Almond Cinnamon Oatmeal

 

Almond Cinnamon Oatmeal

 

I just finished having almond oatmeal and it was delicious.  I have been vegan for over five years and I notice that I feel the best when I eat mostly raw vegan foods.  I do eat a few steamed veggies at night at times because they are a quick and healthy meal.  I have an old electric wok and I steam veggies like potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, and beans.  However, for all of my morning and midday meals, I eat as raw as possible.  This morning I had this wonderful oatmeal with hemp milk. The recipe is from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. 

 

 

2 cups of oat groats, soaked overnight, and rinsed well

1/2 cup semi-soft pitted dates (I used medjool)

1 TBS ground cinnamon

2 TBS water

1/4 cup almonds

 

Put the soaked oats, dates, cinnamon, and water in a food processor and process until a texture similar to cooked oatmeal.  For a thinner consistency, add another 1/4 cup water.  (I did not do this.)

Then I added the almonds and pulsed a few times until the nuts were chopped a little bit. 

 

Makes four servings.  You can add drizzled maple syrup and any nut milk. The oatmeal should keep in the fridge for up to two days. 

 

Enjoy! 



Tahini Dressing - My Favorite Dressing!

I try to have a large salad every day and have been buying dressings at my local health food store.  However, trying to conserve and also wanting to eat more fresh and raw products, I decided to start making my own.  This recipe is quick and easy and as of now, my favorite! 

Tahini Dressing

1/2 cup raw tahini 
6 TB. filtered water
4 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 TB nama shoyu
1 tsp. raw apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. garlic (optional)
Pinch cayenne

Place all ingredients into a small bowl and stir, then whisk until well incorporated.  Drizzle over your favorite salad.

This recipe is adapted from "Tahini Dressing" in the Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw.  

LOVE this dressing!!! :-) 

Raw Fudge

Raw Fudge

This was a quick shot today before removing it from the food processor, then I added an image of the finished fudge.  I play with this recipe all the time and there are so many variations but the original recipe that I adapted was from an earlier post using Chocolate Covered Katie's recipe.

Today's Fudge

10 oz. of raw organic walnuts

16 oz. of medjool dates

1 tsp vanilla bean

1 dash of salt

4 TB. of cacao
2 TB. coconut butter

Blend in food processor, refrigerate, then cut into squares or roll into balls, then refrigerate again. 

Celery and Artisana Raw Tahini

My new favorite snack is a large dish of celery hearts, sliced into thin strips, and served with three or four tablespoons of Artisan's Raw Tahini.  Give it a try for a healthy small meal or snack.

My New Juicer - Omega J8004

This morning, I tried my new Omega J8004 Juicer for the first time, making Green Giant Juice.  I used a recipe  in The Raw Food Revolution.  It was very good.  The recipe calls for a bunch of kale, romaine lettuce, cucumber, celery, a lemon, and an apple.  I used two apples.  I won't lie, it does taste VERY green, like kale, but with the celery and lemon, it is very good.  I have used a Vitamix for several years and love it.  I resisted buying a juicer because I liked the idea of having more fiber in a smoothie, however, I  was not eating/drinking enough greens so I decided to buy the juicer.  I have a few photos from my first experience with the new juicer.

This was the juicer as I started the recipe, all setup and ready to go.

I added fresh organic kale.  I was very easy to juice.

Below, you can see the juice from the kale.

The photo below is the pulp.  I ran it through the juicer one extra time and did receive more juice.

This was the final product.  

Green Giant Juice

It provides 200 mg. of calcium per serving, 9 grams of protein, and less than one gram of fat.

The recipe lists this as two servings. 

The BEST PART was that it took me about two minutes to clean up.  All of the parts of the juicer that need to be washed are external and clean-up is quick and easy.  

So far, I think this juicer is a great investment!

Raw Brownies with Muesli 

Recipe:

In your food processor add the following, mixing/blending after each addition:

12 oz of raw walnuts

12 oz of medjool pitted dates

2 TBS raw coconut butter

4 TBS cacao or cocoa dark

2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli

Blend until small balls start to form.  Remove from food processor and add to square glass pan.

Press down to shape into brownies.  Refrigerate several hours, then slice into bars and place in individual baggies for lunches and snacks.  

BLACK BEAN SOUP

BLACK BEAN SOUP

1 Bag Black Bean Soup Mix; Bob's Red Mill (26 OZ)

Put beans in a 5 qt. pot, cover with water, allow a few extra inches. The beans will absorb water as they cook and get tender. Bring water to a boil and lower heat to simmer. Continue cooking for about 90 minutes. Once fully cooked and tender drain water and rinse well with warm water. Rinsing will rid the beans of a substance that causes gas and gives the beans a bitter taste. Once beans are drain and ready continue.

While the beans are cooking start the soup in a large pot. The stock and other ingredients

need at least a 10 to 12 qt. pot.

INGREDIANTS:

2 32 oz. can Organic Vegetable Stock (Kitchen Basics-Unsalted).

1 32 oz. can Organic Vegetable Broth (Swanson- Certified Organic).

1 28 oz. can Diced Tomatoes (Muir Glen- Organic).

1 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes (Muir Glen- Organic).

1 Sweet Potato (about one pound) shredded.

1 to 1 ½ pounds of Carrots shredded.

1 Celery stalk (About 1/4 pound). Cut the bottom off, rinse it well and place in the pot.

Cut the leafs and rinse well, chop into small pieces. Take a good portion of the

remaining celery and chop into small pieces and place into pot.

½ to 1 whole onion chopped into small pieces.

SPICES:

2 tsp. of garlic or 2 fresh clove.

3 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold press.

1 handful of fresh parsley

1 tsp. Thyme

3 tsp Bell Season (if available; if not I make my own-see separate recipe)

2 tsp. Smoked paprika

2 tsp chipolte pepper ( this may be too spicy for some taste- chipolte is made from

smoked, very ripe, jalapeno peppers

1 tsp white pepper.

1 tbs. Italian Seasoning (if fresh is not available)

1 tsp Sea Salt

2 Bay Leaves

Add spices, beans, veggies to broth and tomato stock. Cook until carrots and potato is tender. Remember, soup boiled is soup spoiled.