Raw Dinner Delights!

Made this fabulous dinner for friend and myself last weekend - we both loved it! Still can't believe the whole thing is raw and it tastes amazing.  Thank goodness for almond butter!

Raw Pad Thai with Almond Sauce
(Original recipe from The Raw Gourment by Nomi Shannon)

Serves 8 to 10 (I made about half the recipe and it still lasted me for 3 days!)

Noodles
- 4 large zucchini
- 2 large carrots
- 1/2 cup coarsley chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts

Peel the zucchini, then shave the flesh into thick strips with a vegetable peeler.  Cut the carrots into thin matchsticks with either a mandoline or a sharp knife.  Combine the zucchini, carrots, cilantro, and bean sprouts in a bowl and toss together gently.

Pad Thai Almond Sauce
- 2 cups raw almond butter
- 2 oranges, juiced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 pitted soft dates
- 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp crushed dried chiles (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. If necessary, add small amounts of water to facilitate blending.  The sauce should be thick.  Add the sauce to the noodle salad and mix well.

Garnish
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 4 tbsp chopped thai basil leaves
- 10 to 12 wedges of fresh lime
- 8 raw almonds, chopped

Sprinkle the green onions, basil, lime wedges, and almonds over the salad just before serving.

Note: When I put my salad together I kind of just placed everything together, scooped some of the sauce to each place and let the person mix it together for themselves.

Enjoy!

Raw Strawberry Pie
(Original recipe from The Raw Gourment by Nomi Shannon)

Basic Almond-Maple Crust
- 1-2 cups almonds, soaked 8-12 hours
- 3-4 tsp maple syrup (I actually used agave nectar)

After draining the almonds, dry them for 30-60 minutes in the sun or simply with a clean towel.  In a food processor, chop the almonds until they are uniformly very fine.  Gradually add the syrup, using just enough for the almond meal to hold together.  Sprinkle the mixture into a 8- or 9-inch pie pan and then gently press it into the bottom and up the sides.  Makes 1 pie.

Strawberry Filling

- 4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

Binder
- 6 pitted dates, soaked 4-8 hours (reserve soak water (I actually used 10 dried dates, soaked)
- 2 cups quartered strawberries
- Maple syrup or agave nectar to taste (optional)
- 4 tsp psyllium (I didn't this ingredient, now thinking I really should have!)

In a blender, comine the strawberries with the dates and enough of the date soak water to achieve a thck purée.  Taste and add sweetner, if required.  While the blender is still running, gradually add the psyllium.  When the mixture is very thick and smooth, immediately pour it over the strawberries in the crust, being sure to cover all areas of the pie.  Using a spatula, smooth the binder around and into the berries.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

I added fresh strawberry slices to the top of my pie for a decorative touch.

mmm ... strawberry pie!

My Detox Week of Mostly Raw Eating

After finding out that my fight was cancelled and with the Easter long weekend coming up I did what any normal person would do, I ate very, very bad food! Wait, is that normal? Well, it's not my norm and I don't condone it although falling off the health wagon once in a while is okay if done in moderation... unfortunately however, I don't do anything in moderation, I turned that one day of bad eating into 1 week!

It was not good. So, to detox, cleanse and clear my conscious I decided to focus on getting back to my healthy lifestyle and having mroe fun with my raw food meals!

Food I made, ate and loved this week ...

I revisited my ever wonderful Cranberry Kale Salad and ate it two nights in a row ... mmm, kale!

I also created a new, simple yet colourful little salad topped with, what is now most favourite dressing ever, a Japanese Ginger dressing (see picture above for the salad I made).

Trio Lunch Salad
A Sarah-Lyn original recipe :)

- 1/2 a head of romaine lettuce, shredded
- 1 small or medium carrot, julienned
- 1 med red pepper, julienned
- 1 small zucchini, shredded
- 4-5 cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 tbsp of your favourite dressing

1. Place the lettuce in a bowl, as the base layer, then add the carrots, red pepper and zucchini on top, keeping them separate.
2. Add the cherry or grape tomatoes to the middle of the trio of veggies.
3. Top off with the dressing or keep it in a separate small bowl for dipping.

I like to dip each bite of veggies into the dressing, that way I get some with every bite!


For dinner Tuesday night (and again for my lunch Wednesday) I made a fabulous fruit juice drink and raw tacos for myself and a friend. We both loved it!

Hot Pink

Recipe from the amazing book Raw Food/real World:100 Recipes To Get The Glowow by Matthew Kenney

- 1 medium beet

- 1/2 medium pineapple

- 1/2 pint of strawberries, stems removed

- 1 thumb-size knob of fresh ginger

Run all the ingredients through a juicer. Enjoy!

I found the pineapple juice really cuts the taste of the beet and the ginger really gives it some spice!

If you imagine really hard you can almost convince yourself it's wine!

Lettuce Shell Tacos
Original recipe from the book The Raw 50 by Carol Alt

- 2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 medium spanish onion
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I omitted this, I hate parsley!)
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- 2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 2hrs
- 1.2 jalapeno peppers
- 1/2 tsp salt (I omitted this too)
- 1/4 block of firm tofu, cut into bite size pieces (I added this for protein)
- 6 medium romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dryed

1. Cut the avocado into bite-size chunks and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Chop the onion a food processor, and then add the cumin, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and jalapenos. Process the mixture until it is smooth and creamy.
2. Add the mixture to the chopped avocado and add the tofu, mixing just enough so it's mostly covered.
3. Distribute the taco filling equally among the six lettuce leaves and then fold the ends of the lettuce together like a taco. (I folded it more like a burrito, to keep the mixture in)

For Thursday night dinner I wanted to experiment a little with the kale satayed salads I've been making and come up with this one:

Raisins and Apples and Kale, oh my!
A Sarah-Lyn original recipe :)

- 5-6 leafy branches of fresh kale
- 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 tsp apple cidar vinegar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 medium apple, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup of raisins (I used golden raisins)
- 1/4 block of firm tofu (for added protein, optional)

1. Wash, dry and chop Kale into pieces.
2. Scrub kales in olive oil then add to frying pan, satay at med-high for about 5 minutes.
3. Add cinnamon and apple cidar vinegar, mixing well and sataying for another minute.
4. Add the tofu.  Satay long enough until the kale is warm and darker green but not burnt or soupy - or until however you like it.
5. Add the apples and raisins last, remove from heat.
6. Stir just enough to mix it up and serve.  Enjoy!

Not as tasty as the Cranberry Kale salad but still yummy and filling, could add more cinnamon for a stronger spicy flavour.


I didn't want to leave breakfast out of the mix, so this morning I made this:

Raw Granola with Fruit
Original recipe from the book The Raw 50 by Carol Alt

1/4 cup raw rolled oats, soaked overnight and drained
1/4 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight and drained
Small handful of raisins, mix of yellow and brown
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Seasonal berries or sliced fruit of your choice
Raw honey to taste
1 cup of raw milk (optional)

In a bowl, mix together the rolled oats, almonds, raisins and cranberries.  Top the mixture with your choice of fruit and drizzle with honey to taste.  Add raw milk or Almond milk if desired.

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Need a coffee break? Visit i bake cupcakes blog today for my Dark Cherry Mocha cupcake recipe.

Boxer's Diet Week 3 - Gotta Have Protein

When you're not eating meat or fish and trying to eat a low-carb, low-sugar diet getting enough protein can be a tricky one.  Where I get most of my protein? Egg whites, tofu and beans ... mmmm beans.

However, for a quick snack it is sometimes easier to eat a protein bar.  There are SO many of them out there on the market but honestly, I personally dislike most of them.  Besides lacking in good flavour most of them are loaded with carbs, fat and are so unnaturally processed and loaded with chemicals that you really don't know what you're eating!

Recently I discovered one of the best protein bars - all natural, gluten-free, low-carb, low-sugar, low-fat, vegan, with a somewhat high amount of protein - just amazing!  They're called The Simply Bar and for me they're perfect.  They are light and taste great, I sometimes eat two at a time especially before a workout cause I know I'll burn it off easily.

Besides protein bars, the other alternative is protein shakes or drinks, which again I personally have a hard time swallowing because most of them taste digusting! One brand I do like however, because it is again all natural, healthy, gluten-free and entirely plant based is Brendan Brazier's Vega brand.

I buy the small 27g packets first to see how I like the flavour, there are many flavours to choose from so I would suggest starting with the one serving packet to see which flavour you like best.

Since I am not a fan of drinking protein drinks, natural or not, I decided to be clever and make my own protein/engery bars or in this case hearts!  I used two berry flavoured Vega protein powder packs (54g total) and followed one of Brendan Brazier's recipes in his Thrive Diet book, with some slight alterations to fit my diet.  Here's the recipe:

Green and Lean Protein Heart Bars
(original recipe Chocolate Blueberry Energy Bars from The Thrive Diet by Brendan Brazier
- 3/4 cups soaked dates
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 54g Vega Berry flavoured protein powder
- 1/4 cup quinoa (uncooked)
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Blend all ingredients together in a food processor until well combined and the mixture balls up into dough form.

2. Over wax paper, press the batter down flat but keeping a thick layer.  I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to make my bars

They came out mostly dark green because of the vega powder, it's entirely plant based so although the colour may seem strange these babies taste amazing!

They also make a fantastic raw dessert (post-workout)!