B7DRC February 2014 - Day 5: A delicious raw burger that's easy to make with only 5 ingredients!? No way!

TGIF!!! It’s Day 5 of Brad’s 7 Day Raw Challenge and I am feeling well rested and full of energy! Let’s get right into today’s eats.

Early Morning

I started the morning off with a warm, apple cider vinegar with raw honey. It helped with the sore throat I’m still dealing with.

Juice

I’m low on produce so I had to be a bit creative. Grapefruit. Pineapple. Leftover coconut water. Sounds refreshing, sweet and juicy! Yumm!

Citrus Coconut Cooler

By Beth Mickens

• 1 pink grapefruit
• 1 heaping cup of pineapple
• ¼ cup coconut water

1. Juice. Drink. Enjoy.

Lunch

I saw this burger recipe last night, recognized how easy it was to make, even better, realized I had all of the 5 ingredients needed and decided I was definitely going to make these. And this morning I did just that. All it took was a few pulses in the food processors, a little molding, a few hours in the dehydrator and by lunchtime I had the best tasting, raw burger salad I have ever tasted. Ever. Even better than the frozen, vegan burgers I used to whip up. Way better. 

These burgers are bursting with tons of spice and flavor. It’s amazing how just a few ingredients could make such an amazing meal. These burgers have the best texture; dry and crispy on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside with a nice crunch to every bite. You can’t tell these are even raw! Yes, they are THAT good. All you need are a few ingredients so go get ‘em and make these..NOW!

Raw Jicama Burgers with Cumin, Coriander, Dill and Lemon

By Emily from This Rawesome Vegan Life

Makes 4 burgers

Burgers

• 1 cup jicama
• ¼ cup white onion
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans
• Fresh dill, cumin, coriander, chili, salt and pepper

Salad

• Mixed greens
• 1 green onion, sliced
• Lots of tomatoes
• ½ avocado
• Any other veggies you prefer
• Favorite dressing

1. In a food processor, process the jicama, onion, lemon juice and as spices to taste. Pour into a small bowl.
2. Add the walnuts into the food processor and process til a thick paste is created. Pour into the bowl with the veggie mix.
3. Mix together with your hands until well combined. Season to taste.
4. Using a large cookie mold or just your hands, mold into 4, ½ inch burgers.
5. Dehydrate at 145 degrees for 1 hour, then reduce to 115 degrees for 3 hours or until the burgers are dry and crisp on the outside and hold together well.
6. Use as desired.

For the salad: On a plate add the mixed greens, onion, tomatoes, avocado and other preferred veggies. Top with 2 burgers and serve with favorite dressing.

Enjoy!

For the rest of the evening I nibbled on pineapple and more caramel chocolates!

End of Day 5! Happy Friday!!

*Beth*

CHALLENGER'S RECIPES

Raw Taco's

By Nick Lassonde

 

Taco Meat

• 2 cups sprouted quinoa
• 2 heaping tsp of walnuts
• Cumin Powder
• Coriander Powder
• Paprika 
• Turmeric

1. Process in a food processor until well combined

For the Tacos/Nachos

1. Spread onto romaine/raw chips with salsa and guacamole

Raw Brownies

By Deliciousyella.com and Lucia Morrison

•  2 cups medjool dates
• 1 cup pecans
• 2-3 Tbsp raw cacao
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup

1. Process in a food processor till well combined.
2. Spread out onto a baking sheet
3. Refrigerate for 3 hours
4. Slice and enjoy!

Italian Seasoned Pulp Crackers

By Nick Lassonde

• 3 cups juice pulp
• 3 heaping tsp unsweetened almond pulp
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 tomato
• 1 handful of fresh parsley
• 3 heaping tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 heaping tsp garlic powder
• 2 heaping tsp onion powder
• 1 heaping tsp dry oregano
• 1 heaping tsp dry basil

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor. You may need to add water while processing. 
2. Spread onto a dehydrator sheet and score to desired size/shape.
3. Dehydrate for 24 hours.

 

B7DRC February 2014 - Day 4: Quick, raw eats for when life happens.

We’re halfway through Brad’s 7 Day Raw Challenge and I’m feeling great so far sans the mild, sore throat. I can’t determine if it’s the dry air in our home, the cold weather (right after warm weather) or if I got a small bit of my daughter’s head cold. Either way, I’m working on, once again, healing it with warm tea and “flu shots”. I’ve noticed that for the past few challenges I have had to deal with a sore throat. I wonder if maybe it’s a detox symptom? Hmm… 

As you read through today’s eats you may notice that my menu seems abnormal. No juice. No smoothie. Two salads. I know. It’s weird for me too, but sometimes life just gets in the way of your plans and instead of stopping everything you’re doing to scream, cry and mope, just ride along. You never know what you may discover or learn! Life is, after all, a journey.

So here is Day 4’s eats.

Breakfast

I was in a rush this morning to get out of the house so all my planned juices and smoothies were out the door. Instead I grabbed a classic fave: banana with raw (cashew, almond and walnut) nut butter, raw honey, cacao nibs, and coconut. The perfect breakfast: carbs, protein, quick, easy and fulfilling.

Lunch

Once I finally got home I was getting quite hungry, but was once again, in a rush to make my food so I could get to work. I grabbed some greens, added some cukes, tomatoes, green onions, avocado, and sunflower seeds and whipped up a quick salad which I drizzled with some cold pressed grapeseed oil with garlic, lemon, salt and pepper for a quick dressing. Yumm!

Dinner

Another quick one! I made a quick massaged kale salad which I massaged with grapeseed oil, raw garlic, lemon and salt! I mixed in some shredded carrots and green onions for added goodness.

Dessert

I have been craving for something caramely and wanted my next treat to include raw caramel. Sounds yummy doesn’t it!? I saw a recipe for chocolate caramel cookies and was all prepped to make them…until I found these. Raw caramel chocolates. 

Yes they are just as amazing as they look and sound. What makes these different from any other raw chocolate is the texture of the chocolate itself. Instead of being that hard chocolate that cracks when you bite it and melts instantly the moment it hits your lips, this chocolate is fudgy and chewy. Whether or not Emily, the author of this recipe, intended for the chocolate to be chewy is beyond my knowing. I may have easily messed up the recipe somewhere along the way and created a whole new chocolate. Either way, I love it!! The results are a chewy tootsie-like chocolate with a creamy caramel center. The pecan adds a little nuttiness and crunch which complements the chocolate and caramel very well. The only issue I have is this: I. CAN’T. STOP. EATING. THEM. AAAH!

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Cups with Pecans

By Emily from This Rawesome Vegan Life

Makes 12 Mini Cups

 

 Prepare mini-muffin cups by lining them mini cupcake liners.

Melted Chocolate

• 1/3 cup coconut oil or cacao butter, melted (I used a mix of both)
• ½ cup coconut nectar or date paste (I used raw honey and maple syrup)
• ¾ cup cacao powder

1. In a double boiler, melt coconut oil and/or cacao butter.
2. Remove from the double boiler and add sweetener; mix til well combined.
3. Sift in the cacao powder and mix well.
4. Add 1 ½ heaping tsp to the bottom of the liners and push some of the chocolate halfway up the liners in order to coat.
5. Set in the freezer to set.

Salted Date Caramel

• ¼ cup dates
• 2 Tbsp of melted coconut oil
• ¼ - ½ cup of warm water
• Pinch of sea salt

1. In a small blender, blend the ingredients together until a thick creamy caramel has been created. I only used ¼ cup of water for a thick caramel but use as much as you need to achieve the consistency you want.
2. Remove the pan out of the freezer.
3. Add about 1 tbsp of caramel. Smooth out with your finger.
4. Top the caramel with another heaping teaspoon or so of chocolate to cover the caramel.
5. Place back in the freezer to set. 
6. Keep in the freezer until ready to devour!

Day 4 done. Of course, as you may have realized, it’s day 5 because last night I crashed before I even had a chance to write my post for the day. Lesson learned: I need my fruit for lasting energy!

*Beth*

CHALLENGER'S RECIPES

Massaged Kale Salad

By Kristin Lassonde

•  Chopped Kale
• Carrots
• Cabbage
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Tomatoes
• Onions

1. Massage kale with apple cider vinegar til soft and wilted. 
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix til combined.
3. Enjoy!

 
Green Juice

By Lucia Morrison

 

 

• 3 large handfuls of kale
• 3 large handfuls of spinach
• 1/2 inch cut cored pineapple
• 8 raspberries
• 1 clementine
• 28 blueberries

Banana Nut Butter

By Nick Lassonde

 

 

1.  Blend 1 tsp nut butter per 1 medium banana
2. Mix in cinnamon, cocoa, carob or stevia depending on flavor preference. 

OTHERS

• http://www.choosingraw.com/chocolate-avocado-sauce-and-chocolate-avocado-breakfast-salad/

 

B7DRC February 2014 - Day 3: Warm Turmeric Milk to beat the Cold Winter Snow

It’s Day 3 and yes, another snow day! It snowed heavily til noon, dropped about an inch or so of snow on the ground and then before we knew it, the sun was out and the snow had melted. Craziness! This weather… It was nice to stay in though, and relax in my pajama bottoms for the day. I definitely can NOT complain about that. :)

Today was sort of a bleh day for me. If you haven’t noticed from my previous monthly posts, this challenge and my “monthly” tend to fall during the same week. That’s why you always see me posting recipes for sweets and treats! You may have also noticed that one or two days in the week I eat little to nothing. That’s because I’m dealing with all the nasty side effects that come along with “it”. The good part about all this is that I’m motivated to eat clean and not cave into all the chocolate cravings…okay well I do give in, but with delicious, healthy, nourishing chocolate treats. ;) I’ve also learned which foods ease the pain and which foods do not. My favorites: turmeric and cacao! That’s what this journey is all about right? Learning to listen to our body and how to provide it the nourishment in needs to function properly? It’s amazing the things we learn!

As I stated before, today’s eats wasn’t as much but what I did eat was yammers!

Upon Wakening

I had another warm apple cider vinegar tea with raw honey. I needed it.

“Juice”

Have you ever noticed juice cleanses always include a nourishing milk to add substance and give your palate something to enjoy that’s heavier and a bit “fattier”? Yeah I have too. I wanted to try one for my morning juice, but I wanted it to make sure it was bursting with health benefits and not just nut milk and sugar. I recalled seeing a Turmeric Milk recipe by Gena from Choosing Raw and decided, why not! It’s new, different, warm not cold and of course, loaded with nutrients! 

This milk was exactly what I was expecting it to be: comforting and fulfilling. It was smooth, sweet and spicy…and oh so good. I perfect drink to enjoy when it’s snowing outside!

Just a few notes: The hemp milk is a bit “gritty” if you do not strain it, but they do settle pretty quickly to the bottom of glass. Feel free to do either. Also, instead of spices as seen in the original recipes, I had a tea spice mix I used that contained ginger, cardamom, etc.

Turmeric Milk

Adapted from Choosing Raw

Makes 16 ounces

• 2 cups of nut milk or 6 Tbsp of hemp seeds with 2 cups of water
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 ½ tsp of ginger spice tea mix (ginger, cardamom, black pepper, etc)
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1-2 Tbsp of raw honey or maple syrup, to taste

1. Blend all of the ingredients in a high speed blender til well blended.
2. Warm slightly over the stove.
3. Serve immediately in your favorite tea glass.

Smoothie

No smoothie today! That milk kept me full for quite a while!

Lunch

I was skimming the fridge for lunch when I noticed that I had leftover raw kale-chi in the fridge that I had purchased a couple of weeks ago at a local farm store. Kale-chi aka kimchi made with kale! It’s tangy, spicy and loaded with raw goodness. I thought hard about what I could add it to and thought, Korean noodles! Zucchini noodles with veggies tossed in a savory Garlic Hemp Asian sauce and topped with avocado and kale-chi all over mixed greens! Awesomeness!? You bet!

Raw Korean Noodles with Garlic Hemp Sauce and Kale-Chi

By Beth Mickens

Noodles

• 2 cups of mixed greens
• 1 zucchini, spiralized
• 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
• 1 green onion, sliced

Sauce

• 3-4 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbsp of hemp seeds
• 2 tbsp aminos or tamari
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp raw honey or preferred liquid sweetner

Garnishings

• ¼ avocado, sliced
• ¼ cup raw kimchi

1. In a small blender, blend together the hemp seeds, aminos, water, and honey til well blended and smooth.
2. In a small bowl add the zucchini noodles, carrots and mushrooms.
3. Pour half of the dressing and toss to combine well.
1. NOTE: If you plan on eating the next day, leave the noodles in the bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, drain the juices from the noodles then proceed with the next steps.
4. Add some mixed greens onto a plate. Top with noodle mixture.
5. Garnish with avocado, kimchi, green onions and sesame seeds.
6. Serve with additional dressing if desired.

Dinner

For the remainder of the day I sipped, no gulped, on tons of water to stay hydrated and nibbled on the rest of my brownie balls. Told ya they wouldn’t last long :P

Hopefully I’ll have more of an appetite tomorrow. 

Have a good night!

*Beth*

CHALLENGERS RECIPES

 Juice Pulp Crackers

By Kristin Lassonde 

• 3 cups juice pulp
• 3 heaping tsp ground flax seed
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 heaping tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 heaping tsp garlic powder
• 2 heaping tsp onion powder
• 2 heaping tsp paprika
• 1 tomato

1. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor
2.  You will need to add some water while processing
3. Spread out onto a dehydrator sheet. Score to desired size.
4. Dehydrate for about 24 hours.

 Sprouted Buckwheat Cereal

By Kristin Lassonde

• Dehydrate sprouted buckwheat overnight so it is dry
• Blend in a blender favorite fruit such as apples and pears with water as needed and spices such as cinnamon and stevia (Ratio of 1 piece of fruit per dehydrator sheet of buckwheat)
• Soak the sprouted dehydrated buckwheat in the fruit mixture for about 30 minutes to settle
• Spread on a dehydrator tray thinly and dehydrate until desired crunchiness is achieved
• Break into pieces in a cereal box. Feel free to make this recipe more exciting by adding mix-ins such as dry fruit, sprouts, or anything else. 

  Dessert Juice

by Lucia Morrison

• 8 Raspberries
• 8 small chunks of pineapple
• 1 clementine
• 1 small gala apple