Rainbow “Pasta” with an Almond Tumeric Sauce October 6, 2011

This dish was inspired by a dish I had at the Loving Hut in Palo Alto last weekend. They have this raw fettuccini dish that is killer! Here is the description from the website:

 

A raw celery root fettuccine with collard greens,
carrot, tomato, beet, cucumber, bell pepper, pistachio
and almond, in a rich n’ creamy almond sauce

 

So I really wanted to recreate it and let me tell you, this tastes NOTHING like it! It is still good though. Mostly, I just liked the idea of using a bunch of different veggies in a “pasta” shape with a creamy and nutty dressing. For mine I just used veggies I had on hand: Kale, butternut squash, red bell pepper, and zucchini. Celery Root, Kohlrabi, Collard Greens, beets, would all be great to use as “noodles.”

 

 

As for the sauce, I decided to make an almond turmeric sauce. Turmeric has a compound in it called curcumin which has many health properties including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. When combined with black pepper the bio-availability of curcumin increases dramatically making it much more potent as a healing agent.

 

I made a very simple sauce with almond butter, soy sauce, black pepper, raw honey, lime, and turmeric. It was yummy but I will be honest, I think I liked the sauce that Loving Hut used better. I added water to my sauce as well to thin it out and felt it was too watery so the recipe below does not include water. If you find the sauce too thick add water a tablespoon at a time to thin it out.

 

 

I added tempeh that I lightly seared in coconut oil to my salad. It was healthy, light yet filling, and tasty! Enjoy the recipe!

 

Raw Rainbow Pasta with Almond Turmeric Sauce

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

 

Makes 1 Serving

 

two handfuls of chopped kale

1 bell pepper, sliced into very thin strips

1 cup raw butternut squash, spiralized

1 cup raw zucchini, spiralized

 

2 tablespoons almond butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon raw honey (or agave)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic

 

1. Layer the veggies in a large bowl.

2. Blend the almond butter, soy sauce, lime juice, honey (or agave), turmeric, pepper, and garlic in a blender until smooth.

3. Pour sauce over veggies. Mix. Enjoy!

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!

Slow cooker Recipe series- Ratatouille February 24, 2011

 

This is my third installment for my Slow Cooker Recipe Series. If you missed the first two, I made:

 

Slow Cooker Beefless Stew

 

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

 

As a vegan who tries to eat mostly whole, unprocessed, all natural foods, I always make sure my kitchen is stocked with fresh vegetables. I usually go to the farmer’s market and grocery store once or twice a week to stock up. Sometimes, I can overdue it a bit, and I find myself with a lot of vegetables that are about to go bad before I will have time to eat them. Although rare, when this does happen I usually do one of two things: make soup or make ratatouille. Today I am going to share my recipe for ratatouille, which is so good mixed with pasta, on top of polenta, or even just by itself. It also freezes really well so I usually make a large batch and freeze half.

 

The vegetables I use in the recipe below are just suggestions. I usually use whatever I have in the fridge so feel free to substitute whatever vegetables you want!

 

 

  Slow Cooker Ratatouille

Makes 4-6 servings

Printable Recipe

 

Note: Feel free to use any combination of veggies in this recipe. Some good ones to use include green beans, yellow squash, kale or other dark leafy green vegetable, broccoli, leek, almost anything, get creative!

 

Ingredients:

 

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1” dice

1 green bell pepper, cut into 1” dice

2 zucchinis, cut into 1” dice

1 package sliced mushrooms, any type

1 eggplant, cut into 1” dice

1 onion, roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 15oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 6oz can tomato puree

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning

Handful Fresh basil (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

 

Directions:

 

Throw everything in the Crockpot and cook for 6-8 hours.