Recipes, Juicing and Blending.

Below are a couple of great sounding recipes for you to AVOID in order to give you some creative ideas about making meals with raw foods. We’ll also discuss blending and juicing and some of the great things you can do with this process which remains natural and raw.

Bad Recipes

The term “combo-abombo” was first used by R.C. Dini, author of Raw Courage World, who defined the term as a combination that is an abomination! It’s a poorly combined recipe, in other words.

Now, raw foods are supposed the best food choices but, because they are not cooked leave a lot to the imagination. And combining the wrong foods can result in gas, stomach upsets and even acid problems.

Not all raw food recipes are healthy. The problem is that many include too many nuts, lots of seeds or avocados and added oils. They may be tasty, but they aren’t what fits into the raw-foodist’s diet is success is to be achieved.

Here’s a recipe that may taste great but is NOT suitable for you. It’s called “Nut Loaf” and imitates meat loaf for dinner. Here’s the recipe and, with what you’ve already learned, you soon see how unhealthy it really is for you:

1 1/3 cups cashews
1 1/3 cups sunflower seeds
1 1/3 cups almonds
½ cup of oil

This creation serves two. Now let’s analyze the content of the nuts and oil used in this recipe. It will make it even clearer why you should avoid using this recipe:

1 1/3 cups cashews or about 150 grams =	69.5 grams of fat
1 1/3 cuts sunflower seeds, about 190 grams =	94.2 grams of fat
1 1/3 cups almonds or about 200 grams =	104.4 grams of fat
½ cup of olive oil which is about 125 grams =	125.0 grams of fat
Total Fat:	393.1
Divided by 2 for two people:	196.55 grams of fat for each person!!

In other words, the entire dish is 100% fat! Totally what the raw-foodist wants to avoid. Low-fat is what is optimal with only about 5% or at most 6% of the dietary calories coming from fat.

If you add salt, spice, soy sauce, miso, onion, garlic, and other oils that taste good to the palate that is not accustomed to eating raw, natural foods, the situation worsens. You’ll only overeat and fail to obtain health and energy.

Good Recipes

Combine a few ingredients that are raw, natural and unseasoned and you can create a great cuisine. The general rules is 5-5-5 which means the dish should require:

• 5 or less ingredients
• 5 or fewer minutes to prepare
• cost less than $5.

What a great deal in time, purchases, and cost.

What about Juicing or Blending?

Juicing, simply squeezing the juice from fruits or watery vegetables, takes almost all the important fiber from the food making it less whole and more refined, therefore it isn’t as good for the body.

Raw-foodists should consume foods as close to nature as possible. This doesn’t mean that you should never juice any food. Blending rather than juicing is much better and creates a similar serving.

There’s a big problem with fruit juice that you should know about. The sugar in fruit juice is absorbed too quickly when separated from the fiber. Blending vegetables into a drinkable food source is much, much better.

Do not drink huge amount of blended green vegetables – a glass or two per day is plenty if you enjoy this way of getting nutrition. Eat the remainder of your food. If the juice has a strong flavor, such as parsley or kale, you can blend some mildly flavored vegetables, such as celery or fennel, into the mixture to dilute the stronger vegetable. You can add some carrot, beet or apple to create a good flavor.

One way to make juice better, if you do wish to juice something, is to add the pulp back into the final product. Drink about 70% of the product as juice, then add the remainder to the pulp and eat this mixture. You can add some chopped vegetables to the mixture and turn it into a tasty creation that is good for you and fits well in your raw-foodist diet.

Smoothies and Blended Food

Green smoothies created in your blender are great for you! You can prepare these in just a minute and create a tasty meal or snack. You’ll quickly learn what combination of vegetables, and perhaps a little fruit, tastes the best to you.

Carrot Juice

Some folks say carrot juice raises blood sugar and has other bad effects. There is no firm evidence of this that I have seen and carrots are a great, nutritious root vegetable. Of course, consuming huge amounts of carrot juice would be detrimental, but so would huge amount of any single food. A mixture of raw foods is needed to obtain the right balance of enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

If you like carrot juice or carrot smoothies, by all means have a glass! But don’t drink a quart, replacing other valuable raw foods by filling up on just carrots.

Pizza Bread- Raw!

Barley Pizza Crust
2 Cups Sprouted Barley
1 1/4 Cup ground Flax Seeds
1/2 Cup Leek (Onion would work too)
2 Celery Stalks
1 Carrot
1 Large Tomato
2 Large Cloves of Garlic
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Water

I mixed the ingredients in the food processor and spread the batter in small circles on teflex sheets. (If you prefer, you could make a couple of large pizza crusts instead.) I dehydrated at 115 for a couple of hours, turned the crusts onto the mesh, then dehydrated at 105 for another 6 hours or so. Yummo!

Carmella’s Notes:
Alissa suggests that you soak the barley (unhulled as pearled barley won’t sprout!) for 6 hours, then let it sprout for a day or so, rinsing often, until the tail is just starting to peek out. For more info on how to sprout barley, go to this site.

For a delicious variation, you can also substitute barley for sprouted buckwheat.

Ravioli- Raw!

This raw version by Alissa Cohen should stick to your ribs. “This is one of my favorite raw recipes,” explains Cohen. “I often make these at seminars and events and people go wild over them! There is always one person who continues to ask me through the whole event, ‘What kind of pasta is this made from” even after I tell them numerous times that it’s turnip not pasta. It’s hard to believe these are raw!'” AlissaCohen.com

ALISSA COHEN’S RAW RAVIOLI

Wrappers (these replace the pasta dough):

• 4 turnips

Peal the turnips. Slice the turnips into very thin slices, by cutting them in half and then using a spiral slicer, mandolin or other vegetable slicer to make thin round disks.

Cheese filling:

• 1 cup pine nuts
• 1 cup macadamia nuts
• 1 cup walnuts
• 6 t braggs
• 8 t lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup parsley

Blend the pine nuts, macadamia nuts and walnuts in a food processor until ground. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well, until creamy.

Tomato Sauce:

• 2 large tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
• 1/4 fresh basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 6 dates
• dash of olive oil (optional)

Soak the sun dried tomatoes until soft. In the food processor, blend the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and garlic – until well blended . Add the dates and olive oil and blend until smooth. This sauce should be thick.

Directions for Assembling the Ravioli:

1. Remove a single turnip slice from the batch.
2. Place a teaspoon full of cheese filling in the turnip slice and fold the turnip over until all the sides meet.
3. Squeeze the edges together. Some of the filling will ooze out, but this is what will hold the edges together. Just put the excess back into the bowl to reuse. If you don’t have enough filling in them they will not stick together.
4. Place them in a single layer on a large plate and drizzle the tomato sauce on top, allow to sit for a few hours. The turnip will become soft from the tomato sauce.
5. To serve, scoop us the raviolis with a spatula.

Double Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake- Raw!

Yield one 9-inch cake

Crust:
1 ¾ cups nuts (I used raw almonds)
½ cup raw cacao nibs
1/8 teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt
¾ teaspoon cherry extract
1 tablespoon raw chocolate powder
¾ cup raisins

Filling:
3 cups cashews, soaked 1-2 hours, drained
1/3 cup raw agave
6 dates, pitted
½ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup water
2 teaspoons cherry extract
1 cup coconut oil
¾ cup raw chocolate powder

Coulis:
1 bag frozen berries (cherries would be optimal but any will do!)
¼ cup raw agave
dash fresh lemon juice
pinch cinnamon

Crust directions: Grind the nuts, cacao nibs and salt in a food processor, fitted with the “S” blade, until coarsely ground. Add the cherry extract and chocolate powder and pulse to thoroughly combine. Add the raisins and process until the mixture sticks together when gently pressed between your fingers. Press into the bottom of an 8 or 9-inch round spring form pan. Place in the freezer while you make the filling.

Filling directions: Using a food processor, fitted with the “S” blade, process the cashews, agave, dates, lemon juice, and water until it’s creamy. This could take 3-5 minutes. You might need to stop and scrape down the sides a couple of times. Add the cherry extract, coconut oil, and chocolate powder and process until creamy. Pour the filling into the spring form pan and freeze the cheesecake so it sets. Let thaw for up to an hour or more before eating.

Coulis directions: Blend all of the ingredients together.

Veggie Pizza…Raw!

Crust

• 2 cups raw, finely ground almonds (grind prior to use)
• 3 cups diced, crimini mushrooms
• 1 cup spinach leaves, chopped
• ¾ cup diced, broccoli crowns
• ½ small, red bell pepper chopped
• ¾ cup diced, white and green onions (combo of both)
• 5 pieces, softened sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• ¼ cup tahini (or a little less)
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• ½ tsp. dried thyme
• ½ tsp. dried tarragon
• 1 TB Bragg Liquid Aminos
• 1 TB lemon juice
• ½ cup water (to help blend)

In food processor, combine all of the crust ingredients. Process until it forms a ball. Spread out on parchment paper lined dehydrator screen. Dehydrate until firm.

Spicy Red Pepper Spread

• 1 small red bell pepper
• 6-9 (depending on size) softened sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• ½ small white onion, chopped
• sea salt
• ground cayenne pepper

Blend until thick and creamy.

For this pizza I topped it with zucchini that marinated in a small amount of Nama Shoyu, paprika, and just a pinch of ground chipotle chili pepper. Sliced onions, fresh parsley, and raw pine nuts helped finish the toppings list. You can put on whatever you like.

After pizza crust is firm spoon the red pepper spread on thick.
Top with zucchini, onions, pine nuts and parsley.

Get Your Greens With Blended Salads.

“it’s hard for me to get more greens in my diet, how can I do it?”

The short answer is, it couldn’t be easier… if you want to. Making your salad the main dish for dinner is a great start… and then start experimenting with different greens. There’s an abundance of green leafy vegetables that you can make into dozens of salads, burritos, wraps and many more.

Here’s a favorite that’s quick, easy and a great way to increase greens in your diet.

Blended Salad

One of the benefits of blended salads is that you can get a large amount of greens into a meal.. and you can be creative with what you add to the mix. Here’s one of my favorite recipes:

(serves 1-2 … adjust accordingly)

• 3-4 Kale leaves
• 5-6 Romaine Lettuce leaves
• 2 Roma Tomatoes
• 1/4-1/2 Cucumber
• 2-3 Green Onions
• Handful of fresh Cilantro
• 1/2 Avocado
• Handful Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 Red Pepper
• Sprouts (alfalfa, brocolli, etc)
• Sprouted Pumkin Seeds

Add all ingredients except green onions, red peppers, sun dried tomatoes and avocado into a blender or food processor and blend until you get a smooth consistency. I recommend adding a little at a time and saving the sun dried tomatoes until the end and blend partially to leave small chunks. Top with chopped avocado, green onions, pumpkin seeds, and sprouts and you have a super green meal! You can be creative and make any combination you’d like… toppings, different greens, vegetables, seeds… make a different one every time and have fun!

Enjoy!

By: Mark Idzik