Yellow Curry Cauliflower with Almonds

If you crave something you should have it. Never restrict yourself. Since eating more raw foods, I haven’t had the desire for any of my old favorites, like naan and chicken curry. Once you see the effect eating nutrient-rich food has, the only thing you’ll crave is more of it. With a little imagination you can transform anything that requires cooking oil into a flavorful raw dish. I don’t propose people solely eat raw or vegan, just explore the possibilities. Eating for your body and skin doesn’t mean spending your whole paycheck either. Even without careful planning, eating more fresh food and buying in bulk keeps more money in your bank account.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tsp Turmeric

1 garlic glove

¾ cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

4 pieces dulce seaweed

1 cauliflower

1 tbsp hemp seed

¼ cup soaked cashews

1 small jalapeño

¼ cup lemon juice

3 dried figs

Raw Pizza with Olive Marinara and Honey Onion

Serves 2

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara

½ cup fresh basil

3 roma tomatoes

2 green onions

1 garlic clove

½ cup dried tomatoes

3 olives

Juice from one half lemon

Handful soaked cashews

3 pieces dulse seaweed

¼ teaspoon Sea salt

1 dried date

Daikon Radish with Cashew Garlic Stuffing

If you like comparisons to food classics, I say these bites taste something like potato salad. I’m probably one of the most impatient people I know, one reason I like raw food, it’s quick. We’ll see how I feel about that when I finally get my dehydrator. Radishes: black, Daikon; those little red ones, are chock full of the mineral silicon. The raw foods pusher David Wolfe has an affinity for this stuff and it does make a difference in the skin, nails and hair. I’ve been benefiting from eating more silicon-rich foods and noticed since I started to eat raw in March 2011, I buy less beauty products but that’s a whole other post.

Serves 4

1 large Daikon radish

Olive oil

Sea salt

Slice thin strips of radish and marinate in olive oil and sea salt

Cashew Stuffing

2 cups soaked cashews

1 green onion minced

4 pieces of raw dulse seaweed

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Small garlic clove minced

1 tbsp avocado oil

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp lemon juice

In a blender, mix until chunky

Curly Kale Cucumber Salad

Mixing sprouted quinoa with mashed avocado and a little lime and sea salts adds great taste to the naturally mild tasting  grain. For this salad, I did just that and added some curly kale, dill, cucumber and snow peas.

I marinated the kale in olive oil, a little bit of balsamic vinegar and sea salt. Then I massaged the kale in my hands to break down the hard fibers, making it softer and easier to eat.

I mix all the ingredients in big mixing bowl. Makes enough to serve two.

Ingredients

1 cucumber

2 handfuls snowpeas (Cut)

1/4 cup dill

1 cup cooked sprouted quinoa to two cups water

Olive oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Sea Salt

1 avocado

Butternut Squash and Walnut Pesto Lasagna

For Sunday. For dreamers. To not thinking of the future.

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 medium sized butternut squash

Paprika

Sea salt

1 cup walnuts

2 zucchinis

2 tomatoes

2 cups loose baby spinach

Walnut Pesto

Overflowing 1/2 cup soaked walnuts (4 hours)

2 cups basil leaves

1 garlic glove

1 tablespoon raw goat cheese

Avocado oil

Palak with Cauliflower and Raisins

This is a variation of Palak Paneer, a well-known Indian cheese dish. As you will see in the picture the palak looks like a pesto that’s ’cause I left the food processor running in a daze. Only a minor mistake because it tastes just as good.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 cups spinach

1/2 cup walnuts soaked 4 hours

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove

1.4 tsp garam marsala

1.4 tsp cumin

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil

mushrooms

1 white cauliflower

chopped green onions or chives

Raisins

Process all ingredients in food processor then add spinach and pulse until chopped.

Cut cauliflower into small pieces and flash steam for 1 minute, keeping most of the nutrients. Place steamed cauliflower on top of chopped mushrooms to slightly steam them then top with sea salt and black pepper.

Finally, pour palak over vegetables and top with raisins and chives or green onions.

Black Lentils in Red Wine with Sunflower Sprouts

It’s a beautiful, cloudless day but I’m in no mood to deal with a crowd of people in stupid Sunday mode, overzealously shopping and looking up at the empty sky rather than getting out of the way. Instead, I’ll stay in and watch Battlestar Galactica to sidestep any unwanted stress. Lentils are great for lazy weekends. They don’t need a watchful eye and are easy as a wench to make, ideal for idle hands.

Serves 2

Toss in two cloves minced garlic and one half chopped white onion into a stainless steel pot with 2 cups red wine and 1/2 cup water, throw away all your old Ikea pots, you don’t want Teflon leaching out into you food now, do you? Then bring liquid to a slight boil. When boiling add 1 cup of black beluga lentils, bring to boil again then cover and simmer for about 35 minutes.

Press pause and check lentils, gently mix with a wooden spatula. They should be cooked now. Time for sea salt and olive oil to taste.  I like adding salt after lentils are cooked because you have a better grasp of how much you need.

Finally, top with sunflower sprouts, chopped green onions and some pistachios for crunch.

Love Street Tacos

Mexican food can be healthy on a good day. This means no refried beans or white and orange cheese confetti. This flavorful recipe reminds me of the tacos I got at a street cart in Valladolid, hold the pork. The vendor was a beast of a woman wearing a belly shirt that said Stop Hatin’. I figured this was a good sign as any for a num num bite. I conjured up this Cherry Bomb Hot Sauce to add some heat to the squash. This creamy sauce tastes super good on almost everything and it’s especially tasty on avocado and sprouts wrapped in nori sheets or dipped with Lydia’s Green Crackers.

Filling

1 acorn squash

2 roma tomatoes

half white onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

¼ soaked walnuts, chopped

¼ cup cilantro leaves or spinach, chopped

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 tablespoons avocado oil or macadamia nut oil

Cherry Bomb Hot Sauce

2 Cherry bombs (with seeds)

1 Serrano chile (leave seeds for more heat)

1 Roma tomato

1 tomatillo

Juice from one lime

½ cup macadamia nuts

Avocado oil

½ avocado

1 teaspoon or more sea salt for taste

2 cloves of garlic

¼ teaspoon ancho chile powder

2 tbsps hemp seeds

1 tbsp sesame seeds

¼ cup raisins (optional)

½ small white onion, chopped

Zucchini Pasta with Pistachio Avocado Pesto

This creamy, colorful dish is quick to make and full of skin-beautifying antioxidants like vitamin C from zucchini and tomatoes, polyphenols from cabbage, carotenoids from basil and vitamin E from avocado oil. The high level of fiber in the pistachios also promotes a healthy complexion.

Serves 2 in 15 minutes

2 green zucchinis

1 cup pistachios

4 cups of basil leaves

Avocado oil

Sea salt

Purple cabbage

1 tomato

Chives