Brad's 7 Day Raw Challenge: January 2014 - A Better-Than-Coffee Raw Coffee Alternative. Be energized.

I’m so happy it’s FRIDAY!!! This has been one long week! My daughter as been out of school all week and both she and I are going stir crazy. I’m looking forward to a weekend where I can enjoy time with her and not her and work and everything else the weekday life always has to offer. I may however, spend some time whipping up a recipe to two to enjoy since I have more time. Flax crackers? Raw bread? Raw cake? Hmmm we’ll just have to see!

Before you get your weekend started, check out Day 5’s recipes!

Early Morning:

My throat is getting worse! Eh! Eight hours of doing nothing but breathing in and out cold, dry air does no good for a sore itchy throat. I woke up this morning wanting one thing: tea. I made a warm lemon tea with raw honey and sure enough, it did the trick. :)

Coffee:

Yes, I said coffee! A raw creamy chocolaty coffee that will wake you up and boost your energy levels. This recipe comes from the super talented Kristina from FullyRaw to help her current 21-day raw, vegan challengers overcome their urge to grab coffee as an energy booster. Instead, Kristina made this delicious caffeine free alternative to naturally awaken the body. It’s rich, sweet, earthy, slightly bitter and ridiculously addictive. After one cup I was ready to move! If you’re looking for a raw, coffee alternative, then do give this a try!

Raw  Coffee

By FullyRaw Kristina (video in link)

Makes 1-2 cups

• 1-2 cups of fresh coconut water (depending on how thin or thick you like it)
• 5-10 pitted dates, soaked if needed overnight
• ¼ cup raw carob powder (or cacao if you don’t mind the caffeine and bitterness
• A few fresh peppermint leaves
• 1 little vanilla bean or extract
• A dash of cinnamon or nutmeg
• Fresh almond milk, if you want a creamer

1. Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Pour into a coffee mug and serve with a dash of extra cinnamon

Brunch:

Today’s dessert smoothie by Simple Green Smoothies is a non-pink Pink Flamingo. It would have been pink if we didn’t add the greens but then it wouldn’t have been a green smoothie now would it? This smoothie is simple, sweet, and for those who care, banana free. Instead it’s sweetened with mango and balanced with juicy strawberries. Add some almond milk and your tropical sorbet turns into a tropical milkshake! Mmmm!

Pink Flamingo

By Simple Green Smoothies

Makes 16 ounces

• 1 cup spinach
• 1 cup mango
• ½ cup strawberries
• 1 cup almond milk

1. Blend and enjoy!

Early Dinner:

As I was browsing through Brad’s book for a new recipe, I tried to find something that included mayo to use up the extra mayo I had from making my raw deli salad. What I found was an Asian Coleslaw salad topped with a rich, savory creamy asian inspired dressing which just so happened to yes, include mayo. 

I didn’t have any cabbage on hand so I subbed leftover red leaf lettuce and shredded kale. I topped my greens with bell pepper, carrots, scallions, cilantro and a few slices of broccoli stalks. I drizzled it with a heavy dose of dressing before devouring every single morsel. It was sweet, salty, savory and so flippin’ good! Just what I was craving :)

Snacks:

In the evening I snacked on a few raw macaroons, bowl of blueberries and an apple with hemp seeds and lucuma. For some reason I had major muchies :P

Goodbye Day 5 and HELLLLLO to the weekend!!! With a wind chill in the single digits, I think Ima stay in…maybe.

Have a great weekend!!!

*Beth*

Participant Recipes

Raw Fudgsicles

By Lucia Morrison

From Brad’s Raw Made Easy

Gotta get the book for this recipe ;)

Raw Sushi Rice

By Chelsea Connelly

• ½ head of cauliflower
• 1 Tbsp raw tahini
• 1/2” knob of ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon of EVOO
• 1 teaspoon apple cider
• A few drops of honey

1. Add all of the ingredients into a food processor and process until is resembles a course rice.
2. Use it to make raw sushi!

Strawberry Chia Pudding

By Ang Roberts

• 1 Tbsp of chia seeds
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup strawberries

1. The night before, soak the chia seeds in the almond milk and leave in the fridge overnight.
2. The next day, blend the chia seeds with the remaining ingredients in a blender until thick, creamy and smooth.
3. Top with fresh strawberries and enjoy!

Raw Cheesy Tomato Salad

By Lorraine Medeiros

Marinated tomatoes, mushrooms, and bell peppers covered in raw cheese and topped with raw cashews. Does this not sound flippin’ delish!?

Chop up your favorite veggies and marinate in fresh lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, pepper, terrain fermented oregano (you can use Bragg's apple cider vinegar) and turmeric. Toss in raw cheese or grezzo "mock" cheese and top with raw cashews. Fresh, yummy and quite filling!

Fresh Tomato Dressing

By Lucia Morrison

• 1 medium tomato
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 Tbsp EVOO
• 1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice
• 2 Basil leaves

1. Blend in a blender til smooth.
2. Pour on top of a salad and enjoy!

Green Smoothie

By Ang Roberts

• 2 cups kale
•  1 cup almond milk
• 1 small apple
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 Tbsp almond butter
• 1 Tbsp cacao powder

1. Blend and enjoy!

B7DRC - October Edition: Day 4 - Eating Simply

Day 4 means we are over the halfway hump of this challenge! Yeah! I’m so happy because that means I can finally hit up the farmer’s market and grocery store because I am running low on practically everything! Thank goodness tomorrow is leftover Friday! Should be interesting… o_0

Early Morning:

Lemon Tea with a pinch of raw honey. Delish!

Breakfast:

A super energizing Simple Green Smoothie loaded with antioxidants and natural energy!

U-Pick Me Up

By Simple Green Smoothies

Makes 16 ounces

• 1 cup spinach
• 1 cup romaine
• ½ cup raspberries, frozen
• ½ cup blueberries, frozen
• 1 cup green tea, cold
• ½ ripe pear*

1. Blend and go!

**Added the pear since my daughter didn’t finish it this morning. Mommy problems :)

Lunch:

Not sure if the smoothies are just not filling or what but I’ve been getting hungry early around 10:30am or so, so an early lunch it has been!

This lunch was inspired by what was left in my fridge: oranges, beets, green onions and avocado. The combination, to me anyways, sounded perfect but what to dress it with was a whole different issue. I wanted a sweet onion dressing but I had no sweet onion and well, red onions and green onions don’t work. So I searched through my semi-empty fridge and found a quarter of a cuke and tons of mint…cucumber mint dressing? Sure. Why not.

I was right about the combination of veggies. Crunchy, creamy, juicy, sweet, and earthy with a refreshing taste thanks to the minty sweet dressing; a beautiful combination of winter produce played as a light, summery salad. Loved! 

Vibrant Winter Salad with Cucumber Mint Dressing

By Beth Mickens

• 2-3 cups mixed greens
• 1 small orange, peeled and chopped
• 1 small beet, peeled and grated
• ½ avocado
• ½ green onion, sliced
• ¼ cucumber, peeled and chopped
• Handful of mint
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp raw honey or maple syrup
• Salt
• Sprouted pumpkin seeds

1. To prepare the dressing, into a small, personal blender add the cuke, mint, hemp, lemon, honey and salt and blend on high till well blended.
2. If needed, add some water till well blended and a thick, pourable consistency has been reached.
3. For the Salad, layer in a bowl or on a plate the greens, beets, oranges, avocado and green onion.
4. Dress with cucumber mint dressing and top with sprouted pumpkin seeds before serving.

Snack:

My new sweet tooth addiction is not chocolate, but dates and nut butter! It’s definitely natures candy! I needed to use up some celery in my fridge so I thought the old, childhood classic of celery and nut butter would be perfect as a snack! But what about the ants for my log? Why not little caterpillars instead?

The idea sounds cute, but as you look at the pic you may agree with my husband who said after he glanced at my snack, “that looks like sh*t on a log”. Way to ruin it! Haha!

Caterpillars on a Log

• Celery
• Raw nut butter
• Dates, split in half

1. I think you know what to do…right?

Dinner:

I snacked on veggie sticks with leftover sunflower queso dip, dates and walnut pecan butter and had another goo goo cluster for dessert. Yumm!

Day 4 simple. easy. satisfied.

*Beth*

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*