B&DRC - October Edition: Raw Cheesey Queso and Raw-Nola that pleases.

Today is Day 3 and I’m back in the office today which means back to prepping the night before…Boo! Okay, okay I honestly can’t complain. Two days working from home IS awesome…just wish I could do it every day! Then again, I would probably be blueberry :P.

Picture courtesy of Messy Morgan's Kitchen

Today’s meals were fast to prep but equally as delicious as the previous day’s, more gourmet-esque goodies.Then again you already knew that :)

Early Morning:

Lemon tea to heal the soul…and gut.

Breakfast:

Broke the fast with yet again, another fabulous Simple Green Smoothie.  This one is called Tree Fruit and contains just that: pears and peaches!

I am very low on greens so I’m using very little in my smoothie and increasing the fruit. Not exactly the point of these smoothies but gotta modify according to what I have! 

Tree Fruit

By Simple Green Smoothies

Makes 16 ounces

• 1 cups of spinach
• 1 small, super ripe pear
• 1 cup peaches, frozen
• ½ large banana*
• 1 tbsp of coconut oil
• 1 cup water

1. Blend and enjoy!

**I added the banana for a bit of sweetness. It's not part of the original recipe.

Lunch:

My jicama tacos reminded me that I had a wonderful recipe for Sunflower Queso sitting around in my recipe book from a cooking class I had attended a few months back.  I recall the dip being full of robust, queso flavors: cheesy, tomatoes with a hint of heat. I knew I had to make it, but with what? Of course, I could have had veggie sticks and dip for lunch but what fun is that? I pondered for a moment until realizing I had a zucchini and then it hit me: Zucchini Noodles with Sunflower Queso. Simple. Sprinkled with some sprouted spicy sunflower seeds and we’re good to go.

Sunflower Queso Dip

Adapted from Lisa Jackson of Carpe Diem Wellness

Makes 2 servings

• ½ cup of sunflower seeds, soaked for 30 minutes to a couple of hours, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• ¼ red bell pepper
• ½ small tomato
• 2 tsp chickpea miso
• ½ - 1 Tbsp water
• 2 -6 tsp of nutritional yeast (I added more because I love the flavor and wanted mine extra cheesy!)
• ½ clove garlic
• ¼ jalapeno
• Pinch of chipotle powder

1. Blend in a high speed blender until well blended.
2. Serve with veggie chips, veggie sticks, or on top of a salad or noodles.

Snack:

For the last month my husband and I have been participating in some new, fun, somewhat intense activities: hiking and rock climbing. I’ve also been trying to increase my workouts, including running, but I noticed my energy levels have not been consistent. One day I'm fully energized the next day exhausted. I couldn’t figure it out so my first response was to start consuming high-carb, low-fat, energy sustaining snacks an hour or so prior to my workout. I sought out everything from smoothies, to energy balls to dehydrated treats including this delicious Almond and Coconut Raw-Nola by the beautiful and oh, so talented Gena Hemshaw from Choosing Raw. I’m still experimenting with this new pre-workout "diet" but so far the snacks are working! 

This raw-nola is not only easy to make and quick to dehydrate but it’s also loaded with energy sustaining carbohydrates, a little healthy fat and tons of protein. It’s perfect for on-the-go or at home with a bowl of bananas and almond milk, pre- or post-workout or heck just as a delicious snack! I like to keep mine in the fridge for extra crunch and just because I like it cold, but it’ll store at room temp as well. I plan on switching up the nut butters and using a chocolate nut butter next time...mmm! 

Here is the recipe for Gena’s Almond and Coconut Granola. I followed it as written. The only thing I added was a Tbsp of raw caca nibs for extra crunch and a hint of cocoa flavor because nothing is complete without chocolate!

 "Dinner":

I enjoyed yet another fabulous kombucha by MTO this time in strawberry flavor...only sad part is...I'm all out. Waaah!

And another day gone. What was on your plate on this chilly, beautiful hump day?

*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