Green Smoothie of the week:
4-6 leaves kale, de-stemmed
1 cup frozen mango and berry fruit mix
1 cup frozen banana or 1 fresh banana
water
I place the ingredients in a blender, starting with the kale, and then slowly add filtered water until it just about reaches the 1 cup mark on the blender (you only need enough the liquify the kale a bit, which will then liquify the rest). Blend until smooth!
When I'm not drinking my green smoothie, I'm making my boyfriend's favorite smoothie, which is adapted from the Acai Smoothie recipe in Eat Drink and be Vegan by Dreena Burton:
1 1/2 cups Living Harvest chocolate flavored hempmilk
1/2 cup frozen bananas or one fresh banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 packet Sambazon Acai frozen pulp
Blend! Serves two.
I experimented with Raw Ranch Dressing this week! Yum! I think fresh herbs would taste best but I only had dried...and it still tasted yummy! I tossed it with fresh greens, cucumber, tomato, carrot, and avocado.
Raw Ranch Dressing from Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet
1 cup soaked (for 2 hrs) raw cashews
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh basil (1 tsp dried)
1 tbsp fresh dill (1 tsp dried)
Blend cashews, water, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a blender until smooth and creamy. Add the basil and dill and pulse briefly until mixed.
I also had a couple nights of zucchini pasta! Zucchini pasta is one of my favorite raw dishes, and it's also one of the easiest. All you need is a spiralizer; and if you don't have one of those, just slice long ribbons of zucchini with a vegetable peeler to make "fettuccine" noodles that taste just as good. After I spiralize my zucchini, I like to let the noodles soften a bit so they become more "noodly." I place them in a strainer and cover them with a light layer of sea salt, mix well, and then set aside while I make the sauce. (I thought I remember reading this technique somewhere so one day I just decided to try it, but I haven't been able to find the reference...but it really does seem to work!) After I make the sauce, I mix a tablespoon or so into my noodles to help them soften even more. When you do this, you will notice a bit of liquid draining out of the strainer. It is from the zucchini softening and releasing water. Have you ever noticed how soggy your plate gets when you eat zucchini pasta? Ok, maybe it's just me, but either way, this technique has improved my "noodles" and the physical presentation greatly! They look better and taste way better! Anyhow, after I get the right texture, I put the noodles on the plate and cover with my sauce of choice!
Yesterday I topped my zucchini noodles with warm, bottled marinara sauce. Today, I had an ALL RAW dinner; I tossed my noodles with Raw Pesto and chopped tomato!
Easy Raw Pesto (adapted from Raw Food Life Force Energy by Natalia Rose)
1 cup (packed) basil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
pinch of salt or to taste
Pulse in food processor until well chopped and combined. Serves 1 (or two if you don't love basil as much as me!)
Although I am in the middle of recovering from a cold (surely caused by over-eating so much over the past weekend...too much vegan cake!) I am feeling better now that I am making healthier food choices and incorporating more raw food and green smoothies into my day!
