Peaches and “Cream” Smoothie

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This is super decadent. I actually almost felt like I was eating a peach milkshake. But no! It is healthy and also delicious.

Ingredients:

  • 4 – 6 small peaches, extra ripe
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup almond milk (1 cup almonds, 3 cups water, 2 pitted dates, blend till smooth and drain in a nut milk bag)

Preparation:

  1. Blend ingredients until smooth in a vitamix or other high speed blender
  2. Enjoy!

Jicama, Watermelon, Tomato Salad

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This is really good. Though I’m starting to think that any creation you can think of with jicama would be good. This is literally what I walked home from my CSA pick up with. (Aside from the jicama which I just had at home). I totally made it up as I went. Here’s the gist:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of cubed jicama
  • 1 cup of cubed watermelon
  • 1 cup of halved or quartered cherry tomatoes
  • pumpkin seeds (added after this photo was taken)
  • loosely torn fresh mint
  • loosely torn purple basil
  • about 1 tbls. balsamic vinegar
  • about 2 tbls. cold pressed olive oil
  • salt

Preparation:

  1. Mix all ingredients except for oil and vinegar together in a bowl
  2. Toss with oil and balsamic and enjoy.

Sous Vide Vietnamese Beef Tenderloin with Cucumber, Tomato, Radish Salad

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One of my favorite things about eating mostly raw is how fine meat tastes when I eat it. 😄

The trick with this was to sous vide the meat in it’s marinade. It basically falls apart in your mouth. If you don’t have a sous vide, don’t despair!! This can also be delicious using more traditional cooking methods. Because, you definitely want to eat this.

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon packed lime zest
  • cup fresh lime juice (from about 3 limes)
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
  • 1 large jalapeño, minced
  • 1 beef tenderloin, about 1 1/2 pounds
  • 1 small seedless English cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 1 large bunch of radishes, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced

Preparation:

  1. Set your sous vide to 167 degrees F
  2. Combine the fish sauce, lime zest, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic and jalapeño in a bowl.
  3. Truss your tenderloin with butcher’s twine in 3 spots – it will make it easier to handle.
  4. Coat the bottom of a heavy skillet with oil, and heat. Once hot, add the tenderloin and sear the exterior, turning so it sears all over (just a quick exterior sear).
  5. Pour 1/2 of the marinade over the tenderloin, transfer to an airtight bag, and place in the sous vide for 3 hours. **ALTERNATIVELY ** roast the tenderloin in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 425 and cook for another 25 – 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 130.
  6. Combine the cucumber, radishes and scallions. Pour in just enough of the marinade sauce to coat.
  7. Remove meat from sous vide and give it a final searing in a skillet.
  8. Thinly slice and serve with the cucumber salad. Garnish with sesame seeds and plenty of herbs if using and serve with remaining marinade as a sauce.

 

 

Crab & Corn Salad

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So, obviously not raw. But still pretty awesome. And perfect for summer and the end of corn season, though I’m hoping she sticks around a little longer. Very simple, quick and easy salad.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound fresh crab meat, picked over for bits of shell
  • 2 Tbsp. chives, minced
  • 1 each jalapeno, seeded and minced
  • 1 Cup corn kernels, fresh
  • 1 each lime, zest and juice of
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • ¼ Cup cilantro, chopped
  • ¼ Cup  crème fraiche
  • ½ tsp.   ghole grain mustard
  • salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

 

  1. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the corn and jalapeno and cook for two minutes stirring. Spread the corn on to a plate and allow it to cool.
  2. When the corn is cool combine it with all of the other ingredients except the crab in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Gently fold in the crab meat and season to taste.

 

Raw Vegan Spring Roll Bowl with “Peanut” Dressing

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So. I knew I would like this when I saw the recipe on Rawmazing. But I kept waiting to have all the ingredients in house, and putting it off…finally I just decided to make it with whatever I had, seeing as you really can’t go wrong, if you like it and it’s crunchy, you’re good. So remember that as you look through this recipe and feel free to add whatever you’ve got and eliminate whatever you don’t!  Anyway, this is fantastic. I’m eating it right now as I type for extra inspiration. 🙂 The recipe below is what I ended up with, rather than the recipe as written, so again, I’d say to more look at this as a rough guide and then find your own way.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 5 carrots, shredded
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • 4 scallions, sliced
  • 1-2 tablespoons basil, chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 2 dates, soaked until soft (save soaking water)
  • 1/2 cup date soaking water
  • 1 habanero chili
  • 2 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
    (or tamari or shoyu)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
  • Himalayan salt and pepper to taste.
  • 1 lime, sliced

Preparation:

  1. Mix cabbage,  celery, carrots, avocado, scallion and basil in a bowl.
  2. Place almond butter, dates, date water, habanero, Bragg’s, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.
  3. Pour dressing over salad, and mix well.
  4. Squeeze lime over salad just before eating, and garnish with extra lime slices.

Bam! Healthy, hearty, and delicious.

Jicama, Avocado & Dill Salad

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So, this is incredibly delicious. I’ve been bringing it in for lunch and it keeps me full through till dinner. Also, it makes me feel good, like doing cartwheels when I’m done eating. THAT’S how I like to feel when a meal is over. Like doing cartwheels. Otherwise, not really worth it, right?

So. Make this. And eat it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cashews, soaked 6+ hours, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 lemon, juice from
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon agave or liquid sweetener of choice
  • 2 teaspoons dried mustard
  • Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 avocados, mashed
  • 2 tablespoons dill
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 large jicama, cubed
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced
  1. Mix cashews, lemon juice, olive oil, agave, dried mustard, salt and pepper together in high-speed blender. Blend until smooth, creating a “mayo”.
  2. Mix “mayo” into mashed avocado.
  3. Toss together with remaining ingredients.

 

Cucumber Noodles with Dijon Thyme Vegan Cream Sauce

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Now that I understand about cashew cream sauce, the possibilities are limitless. It is so delicious!! It feels like you’re eating something bad for you. But, it’s totally not bad for you at all!!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cashews, soaked in water until soft, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon miso
  • 1 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon plum vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • Himalayan salt and pepper
  • 3 – 4 cucumbers
  1. Place all ingredients except thyme in high-speed blender. Blend until smooth.
  2. Pour into a large bowl and stir in thyme, salt and pepper
  3. Scrub the cucumbers and spiralize.
  4. Add noodles to the sauce and toss to incorporate.

Mark Bittman’s Asian Cucumber Soup

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This recipe is fantastic. I happened to have some really good ingredients for it, which helps, since this is basically a simple, easy recipe for a hot summer day. You can pretty much always trust Mark Bittman to keep it simple, classy and delicious. Get it on the NY Times here.

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium cucumbers
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice-wine orwhite-wine vinegar
  • 1 small chili, stemmed, seededand minced, or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne,or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 3 cups chicken stock, chilled
  • ½ cup minced scallions, both white and green parts
  • 1 cup chopped watercress or arugula (optional)
  • 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro, mint, Thai basil or a combination.

Preparation:

  1. Peel cucumbers, then cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Slice cucumbers as thinly as possible (a mandoline is ideal for this). Mix them in a large bowl with soy sauce, vinegar, chili and sugar, then refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
  2. Add stock, scallions, watercress or arugula if you like, and stir. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Just before serving, garnish with herb or herbs of your choice.

Et voila! You’re done!! Want to make it veggie? Use vegetable stock! Want to make it vegan? Use shoyu or aminos, agave or honey and 3 cups vegan chik’n stock, chilled (Edward & Sons Not-Chick’n Bouillon) Is that stuff raw? I don’t know. But dang this is yum.

 

 

Cucumber Noodles with Vegan Basil Cream Sauce, Tomatoes & Pine Nuts

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OK, a couple things.

  1. I had never thought about a cashew cream sauce. This is an amazing idea and it opens a world of possibilities. A WORLD!!! I owe it all to Rawmazing. Thank you, rawmazing. The cashew cream is truly a miracle.
  2. This is terrific.

That’s really all I have to say about it. It’s simple and perfect, just the way it is. You can find the recipe on Rawmazing here. Or just read on and I will tell you everything.

Ingredients:

Basil Vegan Cream Sauce:

  • 1 cup cashews, soaked until soft (a few hours or overnight)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon white miso
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
  • 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, coarsly chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Noodles:

  • 3-4 cucumbers
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts
  • 1 cup basil vegan cream sauce
  • Fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

  1. Blend cashews, water, lemon juice, and miso until smooth.
  2. Add chopped garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Blend on lowest speed to incorporate. You should still see the chopped basil leaves.
  3. Spiralize the cucumber noodles.
  4. Pat the noodles dry with paper towels.
  5. Stir in the sauce, tomatoes and pine nuts.
  6. Top with fresh ground pepper.

That’s all there is to it. So, so good.