5 other members in my immediate family, I am highly outnumbered. For a long time it was really difficult for me to eat with them at home. I constantly felt left out and cooking for myself felt very unappealing. Now, whenever I visit my dad, I would much rather spend a night cooking at home with my family than go out. I realized the trick was to just keep it simple. Now when I visit my Dad, my step mom usually has a bunch of beets baked for me (my favorite!) and some brown rice with flax seed or some other type of grain. I go to the store and buy kale, bananas, and a few other veggies and most of my meals consist of a bowl filled with greens, veggies, avocado, beans, grains, or a combination of these things lightly dressed with some lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic salt. Yum. There is something so delicious and satisfying about a simple meal made with whole ingredients.

 

This salad is an example of one of those meals. It is just a bowl of veggies with garbanzo beans and a dressing made only of lemon juice and curry powder. I had this one night for dinner with mango for dessert and it completely hit the spot. I opted not to put olive oil on this salad and I have to say the lemon juice is slightly overpowering. I did not mind it but if you want to mellow out the lemon juice a bit just drizzle a little bit of olive oil on the salad.

 

Salad with a Simple Lemony Curry Dressing

Vegan, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Gluten Free, High Raw

 

Makes 1 large serving or 2 smaller servings

 

1 Romaine heart, chopped

1 cucumber, quartered and sliced

1/2 large tomato, diced

2 cups garbanzo beans

1 avocado, diced

Juice form 1 lemon

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon salt

 

1. Add Ingredients to a large bowl and toss until dressing is well mixed and veggies are well coated!

2. Enjoy with a fork or chopsticks!

Kitchen Sink Salad September 9, 2011

 

Happy Friday! I hope everyone enjoyed the short week. Mine flew by! And since it has been so hot here this week, much of it was spent swimming with baby Harper!

 

I usually get all of my fresh fruits and veggies at my local farmer’s market on Saturdays. By Friday my stash is depleted and what is left are a few odds and ends that need to be used up before they go bad. This dish happened on one of those nights. I literally grabbed all the left over containers and the remainder of the veggies in my fridge, chopped them up and threw them in a bowl. I call this The Kitchen Sink Salad because it basically had everything in my kitchen except the kitchen sink!

 

Here is what I put in the salad:

 

Half a cabbage, chopped finely

1 large raw yellow squash, diced

French lentils

Wheat berries

Handful of Basil

Lemon Juice from one or two lemons

Nutritional yeast

High mineral salt

fresh ground pepper

Olive oil

may have been some balsalmic in there too…. I do not remember!

 

Mmmm….this salad was so tasty! It was crunchy and filling without being heavy. The best part about this salad was that every perishable thing left in my fridge was put to good use instead of left to wilt and die. The next morning, I ventured to the farmer’s market with an empty kitchen ready to be filled with all the fresh vegetable and fruit goodness the market had to offer!

Zucchini Hummus and How to Add More Raw Foods into Your Diet September 1, 2011

 

Quick post today. The hubby is off playing cards with some friends and the baby is asleep so I want to relax, enjoy my night, and watch some Grey’s Anatomy! I want to give you a few tips for increasing the amount of raw foods you incorporate into your diet and then I will leave you with a recipe for Zucchini Hummus, a classic way to “hide” raw veggies in a cooked dish.

 

1. Just add lettuce! Weather it is pasta, a stew, a casserole, or whatever you are having for dinner, put it on top of a giant heaping plate of lettuce. You can use romaine, mixed greens, kale, whatever you feel like!

 

2. Eat more fruit! Fruit is so good for you because it is packed with vitamins and minerals! For a snack, instead of grabbing a protein bar or whatever you would normally have, grab a handful of almonds and an apple, or half of a melon. For breakfast, whip up a smoothie or have some fruit cereal!

 

3. Eat more veggies! Use your favorite dip such as hummus, vegan ranch, pesto, vegan raw cashew cheese, baba ganoush, yummy eggplant pate and cut up carrots, celery, cucumber, red bell pepper. Prep and cut a bunch of veggies to keep in your fridge so you can just grab them when your hungry instead of reaching for the pita bread, pretzels, or chips.

 

4. When making a dish, instead of cooking the vegetables, try using them raw. Chopped up raw onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, and cucumber are really good in almost anything, especially when tossed a bit of lemon juice, olive oil, and your favorite seasoning. Sun-dried tomatoes and olives are also super yummy in almost everything!

 

5. And finally, try hiding raw vegetables in things. For instance, in my zucchini hummus, I used half the chickpeas I normally use and added a large raw zucchini.

 

What are your tips and tricks for adding more raw foods into your diet?

 

Zucchini Hummus

Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, High-Raw

 

Makes about 3-4 cups

 

1 can low sodium chickpeas or 2 cups cooked dried chickpeas

1 large zucchini, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup tahini

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup water plus more if needed

 

1. Add all ingredients to your high speed blender or your food processor. Start with 1/4 cup water.

2. Blend or Process until smooth. If it is too thick add more water until the hummus reaches desired consistency.

3. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.

4. Store in an airtight container and enjoy with your favorite raw veggies or raw crackers!

curried Broccoli Salad August 25, 2011

 

This is what I had for dinner the other night, along with some yummy eggplant pate and raw veggies. I created this curried broccoli salad a while ago when I was craving the Curried Gardein Chicken Salad they have at my whole foods. Never had it? You should, it is absolutely delicious! This salad is so good, I probably have it once a week or at least a few times a month. Sometimes, I make it with Trader Joe’s broccoli slaw instead of broccoli florets and sometimes, I add baked tofu if I want a hardier meal. Any way you make it, this salad will make any broccoli hater come running back for seconds!

 

Oh and that hot pink stuff in the background? That is my first batch of homemade raw sauerkraut! It was so easy and fun to make! I will never pay $10 for a jar of raw kraut again! Do not worry, I will blog about how to make your own sauerkraut soon! What? You don’t like sauerkraut? Oh you will after I’m not with you!

 

One note about the Curry Broccoli Salad recipe, the measurements are approximate. I hardly ever measure things out when I am making something. So make sure you taste it, and adjust to your liking.

 

Curried Broccoli Salad

Vegan, Gluten-Free

Makes 2 meal sized servings or 4 side servings

 

1 package Trader Joe’s organic broccoli or organic broccoli slaw

1 package baked tofu (optional)

1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup Vegenaise

1/3 cup mango chutney ( I use Trader Joe’s brand)

1 tablespoon curry powder

High mineral salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

 

1. Mix everything together in a bowl and enjoy! How easy is that?