B7DRC - October Edition: Day 1 - Raw Nachos/Tacos to Satisfy ALL Tastebuds

Its been a while since I’ve fully completed a raw challenge let alone posted about it! This year has been QUITE the busy one and while I enjoy being busy, I tend to slack on my health in the process. The last few months I’ve been focusing on me and what makes me happy. Spending time with my husband and daughter, enjoying some awesome new adventures such as hiking Old Rag Mountain, and planning my garden just to name a few. It’s been enjoyable but I miss writing posts about yummy foods and recipes so I figured what better way to get back into the groove of things then with my favorite raw challenge: Brad’s 7 Day Raw Challenge!

I miss this challenge and my body misses it too! So why wait! Who’s ready!?

Early Morning:

I finally started incorporating warm lemon water or warm ACV teas into my morning regimen. As I stated, I’ve sort of fallen off the health wagon and didn’t realize how great I feel when I drink my morning jump starter until I started the habit a little over a week ago. It sets my day just right. My system feels alive, rehydrated and ready for breakfast 30 minutes later. Why did I stop this!?

Breakfast:

I’m once again following Simple Green Smoothie’s 30 Day Smoothie Challenge and I’m loving the recipes this go around. This week is about low-fructose fruit smoothies which is perfect considering I’m a bit of a sugar addict. I’m hoping during this challenge I can break away from the growing sweet tooth I’ve developed over the last month.

Southern Swiss

By Simple Green Smoothies

Makes 16 ounces

•  ½ cup swiss chard*
• 1 cup kale*
• 1 cup water
•  ½ cup peaches, frozen
•  ½ cup strawberries, frozen
• 1 Tbsp coconut water

1. Blend the greens, water and coconut oil together until smooth.
2. Add the fruit and blend until smooth.
3. Sip and enjoy!

**I used romaine instead of dark greens due to the lack of produce I have on hand this week. Our move has forced us to shop at Wegmans at least twice a month and not to hate on them, but they carry little local and barely any organic produce! It’s a nightmare!

Snack:

My kombucha cravings are back! MTO’s is no doubt the BEST! Raspberry today!

Lunch:

Talking about busy, work has been crazy! So much so that when I work from home I barely have time to make lunch sometimes. Today I forced myself to take an hour and whip up a delicious meal. My belly was growling louder than a grizzly and I had the hangry attitude to prove it. Eating was a necessity!

My husband was begging for me to make some guacamole so I decided to go ahead and whip up some raw nachos/tacos. I had found jicama to be the perfect raw chip alternative when craving for something crunchy that can be whipped up quickly and requires no dehydration.  It serves as the perfect dip scooper too!

This nacho/taco salad is a beautiful layer of jicama chips, lettuce, chipotle salsa , guacamole and creamy hemp sour cream. It’s both refreshing and warming thanks to the spices in the salsa, and completely satisfying thanks to the healthy fats in the avocado and hemp. Once you try this dish you’ll realize corn chips and cheese are just an option….

Are you shocked this Mexican addicts first savory dish is well, Mexican inspired? Of course not..

Jicama Nachos with 

Chipotle Salsa, Guacamole and Sour Hemp Cream.

Recipe by Beth Mickens

• 1 medium sized jicama, peeled and sliced thick for chips or thinly for tacos
• ½ cup shredded lettuce
• ½ cup chopped tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes, quartered)
• ¼ small red bell pepper, diced
• 1-2 Tbsp sliced green onions
• 1 Tbsp of chopped cilantro
• Dash of chipotle
• Dash of cumin
• Dash of salt
• Guacamole (find my favorite recipe here)
• 2 Tbsp hemp seeds
• ½ Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp water
• Dash of salt

1. As instructed, peel and slice the jicama to desired thickness. Thick for chips, thin for foldable tacos.
2. In a small bowl combine the tomatoes, bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, chipotle, cumin and salt. Toss to combine, then set aside til ready to use.
3. In a small personal blender add the hemp seeds, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, water and salt. Blend until smooth.
4. To assemble, on a plate lay out 5-7 slices of jicama.
5. Pile the lettuce in the middle.
6. Top the lettuce with the salsa, then the guacamole, and finally drizzle with sour hemp cream.
7. Top with a few raw spicy pepitas if you prefer.

Dinner:

Since dinner was so late I ended up snacking on dates, raw almond butter and apples. Yumm!

Day 1 is in the bag!

*Beth*

B7DRC Day 3 - The July Edition

Happy Hump Day!! It’s also Day 3 of Brad’s 7 Day Raw Challenge and my creative juices are starting to really flow now that the move is behind me. I’m itching to get the dehydrator started and my juicer into use. I’m thinking about dehydrating some mangoes, possibly some cookies and maybe even some crackers! I’m also getting into the mode of making everything from scratch for my family including flour tortillas, which are almost impossible to find organic without them being frozen or made from multiple grains. My family has yet to let go of their favorite white flour tortillas. Change is a long journey that never ends but only improves over time. :) So here’s what I ate today as I continue my own raw lifestyle journey…

Early Morning: 

This morning I decided to grab a GT’s Trilogy kombucha as opposed to my typical lemon water.  If you have never heard of kombucha, it is, simply put, “a raw, fermented, probiotic and naturally carbonated tea.” Because of the antioxidants, probiotics, and vitamins, kombucha is said to help improve digestion, strengthen immunity, and even detoxify the body.  It’s one of my favorite drinks and one of the few drinks I will actually buy. While there are several good brands on the market I like to keep my business local. Some of my favorite local kombucha suppliers include MTO, Capital Kombucha and Barefoot Bucha, which I have YET to try! I will however, purchase me at least one GT's kombucha a week. I love the loaded fizziness and the awesome flavors (Gingerade!). I also love their chia variety as well. Chia PLUS kombucha is a total win win! If you’ve ever been curious about kombucha OR if you are trying to kick the soda habit, I highly recommend giving kombucha a try. It’s a great energy booster!

Breakfast:

For some reason the stone-fruit in my fridge was calling out to me so a nectarine, pluot and apricot it was. Honestly though, I didn’t eat the apricot after feeling guilty about “taking” it from my daughter and asking her to eat a nectarine instead. Yes. We fight over fruit in the house. There’s never enough! I know, serious mom problems. ;)

Snack:

I normally eat a large salad for dinner but since it’s raw challenge week I had to step up my game so I kept the salads for snack time. I made a quick and simple salad with romaine, carrots, green onions and tomatoes. The dressing? A raw, savory curried almond dressing. After yesterday’s raw sushi sauce fail I had to make a sauce that I knew would go great with sushi as well as with this. Mission accomplished.

Curried Almond Butter Dressing

Recipe by Beth Mickens

Makes 2 Tbsp (feel free to double or triple as needed)

• 1 Tbsp of raw almond butter
• 1 Tbsp water
• ½ lime, juiced
• 1 tsp raw honey or other liquid sweetener
• 1/8 tsp of grated fresh ginger
• 1/8 tsp grated garlic
• 1/8 tsp curry powder
• Pinch of salt

1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and serve over salad.

Lunch:

It’s Day 24 of Simple Green Smoothie’s 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge and I have to say the most recent smoothie recipes have been rocking! I know we all have different tastes and preferences but I’m loving the berries minus the tartness. This smoothie was also a bit tart; nothing a banana can't fix :)

Berry Berry Quite Contrary

Recipe by Simple Green Smoothies

Makes 16 ounces

• 1 cup kale
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup raspberries
• ½ cup blueberries
• ½ cup strawberries
• 1 small banana
• 1 Tbsp goji berries, optional garnish

1. Blend and go!

Snack:

Go figure the day I don't bring an extra snack is the day I'm starving by 3:00pm! With my tummy growling I rushed home and enjoyed a couple of figs and a spoonful of nut butter alongside a cup of warm tea as I prepped dinner. Thankfully dinner didn't take too long to make!

Dinner:

Dinner was sort of a throw together. No recipe. No plans. Just freestyle "cookin'". I knew I wanted noodles but what to make as a dressing? I was thinking a sort of pesto but lacked certain ingredients to make your typical pesto so I made an Minty Avocado Kale Dressing instead. It was rich and creamy, yet earthy, light and refreshing in taste. It paired really well with the zucchini noodles and sweet, fresh veggies. As a result the meal was nice and cooling. If you have any raw parm on hand, which I did not, add some! I think the salty, nuttiness would add another dimension and would bring the flavors out a bit more.

Zucchini Noodles with Minty Avocado Kale Dressing

Recipe by Beth Mickens

Serves 1

Zucchini Pasta

• 1 Large Zucchini, spiralized or julienned into long, noodle-like strips
• 1/2 cob of fresh, sweet corn
• 1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 green onion sliced
• Any additional spring/summer veggies you'd like to add
• Raw "parmesan" (optional)

Minty Avocado Kale Dressing

•  1/4 avocado, roughly chopped
• Handful of kale (about 1/4 cup)
• Handful of mint (about 2-3 Tbsp)
• 1 garlic clove, grated or mashed well
• 1/2 - 1 lemon, juiced
• 3-4 Tbsp water to blend
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp of raw honey (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in a small bullet-like blender and blend until smooth

To Assemble:

1. Toss zucchini noodles with dressing until noodles are well dressed.
2. Add corn, tomatoes and any other veggies and toss lightly to combine
3. Garnish with chopped green onions and a sprinkle or raw "parm" if you have any on hand.
4. Best served immediately. 

Dessert

Yep! I'm still nom nomming on them yummy almond butter cups!

And there goes Day 3!

I'm curious to know, what's your favorite noodle dish? I need more ideas :)

*Beth*

References:

http://beyondkombucha.com/about/what-is-kombucha/

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/01/what-is-kombucha.html