Rawfully Good

HAPPY NEW YEARRRRRR!

2011-12-31T20:59:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

Vegan Chocolate-Banana Cupcakes

2011-04-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

I've recently become passionate about creating a perfectly yummy chocolate vegan cupcake

(...this interest sparked shorty after I watched cupcake wars...shhhhhh!). Last night I made a batch...

WOW! they were amazing. They are 100% vegan, not raw (although I plan to switch to a 100% raw

diet again VERY soon). My mouth is DROOLING while I write about these amazing chocolate filled

cupcakes.

I use fresh banana in my batter to keep the cupcakes nice and moist. I can't even tell that banana has

been added to this dessert (health benefit!)

VEGAN - CHOCOLATE - BANANA - CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut milk (or almond milk)
1/2 cup ripe banana (about 1 banana)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup agave
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon lemon zest
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

In a small bowl, mash the banana with a fork. Whisk in the coconut milk, sugar, oil, lemon zest and vanilla extract until incorporated. Mixture will still be a little lumpy because of the nature of the banana, but whisk out as many large lumps as you can. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in banana mixture. Stir until just smooth (do not overmix).

Pour into liners, filling each with 3 tablespoons of batter (cups should be no more than 2/3 full). Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

I made up a quick vegan frosting:
-two handfuls of cashews
-1/4 cup chocolate powder
- some agave
- vanilla extract
- lemon zest
- coconut water
- coconut butter
mix in a food processor, adding more elements (more zest? sweeter?) to taste.

blissful oatmeal raisin cookies

2010-08-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

beach picture from Greece

Last Thursday I made RAW Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. OH SO GOOD! Even better tasting when you are watching Project Runway on Thursday nights.... yum. So! the recipe I used is from Love Veggies and Yoga. Her recipe is called Averie's Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls, but I had NO chocolate (still out... sad face) so I used raisins instead of Chocolate Chips. They were amazingly good! Here is the recipe - Averis's main idea with my twist. :) Enjoy! Happy lingering days of summer :)

no.......its not what you are thinking. these are raisins. stop that dirty mind of yours.

Raw Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2/3 c raw cashews
1/3 c oats
2 Tbsp Agave
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup (Omit and use Agave to preserve true Raw Status if you care)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 c Raisins
Recipe Yields: Approximately 12 Cookie Dough Balls

In a food processor combine nuts, oats, Agave, Maple Syrup and Vanilla Extract. Blend well.

With your hands kneed in the raisins to the cookie dough. Form into balls - eat. Good? Thought so. Better then your Grandmothers? Maybe?!

BYE FOR NOW :) xoxo

Caesar

2010-07-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

okay, fail. the 80/10/10 diet did not work for me :( i lasted just 1 (!!!) day. soooooooo i'm back to eating just raw. i just finished making dinner for tonight and made:

raw Caesar salad

 nutty goodness to top off the salad (like chicken....)

grapefruit, orange, banana, blueberry smoothie 

nut bread for tomorrow, we are going on a mini road trip and will need a snack

maybe i'll make a dessert........................maybe :P

OKAY! SO what Caesar salad dressing recipe did I use? The Sunny Raw Kitchen dressing, really great.

Caesar Salad Dressing: 
Makes  1 pint of thick dressing that will keep fresh for a week.

I usually make 1/2 of the amount listed below, 1 pint is too much.

5 tablespoons raw tahini
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 nice clove garlic
2 green onions, or 1/4 cup sweet onion
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup or 3 soft dates, pitted
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1-2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
1-2 teaspoons sea salt or to taste
2 tablespoons good olive oil (optional)
fresh water, 2 tablespoons at a time as necessary to blend

In a blender or Vita Mix: Blend tahini, pine nuts, tamarind, garlic, green onion or minced onion, lemon juice, vinegar, maple syrup or dates, nutritional yeast, black pepper and sea salt, adding oil and fresh water, 2 tablespoons at a time as necessary to blend until very smooth.

Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

I put this dressing on romaine lettuce, with some tomatoes, apples, raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, nuts, mushrooms, veggies... SO GOOD.

 Alright, tata for now :)

XOXO

80/10/10

2010-07-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

HELLO! Wow, once again I've neglected to post on this blog. Just a quick update: Europe was amazing! The food there was fabulous. When we ordered dishes at restaurants we always knew we would enjoy yummy healthy food, unlike in America where you never know what could be in the food you order. The grocery stores (grocery stores there were about 1/10 the size of a Shaw's or Stop and Shop) in Europe were stocked with descent food, not processed.The best part was the fruit, 1 Kilo (2.2 pounds) of cherries or strawberries would cost about $4.50. Once we got back to America we were shocked to see the price of cherries in the grocery store: for 1 pound of cherries you could end up paying around $10.00 - NO wonder the majority of Americans are obese and can't afford to eat fruits and vegetables. Anyways....... Europe was amazing, my summer is going well and I've changed up my diet a bit. 

SO - TODAY I have officially begun the 80/10/10 diet (80% fruit, 10% veggies, 10% 'fat'), this is a far more extreme version of the Raw/Vegan diet (except hardly any nuts or oils). As an athlete I've decided to try this diet out to see if it helps my performance as a soccer player, runner. We'll see how it goes, updates to come :)

 So far today I've eaten:

Breakfast: 1/2 (maybe a little less) of a watermelon

Lunch: Peachy Keen drink: 4 peaches, 3 bananas, 2 cups of water, 1 handful of ice - mix in Vita-Mix.

Dinner: I will be having a tomato, mango soup and a salad with mango, pepper and tomato.......yum?

This is purely experimental! So far so good/yummy!

Okay, that it for now. Have a great summer day! 

XOXO

traveling

2010-05-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

hello hello! february? really! thats the last time i posted on this blog!! well, lets change that NOW :)

i'm in Greece right now and the fruit is absolutly devine. near our apt. we can get 1 kilo of strawberries for 2.50 euro.....cheap! cherries & grapes too! yum yum yum .

just noticed this tab that creates different text - only happens in greece ... - look at this : ही इ'म टाइपिंग थिस राईट नो, नात हुह? വെഇര്ദ ത്ത്... వౌజేర్స్ థిస్ ఇస్ నేఅట్. ഗോ അവി ഫ്ലൈ. talk to you soon ... :) xoxo

ice cream

2010-02-17T09:27:00.000-08:00

I have a new FAVORITE snack. I present.... Strawberry - Banana Ice Cream! So healthy and y-u-m-m-y!

xoxo

COCO

2010-01-25T15:08:00.000-08:00

I recently stumbled upon a new raw dessert site. Some of the recipes look pretty delicious... see for yourself - http://www.therawdessert.com/.
Also, I found this GREAT raw peppermint pattie recipe that we are all IN LOVE WITH! We served them during the holidays... everyone went GAGA over them. YUMMY!
This recipe tells you to melt chocolate from bakers chocolate to make the base, which is fine. But not raw. So, I simply mix cocoa powder (chocolate powder) with some coconut butter, agave and some vanilla extract. View the recipe here. You will need to scroll down towards the middle of the page to get to Love Veggie Yoga's pattie recipe. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

sprinkles

2010-01-10T19:07:00.000-08:00

I know! It's been a century since I last wrote. SORRY! Recipes to come!

YUM? I made this today, just not in the kitchen :)

xoxo

p.s. HAPPY 2010! WOOT!

Merry

2009-12-23T12:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays! 1 1/2 days until the BIG day!
We just purchased a NEW AMAZING SUPERB FANTASTIC FAST Vita-Mix (model 5200). It grinds EVERYTHING! Super super great. Here is a SUPER yummy drink that we make all of the time with the 5200.

In your Vita-Mix place:
1 cup grapes
1 orange (peeled)
1 banana
1 carrot
1 cup pineapple
2 cups spinach
1 apple
2 cups ice
water if needed
GRIND! And voila, you have a lovely drink.

Happy Holidays EVERYONE!!!!!!!!
xoxo

f-u-n-n-y

2009-12-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

I found this raw food video today, pReTtY f-u-n-n-y!!
Click on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3xOU2tLl7g

YAY!!

1st b-day ~ photos from the year

2009-12-02T12:21:00.000-08:00

lemon & chocolate boats

fruity

raspberry tart

corn ragout and pesto stuffed mushrooms

Mushroom topping for ragout
chocolate orange cake, topped with freshly picked juicy red strawberries

colorful salad

FRESH tomato gazpacho

Asian carrot & sweet pea slaw/salad

sweet apple pie

raspberry tart

meat loaf right out of the dehydrator/oven :P

chocolate chip dough ballsfreshly picked flowers!!

1st Birthday... continued

2009-12-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

I posted this kale recipe last April in my ''helpful guide to newbies''. It truly is yummy and I have the urge to repeat it, so enjoy!

Kale Salad

1 bunch of kale
3 peeled carrots
1 peeled beet
1 avocado (optional)
1/4 raisins
1/4 walnuts

Take the spines of of the kale leaves. In a salad bowl sprinkle the kale with sea salt. Let sit for about 1/2 hour or until you have finished cutting up the carrots and beets.

Dressing
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lemon
3 TBS. Olive Oil
1 tsp. sea salt

Pour dressing all over the kale. Add carrots, beets, raisins, nuts and avocado to the bowl.
Let the dressing sit on the leaves (''cook'' - brake down the roughness from the leaves) for about two hours.
EAT and eNjOy!

BIRTHDAY!!!

2009-12-02T06:09:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAWFULLY GOOD!!
(2 days late... sorry!!)

I have had a super fun year sharing recipes with all of you readers, whoever you may be.
Since it's RAWFULLY GOOD'S 1st Birthday I guess I better whip up some yummy
goodies to eat... stay tuned :)
xoxo

OMG

2009-11-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

Last night I found my new lover: CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES! Now, these are no ordinary truffles, these are HEAVEN! AND they are extremely easy to make - anyone (even meat eaters, raw food haters) will adore these jewels. I got the recipe from Raw Food to the Rescue, thank you!! Enjoy!!

R a w T r u f f l e s

In a food processor grind:
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup walnuts
into a fine dust.
Add to the nuts:
1 cup dates
1/4 cup raw cocoa
Mix well.
Take the dough and form small ball shapes (makes about 20 balls) with your hands.
Tasty, no?
Enjoy!
I also made this tasty salad last night. I cut potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and
garlic into bite size pieces and then sprinkled some olive oil, salt, pepper, sage and fresh
rosemary on the veggies. I popped them into the preheated (400F) oven and 30mins. later
they were tender, crunchy veggies. I must say - it is quite hard to eat root veggies (like potatoes) when you are raw. Once in a while we will cook up some roasted veggies like this - still vegan.

I then took the roasted veggies and mixed them in with my salad (lettuce, mushrooms, broccoli, Dijon mustard homemade dressing, scallions). Extremely good!

Have a lovely weekend... even though it's POURING cats and dogs here... oh well... more time to do crafts and the like.

:)

sweet

2009-11-08T08:25:00.000-08:00

What will I be making this sunny Sunday afternoon? Well, after skimming Rawdorables blog and clicking on a link I found myself at loveveggiesandyoga's blog. WOW! This lady has g-r-e-a-t recipes. I have decided to make her wicked easy chocolate chip cookies and apple pie. Oh! and her kale chips, sweet potato fries and salads all look a-m-a-z-i-n-g too.
Check out Love Veggies and Yoga and all of her yummy recipes.
Any raw ideas for Thanksgiving?
May favorite fruit right now is.... clementines!!

Go Vegans Go!

2009-10-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

"Jonathan Safran Foer's book Eating Animals changed me from a twenty-year vegetarian to a vegan activist.

"
Natalie Portman has written an essay about why she has become a vegan, how horrific we are treating animals and why we should STOP eating animals all together. Go Vegans Go!

You can read the entire article on the Huff Post!

crave?

2009-10-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

While eating raw, do you ever crave a bowl of chips or some sugar filled dessert? Well I hear you and so do some clever bloggers:

Over at Rawdorable you can explore the many breakfast ideas she shares in this post.
Rawdorable shares her take on waffles, pancakes, cereal, sausage and muffins.

Or you can jump on over to Thesunnyrawkitchen and enjoy some yummy snacks.
Sunny Raw shares some of her ideas on the standard chip and some delicious sandwiches.
And for a little EYE CANDY (!) check out these AWESOME desserts!! I know this blog has nothing to do with ''food'' but I think it's a hoot to read:
http://tavi-thenewgirlint own.blogspot.com/NEW RECIPES coming soon :P
xoxo

October

2009-10-05T10:44:00.001-07:00

New Recipes coming soon!

peachy

2009-08-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

August - the perfect time of year for a succulent peach. Our two peach trees have produced some lovely little peaches that taste wonderful. Here is a raw peach cobbler that could be eaten as a breakfast, a mid-day snack or as a rustic dessert. Yum- enjoy!

++++=

1. in a food processor grind 1 1/2 cups walnuts + 1/2 cup cashews +
4-5 dates + a few drops of agave nectar + a few drops of water.
2. place mixture in a pie tart
3. cut 2 peaches and place on nut crust
4. sprinkle with chopped walnuts - enjoy.

savory

2009-08-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

R A W Spanish Eggs

eggs
1 1/2 cups almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 large clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
sprinkle of pepper

In a food processor combine all ingredients. Don't over mix. Make sure there are a few small chunks. If the mixture is too dry, add water. If it's too wet, add nuts.

etc.
fold in the following ingredients with the egg mixture.
6 basil leaves - chopped
1 cup tomato (baby tomatoes are nice and sweet)
1/4 cup scallions
Pinch of salt

assemble
on a small plate lay out a bed of spinach
take an ice cream scoop or a large spoon and form a ball of
''egg'' onto the bed of spinach
sprinkle mixture with fresh pepper, basil.
ENJOY!

Breakfast

2009-08-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

(our baby kittens - Wesley and Mimosa)

This month our garden is PACKED with amazing cherry tomatoes, 15 huge plants of basil - which = endless batches of fresh pesto, lots of kale, lettuce, peaches and berries. I now deliver you two super yummy breakfast recipes. One sweet and one savory. Enjoy :)

Fruity-Coco
1. Make chocolate mixture = base.
2. Cut up fruit and fill in bowl.
3. Add nuts and raisins to the top.
Enjoy.

mix the following ingredients in the food processor. Start with the nuts, then add other ingredients.
1 cup almonds (soaked in water for about 15 mins.)
1 cup cashews
3 strawberries
3 TBS. chocolate powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup dates
sprinkle of coconut flakes
YOU CAN ADD ANYTHING TO THIS MIXTURE! GO WILD! BE FREE & CREATIVE!
you could add....Orange zest, salt, agave nectar,water, more nuts... a different fruit (a.k.a no strawberries)...anything. If the mixture seems too dry add water or orange juice. If the mixture is too wet, add some nuts or ground sun flower seeds.

Take four small bowls, your chocolate mixture. Form the chocolate mixture in the bowls. Like the picture below:

Fruit Part!
Cut up any fruit you would like:
example:
Bananas
Berries
Kiwi
Peaches
Apple
Melon
Cherries

Now, take your chocolate bowl and fill it with your chopped fruit.
Then sprinkle your chocolate/fruit with chopped nuts, raisins, coconut, goji berries... anything you wish. Have fun :P
You can set up your breakfast "buffet style" so that your family/guests can choose their own fruit. Enjoy with a nice pot of iced tea. Yum.
Enjoy with a nice pot of tea.

Y U M M Y !

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER

2009-06-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Happily I will report that it is strawberry season! Today I went with my mom and sister to a local farm where we picked 44 pounds of deliciously sweet - amazingly fresh (oh! and did I mention juicy?) strawberries. We picked the ruby red fruit for about an hour, sitting on the soft hay that lined the many rows. Of course that is simply a start for us... we will pick many more pounds so we can enjoy the special fruit during the cold winter. If you too are a fan of strawberries please take a look at this site to find a farm that provides 'PYO' fruit near you.

In this photo, you can see the strawberries lined up on the cookie tray,
almost ready to be frozen (this way the berries will not stick together in the bag).

To accompany the berries you can make lovely little circular almond strawberry short cakes.
VERY tasty!

In a food processor grind:
1 cup cashews

Add the following ingredients to the cashews and
grind in the food processor.

1 cup lightly packed almond pulp (ground almonds)
1/4 cup agave
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 pinches of sea salt
** you can also add 1/4 cup cacao nibs, if you like.**

Drop spoonfuls onto a plate or cutting board and press dough to flatten.
If the mixture seems too moist for your enjoyment, simply place cookies
on a Teflex sheet and place in the dehydrator at 115F for a few hours.

Top cookies off with strawberries and ENJOY!
YUMMY!

blooming peonies

june already?

2009-06-08T08:11:00.001-07:00

hello!

my my... it has been a FULL month since my last rawfully good post.
i've been drinking MANY fruit smoothies for breakfast. they are so fresh tasting...i've become a hound for them :)
also, i've been learning about the 80/10/10 diet (more extreme then a raw foods diet)
...contemplating whether to try it...

i'll get a new recipe up soon!

oh! my sister made amazing raw chocolate chip cookies yesterday, fantastic.

xoxo

happy

2009-05-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my little sister! She turned 13 yesterday and I made her two delicious raw cakes!
Watermelon Cake (thanks to "Living the Fruity Life" blog) - slice rind off of the watermelon, cut into layers. Decorate with fruit.

Chocolate Cake (for more elaborate details check out this online book!) - double this chocolate cake recipe. Make a chocolate frosting and a orange ''cream'' frosting, (to make the frosting thick, add nuts - like walnuts) layer. Top the cake off with berries!

Everyone LOVED the cakes!

enjoy!!
xoxo

YUMMY!!

spring green salad

2009-04-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

while studying my spelling words at lunch today i munched on a marvelous salad. the dressing i used is new to me - it tasted great.

Spring Green Salad
dressing:
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon honey
some course salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

drizzle the dressing on a bed of salad greens.
add any vegetables to the salad.
mushrooms
snap peas
broccoli
cauliflower
tomatoes
scallions
avocado
apple
basil
enjoy :)
yyyyyyyyyyummy

xoxo

beginning tips

2009-04-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

When you first begin eating a 100 % raw diet you will be very excited and interested in learning EVERYTHING about a raw life style. But after about two weeks you may find that you have fallen into a rut, unsure what to eat and tired of spending SO much time on a recipe. I'm going to make a list of a few quick snacks that can definitely fill you up!

Just to clear things up, eating a 100% raw diet consists of RAW fruit, vegetables, nuts and sprouted products such as chick peas (garbanzo peas) and barley. NO Dairy, Breads, Meat, Coffee or Alcohol.

I love to eat a cut up apple with some raw almond butter or raw peanut butter (raw peanut butter is hard to find). When purchasing almond butter (best place TRADER JOE'S) make sure there is only ONE ingredient listed. Almonds.
Another favorite of mine is chocolate power balls. When I know I'll be out of the house all day, I pack at least four of these amazing chocolate balls and munch on them when I feel hungry.
You can buy Lara Bars (raw power bars) at most grocery stores. They come in MaNy flavors and taste great.
Every morning we make a smoothie for breakfast.
Mainly all we eat during the day are pieces of fruit (apples, oranges, bananas) and that can fill us for most of the day.
Sometimes all we eat for dinner is dessert. Yes. The desserts are simply fruit, sometimes raw cocoa and nuts.
We make a MEAN humus and pesto oh! and guacamole, all raw. We eat humus a lot - with cut up carrots.
When we first began eating raw my family and I were lost after the first month. We had no idea what to eat! One weekend we happened to go into a health food store and it so happens that the women who owns the business has been eating raw for many years. She also sold many raw items in her store and was very helpful. She sent us away with a few recipes and bags full of yummy food. She gave us this kale salad recipe that I never tire of. Eat this salad for dinner or lunch!

Kale Salad

1 bunch of kale
3 peeled carrots
1 peeled beet
1 avocado (optional)
1/4 raisins
1/4 walnuts

Take the spines of of the kale leaves. In a salad bowl sprinkle the kale with sea salt. Let sit for about 1/2 hour or until you have finished cutting up the carrots and beets.

Dressing
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lemon
3 TBS. Olive Oil
1 tsp. sea salt

Pour dressing all over the kale. Add carrots, beets, raisins, nuts and avocado to the bowl.
Let the dressing sit on the leaves (''cook'' - brake down the roughness from the leaves) for about two hours.
EAT and eNjOy!

Here is a list of a few fabulous raw ''cook'' books.
http://www.alissacohen.com/
https://www.oneluckyduck.com/product-details.php?id=87
https://www.oneluckyduck.com/category-list.php?id=3
http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Chocolate-David-Wolfe/dp/0965353397

JUST DO IT! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE? You will be soooooooooo healthy, beautiful (did i mention your skin becomes soooooo soft from eating raw?), thin, energized (and not from coffee) and happy!
xoxo

eggplant ravioli

2009-04-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

yummy!

1. Peel the eggplant and slice 1/8'' thick rounds (thin) with a sharp knife or a mandoline-- the top half of the eggplant has less seeds, but is usually smaller in diameter--about 1 inch down from the top is the sweet spot. You will need at least 16 slices - so just slice the whole eggplant.

2. In a bowl salt the eggplant for about 30 minutes to break down the cell walls (this step will produce lots of liquid from the eggplant). After 30 mins. rinse the salt off of the eggplant, pat dry, and place the slices in a large (non-reactive) dish in a single layer if possible (overlapping slightly is fine).

3. Marinade
In a bowl whisk together the following ingredients:

1 TBS. Olive Oil
3 TBS. Lemon Juice (fresh!)
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. minced garlic

Pour the marinade all over the eggplant slices. Marinate for one hour, flipping the eggplant over half way through.

4. Filling

1 cup walnuts
1 tesp. oregano
1 tesp. thyme
2 cloves mined garlic
1 TBS. Nama Shoyu
1 TBS. olive oil

While the eggplant is marinating, add all of the ingredients into the Food Processor or Vita-Mix and pulse until the walnuts have broken down into very small pieces and all of the ingredients have begun to stick together. Check the seasoning. Don't eat it all :)

5. Assembly
Remove the eggplant slices from the dish and pat dry. Lay an eggplant round in front of you and scoop about 1-2 tsp. of the filling into the center, be sure not to over stuff. Fold the top of the eggplant round over the filling and press down firmly on the edges to seal the ravioli. Repeat.

Place the eggplant raviolis on a dehydrator tray and dehydrate from about 6-7 hours at 105F-- flipping about halfway through. The edges should be crisp but moist inside...

EAT!
The raviolis taste excellent when they are accompanied by this dipping sauce:
"Peanut" Sauce
1/2 cup raw cashew butter
1/4 cup dates
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1/4 Nama Shoyu
1/4 cup raw almonds, chopped

Combine cashew butter, dates, orange juice and Nama Shoyu in a blender or Vita-Mix, blend until creamy. Fold in almonds.
Makes 2 3/4 cups of yummy 'peanut'' sauce.

ENJOY!!

xoxo

pizza?

2009-04-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to YOU ALL!

I love to thumb through raw blogs, and got particularly inspired when I came across this fabulous blog:
http://rawgoddessheathy.blogspot.com/
Her desserts look and taste aMaZiNg! All of her posts opened my mind to the possibilities of eating raw and discovering new ways to prepare completely live food. Take a peek at her blog!

It is high time for all of you to enjoy my raw pizza recipe. Mhhhhh! It is so tasty.

PIZZA DOUGH
(about 5 hours for dehydration)

2 cups ground flax seed (grind in a coffee grinder, hey! it works)
1/2 cup onion (one small red or yellow onion) - chopped
2 celery stalks - chopped
1 carrot - chopped
2 scallions - chopped
1 large tomato - chopped
2 large cloves garlic - chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup water

In a food processor combine the onion, celery, scallions, carrot and tomato.
Grind very well.
Add the flax, garlic, salt and water last. This mixture is very thick and becomes even thicker once you add the flax. It sure helps to grind the veggies first, then add the flax and water - helping everything mix together more fluidly.
Shape the dough into small circles (about 7 inches) on a Teflex sheet on top of a mesh dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate pizza crust for about two hours at 105 degrees, then flip onto a mesh dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for three hours or until the dough is hard (ish).

TOMATO SAUCE

2 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes
12 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked
3 dates, pitted and soaked
1/4 olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/8 of a teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon sea salt

In a food processor combine all of the tomato sauce ingredients and blend smooth.
Set sauce aside.

RAW CHEESE

1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup macadamia nuts (optional, use another nut instead - such as walnuts)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 red bell pepper - chopped
1/2 peeled lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos

In a food processor combine all of the cheese ingredients and blend until they are smooth and creamy.

TO ASSEMBLE PIZZA:

Remove crust circles from dehydrator.
Spread cheese on crusts. Then spread the tomato sauce on top of the crust and cheese.

DECORATE:
Top the pizza off with pieces of fresh basil, spinach, pine nuts, marinated eggplant (1 clove garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 lemon and 3 TBS olive oil. marinate eggplant), and other veggies - go WILD!

FINISH:
Place the pizza back in the dehydrator at 105 and dehydrate for another hour. If you want the pizza to become strong wait until the liquids from the toppings are all dehydrated.

ENJOY!!! (yes, all of this work WILL pay back. this recipe is unbelievable yummy!)

hop hop hop!

xoxo

chocolate dreams

2009-04-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

hello hello hello!

last night i made a raw chocolate-orange-lemon cake that is to die for.
the bitter tang from the lemons mixed with the chocolate and sweet agave
makes a prize cake full of rich dreamy flavors. i like to top the cake off with
a creamy ''frosting'' that tastes exactly like real whipped cream, amazing.
lastly- i enjoy fruit on my cakes and like to add strawberries or kiwi to add
decoration and taste to the cake. enjoy!

Almond Chocolate Cake

cake:
In a food processor combine the following ingredients, mixing well.
1 cup almonds
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 tablespoon agave or honey
1/2 cup chopped or crushed dates, socked for an hour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cocoa powder
zest from an orange peel
~~
If the mixture is not firm enough add some coconut flakes to the cake.
~~
Form the mixture into a circle (cake shape) on a plate.
~~
MIX in a food processor:
(frosting)
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup coconut butter
2-3 tablespoons agave or honey
juice from on medium lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~~
Spread across the top of the chocolate cake.
Decorate with fruits if desired.
Serve and enjoy!

xoxo

Mighty Aphrodite

2009-02-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

Mighty Aphrodite

3 & 1/4 cups almond nut milk
1/4 tesp. Maca
1/4 tesp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 tesp. Cardamom
1/4 tesp. Nutmeg
1/4 tesp. Powdered Clove
1/4 tesp. salt
1/2 tesp. Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Honey
1 tablespoon coconut butter
2 tesp. Phenalmin Powder (optional)
1/4 cup coconut flakes (optional)
a pinch of pepper
2 tablespoons Chocolate powder

Pour the nut milk into a Vita-Mix or Blender. Add all of the ingredients and mix well.
Enjoy!
This power chocolate drink tastes amazing and makes you feel amazing, for sure.
The green color comes from the Phenalmin
Powder, which is optional.
xoxo

salad

2009-02-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Today I made a stunning raw salad. With the sharp taste of balsamic vinaigrette and the sweet from the sliced orange, the tastes molded together in a extremely delightful way.
Yesterday we made some MORE pesto. I added some to my salad today and it tasted so complex. YUM!

Salad:

1 orange
6 mushrooms, sliced
some cut cauliflower
some cut broccoli
2 scallions, sliced
handful of sliced almonds
handful of raisins
a tablespoon of pine nuts

Mix all of the ingredients for the salad in a bowl.

Dressing:
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl add the all of the ingredients, mix.

Spread the dressing over the vegetables.

Place 1/2 a head of lettuce and 1 cup of spinach on top of the vegetable mixture.

You can add a few tablespoons of pesto to the salad, if you like.

ENJOY!

xoxo

green

2009-01-14T11:03:00.000-08:00

I have been reading Victoria Boutenko's most recent book Green for Life which focuses on health and the importance of eating greens everyday. She believes that it is more important to eat a quart of greens everyday rather then being 100% raw. I have tested a few of her green drinks and have found one drink to be quite amazing: Spinach, bananas, apples, water and 1/2 a lime-- with the peel! Yum.

A few days ago I made a wonderful fruit smoothie out of:

2 bananas

1 mango

1 kiwi

and some lime

Mix well in the blender.

Of course you can add anything to a smoothie...

I'm excited to learn more about raw green smoothies.

xoxo

Raw Candy

2009-01-09T12:20:00.001-08:00

These little treats are super healthy and delicious. These "balls of heaven" are made from many super foods and appeal to many people that are not raw eaters. These balls are easy to travel with and are delightfully filling. Before my soccer games or orchestra rehearsal I eat a couple of these mighty balls and I fell quite energized.

Super Duper Balls

BASE:

1 cup honey

1 cup ground sun flower seeds (may need more if balls are not sticking together)

1 cup raisins

1 cup almond butter (or home ground raw peanut butter)

GOODIES:

1/4 cup goji berries

1/4 hemp seeds

1/4 cup walnuts

2 tablespoons raw coco powder

2 tablespoons maca

~this is a mixture of yummy berries and nuts. if you want to add anything - example - raw prunes, raw cherries, raw apricots or coconut flakes... FEEL FREE! mix & match- mix & match!~

Place all of the "goodies" into a bowl, mix. Next add the base- except the honey.

Mix well. Now add the honey. All of the ingredients should form into a thick ball.

If the mixture had too much liquid add more sunflower seeds.

Take about a tablespoon of ''dough'' and form it into a ball with your hands. Should make about twenty four amazing treats.

Add a bit of flair:

You can also sprinkle the balls with ground coconut flakes, hemp seeds or ground sunflower seeds.

Eat and Enjoy!

xoxo

pizza bites

2009-01-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

Good Afternoon - just placed a batch of yummy mini ''pizzas'' into the dehydrator.

These mini pizzas are incredibly easy to make and have an outstanding taste.

To make the pizzas you must make the red sauce to smear on top off the zucchini "dough".

RED SAUCE

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1-2 fresh tomatoes, diced

1/4 of a small onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon agave nectar

2 teaspoons sea salt

1-2 cloves of garlic

In a Vita-Mix or high speed blender add all of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Peel the skin from 2-4 zucchinis. Dice into small circles about 1/4 inch thick. Place zucchini rounds onto a dehydrator sheet.

With a spoon place a small amount of red sauce onto the zucchini rounds. Place the dehydrator sheet with the zucchini into the dehydrator at 110f for 3-4 hours, or until the zucchini has wilted slightly.

You can also put pesto on the zucchini as well as red sauce.

ENJOY!

(my mom's hand:)

xoxo

Lovely Winter Snack

2009-01-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

Basil has a distinctive and strong taste that can accompany most savory meals. My favorite basil mixture is Pesto. Basil mixed with nuts garlic and salt and formed into a thick paste is a perfect treat. I love to stuff mushrooms with pesto to create a taste sensation.

PESTO

2 cups basil

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup pistachios

1/2 tesp. salt

3 cloves garlic

In a food processor mix nuts, oil, salt and garlic. Next add the washed basil to the nut/oil mixture. Mix until basil is completely ground and the pesto is smooth.

Next- with your fingers pluck the stems from a bunch of button mushrooms.

With a spoon scoop a little bit of the delicious pesto into the belly of the mushroom.

Place stuffed mushrooms onto a dehydrator sheet and place in the dehydrator at 110f for 2-3 hours or until the mushrooms and pesto have become slightly hard.

Enjoy this astonishingly delicious pesto treat! If you have left over pesto dip carrots, broccoli or any other veggie into it.

YUMMY!

xoxo

Ice, Mexico and Hummingbird Cafe.

2009-01-05T11:26:00.001-08:00

Hello! I'm back after surviving an ice storm in New England and then a trip to Mexico where I did not eat very much raw food... I felt quite unhealthy. But I'm back and eating raw again. While in Mexico we ate at this lovely restaurant that was painted with bright colors and had paintings hung all over the walls. The reason that I loved this place so much was the unending amount of fruit drinks they made and the fact that we could eat partially raw. We ended up going there at least twice a day to get a smoothie and a tomato - avocado salad. And the best part was the fact that the drinks were only fruit, no dairy. One of the smoothies was orange, pineapple, kiwi and chaya. The first day we went to this place we had a drink with a plant called chaya. You can eat the celery tasting leaves only after they have been boiled because they are poisonous otherwise. All of the waiters that worked there were Mayan and did not know much Spanish. We would ask the waiters: "Chaya?" and they would say with a big toothy smile while shaking their head "No Chaya" and we would say " No Chaya" and with great sorrow they would say " No Chaya". It was quite hilarious! Another wonderful thing about this restaurant was the fact that they were one of the few places that accepted credit cards.

One of the best drinks included: Mango, Pina (pineapple) and fresa (strawberry). Delicious!

Happy New Year!

xoxo

Delicious Apple Donuts

2008-12-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

I have seen many variations of ''raw'' donuts and found the following recipe to be excellent.

These raw donuts taste even better then cooked donuts... they taste like butter with amazing seasoning. Enjoy!

Rawfully Good Donuts

3/4 cup almonds, finely chopped

1/4 cup cashews or pecans, finely chopped

1/4 coconut flakes, finely ground

1/4 oats, ground into flour

1/4 cup apple slices

1 1/2 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. organic apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

a dash of sea salt

In a food processor, combine almonds, cashews, coconut and oats. Add apple slices, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt. Process to form a dough.

Shape the dough into balls. With your hands press down the dough to make a thick pancake shape. With a skinny round object (I use a apple corer) poke a hole into each disk creating a donut shape.

You can eat the donuts now though the they will be moist. Or you can dehydrate the donuts for 2-3 hours at 105 F to harden the outside but keep the inside a bit moist.

Sprinkle with coconut flakes or a sauce. Perhaps even a chocolate sauce... go wild!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Raw: adjective (of a material or substance) in its natural state; not yet processed or purified.

2008-11-30T11:24:00.000-08:00

I am a teen and I have been eating raw for about a year now. I am interested in eating healthy, organic and raw food. On my rawfully good blog I will post yummy raw recipes that hopefully you will enjoy!

xoxo