RAW Coconut Curry Soup

About this recipe:

Another raw soup that is excellent for a hot day. Its packed with fresh ingredients and is therefor a good source of fiber and vitamins. Takes little time to prepare and you don't even need to know how to cook, just blend everything into a smooth delicious soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, diced

• 1/2 cucumber, diced

• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced

• 1 medium heirloom tomato, diced

• juice of 1 lemon

• 6 T. raw coconut oil

• 1 garlic glove, minced

• 2 handfuls of cilantro

• 3 T. yellow curry powder

• 1 T. salt

• 1 c. coconut milk (preferred fresh, otherwise canned)

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth and silky.

2. Garnish with some fresh cilantro and black sesame seeds.

3. Eat right away.

Makes 4 portions.

Nori Salad Wraps

About this recipe:

My dear friend Sandra came up with the brilliant idea to make these nori wraps when eating salad. Its a super handy way to transport the greens to your mouth. You can basically make it with any kind of salad (or filling) you want, just make sure you dry the ingredients,  you don't want the nori to become soggy.

Ingredients:

• 4 - 6 raw nori sheets

• handful of arugula

• 1 carrot, julienned

• 1/2 of a small cucumber, julienned

• 1 (watermelon) radish, julienned

• 1/2 red bell pepper, julienned

• 1/2 avocado, diced

• 1 heirloom tomato, diced

• some olive oil

• squeeze of lemon

• squeeze of miso mayo

• pepper & salt to taste

1. Prepare the salad by mixing all the ingredients.

2. Lay a nori sheet flat on a dry surface.

3. Scoop a royal portion of the salad on the nori sheet. Make sure to leave some room on the corners (see photo).

4. Fold each corner in, just like an envelope. You can use a toothpick to keep it together.

5. Enjoy right away.

Flowery Ice Tea

About this recipe:

Today we had an extraordinary hot day. Perfect time to make some chilled ice tea. You can make a big pitcher and sip on it all day. The camomile and lavender works relaxing while the lime, lemon and ginger add a refreshing splash!

Ingredients:

• one gallon of water

• 10 t. camomile

• 8 t. of lavendar

• juice of one small lemon

• juice of one small lime

• 2 inch of fresh ginger, peeled

1. In a large pot bring the gallon of water to a boil. When it boils, turn off the burner and add the lavender and chamomile.

2. Brew for 20 minutes. Transfer to a pitcher using a strainer to strain out all the flowers.

3. Chill in the fridge until cold. Add the lemon and lime juice.

4. Cut the ginger so it fits in a garlic press, squeeze the ginger juice out of it, making sure to catch it in the pitcher.

5. Stir it up and enjoy with a fresh lemon slice, some ice cubes and maybe even a tiny squeeze of  raw agave nectar.

Homemade Hummus Hmmm

About this recipe:

There's nothing more appetizing than some fresh homemade hummus. It serves great as a snack in between meals. Eat it with crackers, carrots or broccoli florets. Hummus is high in iron, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and folate. An excellent source of dietary fiber and protein.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. of chickpeas, either canned or cooked

• 1/4 c. water

• 5 T. lemon juice

• 2 T. (raw or roasted) tahini

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 t. salt

• 3 T. olive oil

• 1 t. paprika

• handful of pine nuts

1. Blend the chickpeas, water, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil and garlic until smooth, about 5 minutes.

2. Add salt to taste. 

3. Garnish with a dash of olive oil, a sprinkle of paprika and roasted or raw pine nuts. 

Poached Fish

About this recipe:

Poaching is a super easy and healthy way to prepare fish. Its great for those who don't like the smell of fried fish in their house. You basically make a stew of flavors in which you drop the fish. I made this one with a 'lemon beurre blanc' which was made with coconut butter and oil. The result was a very tasteful and tangy sauce. Try it at home!

Ingredients:

• some of your favorite fish files. I used Sole.

• 1/2 bottle of white wine. I used a cheap sauvignon from Trader Joe's.

• 1/2 c. water

• large piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

• handful of cilantro

• 20 black pepper corns

• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 shallot, minced

For the coconut beurre blanc:

• 3 T. coconut oil

• 3 T. coconut butter

• juice of 1 lemon

• pepper & salt

1. Poor de wine and water in a large stockpot, bring to a boil.

2. Add all the flavoring ingredients (everything on the list except the fish).

3. Boil for 20 minutes, all the flavors will really come to live.

4. Turn off the burner. Drop in the fish files. Just let them sit there for about 5 minutes or until they are done (depending on how thick your file is). The point is to never boil them as they will fall apart. Scoop the fish out with a slotted turner or ladle.

5. For the coconut beurre blanc: Add the lemon juice to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, add the coconut oil and butter, add salt & pepper to taste. Serve right away.

RAW Coconut Ice Cream

About this recipe:

For a long time I was such a big fan of store bought coconut ice cream, but it sure hurt my wallet. I was able to score a good deal on an ice cream attachment for my KitchenAid and have been making my own ever since. It is so simple and delish, so dust off your ice cream machine and get to work. You can add anything you want to it, just be creative with flavors!

Ingredients:

• 2 young fresh thai coconuts (you can also make it with canned milk but it won't be raw or alkalizing)

• squeeze of agave

• 1/2 t. salt

• 2 t. vanilla extract (glycerine based)

you can add to your liking:

• handful of chopped fresh mint leaves

• 1/2 squeezed lime

• juice from fresh ginger root

• stevia for extra sweetness

• carob chips

• raw cocoa nibs

1. Open the coconut, strain the water into the blender and scoop out the fresh young meat with a metal spoon. To see how click here.

2. Blend both coconut water and meat until smooth and silky, this is how you create fresh young coconut mylk!

3. Add the salt, vanilla and the squeeze of agave. Just remember that anything frozen will taste less sweet, so sweeten accordingly.

4. Prepare the ice cream in your ice cream machine. If you don't have one, I think you can just set in in the freezer too...see what happens.

5. If you are adding any kind of chunks, such as cocoa nibs, do so at the end of the ice cream cycle. They say about two minutes before the end.

6. Eat right away as a delicious sorbet or freeze for a solid ice cream.

7. I toasted up some almond slivers and tossed some carob nibs on top....to die for.

Two $1.50 coconuts will yield a ton of ice cream, about 4 times the amount of a store bought tub.

Kale Stuffed Chicken

About this recipe:

Its always a challenge to make chicken come out juicy and flavorful. This method actually came out really yummie and I'd like to share it with you. You can add cheese to the kale stuffing as you like, it will work great with feta and chevre.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 red union, chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 large handfuls of kale, washed and chopped

• 4 sun dried tomatoes, soaked and chopped

• handful of raw or roasted pine nuts

• 1 large chicken breast, cut in half lengthwise to create two large flat pieces

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• 3 T. olive oil

• pepper & salt

• some ghee for stir frying

• lemon or orange peel to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F.

1. Melt some ghee in a medium sauce pan, stir fry the chopped unions until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté a minute or two more. Remove from heat.

2. Over some boiling water, steam the kale for about 5 minutes, drain and squeeze out most of the water. Transfer to a blender with an S blade. 

3. Blend together with the union and garlic mixture, add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, until you have a nice stuffing for the chicken. Add the pine nuts last, you don't have to blend these.

4. On a clean surface, lay one halved chicken breast in between two layers of cling wrap. Pound with the flat side of a meat mallet (or hammer?) until it becomes about 150% of the size, lets say 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Do this with both chicken filés.

5. Take a good portion of the kale mixture and kneed it into somewhat of a ball. Put it on the wide side of the chicken and wrap the rest of the chicken around it as a blanket.

6. Transfer to a glass pyrex bowl. Brush with a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper.

7. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, brushing halfway done another time with oil mixture.

Additional note: 
I got a great tip from a Chef friend. He advised me to pan-sear the chicken rolls, just for about 2-3 min each side. This will sear in the moisture which will leave you with a much juicier roll in the end. I'd say give it a try!

Serves two for dinner. Great with some steamed veggies and some lemon or orange peel for extra added flavor.

Cashew Cheddar Cheeze

About this recipe:

We all know that cheese is not the best thing to eat, yet its irresistible. I came across this recipe for a nut 'cheeze' that tasted shockingly close to the real thing. The nutty cheese flavor is accentuated by nutritional yeast, which is safe to eat when you have candida. It is a great source of B complex vitamins and amino acids. Nice to spread it on a cracker...or two.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 red bell pepper

• 1/4 c. filtered water

• 1 c. raw cashew nuts

• 1 T raw tahini

• 2 T nutritional yeast

• 1.5 t. high mineral salt

• 2 t. union powder

• 1 clove of garlic

• 2 T lemon juice

1. Blend in a blender with an S blade until a smooth consistency. Add more water if it feels too thick.

2. Store in an air tight container for up to two weeks, although it probably won't last that long.

Spring Rainbow Salad

About this recipe:

What a happy time of the year it is. There's all this amazing spring produce that looks like a color explosion after the somber winter months. This is definitely my favorite salad for this season. I really got into making salad dressing with avocado as a creamy base, try it for yourself, I think you will love it as much as I do.

Ingredients for the salad:

• Salad mix of choice, I used arugula and fava greens.

• 2 watermelon radishes, peeled and thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)

• 1/2 avocado, diced

• small handful of fresh mint

• 1 blood orange, peeled and sliced in bite size bits

• handful of raw macademia nuts

• pepper & salt to taste

For the salad dressing:

• 1/2 avocado

• juice of one orange

• juice of half a small lime

• small handful of cilantro, chopped

• 1/4 inch of a jalapeno pepper, minced

• 1 spring union, chopped

• dash of olive oil

• freshly ground pepper

1. Toss all the salad greens together in a large mixing bowl.

2. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Season with pepper to taste.

3. Coat the salad leaves with the dressing, divide onto plates or bowls.

4. Decorate the salad with blood orange, mac nuts and avocado. Salt & pepper to taste.

Makes 2 meal salads or 4 side salads.

Rhubarb Puff Pie

About this recipe:

I came across this recipe in Gourmet magazine and remember making it a long time ago. This is such a divine little pie that I couldn't resist, even though its made with wheat and gluten, I needed to cheat just this one time.

Ingredients:

• two 9 x 6 inch sheets of puff pastry

• 2 - 3 stalks of rhubarb

• juice of half a lime

• juice of a whole orange

• squeeze of agave nectar

• peel of one orange

• little canola oil spray for greasing cookie sheet

Preheat the oven to 400F.

1. Thaw the puff pastry according to the instructions on the box.

2. Cut the rhubarb stalks in 1/8 slices, at a 45 degree angle to create thin long slices.

3. Mix the juice of half a lime, orange and agave nectar in a mixing bowl, add rhubarb to this mixture and let it soak for at least 10 minutes.

4. Arrange the rhubarb slices so that they are slightly overlapping on the puff pastry, leaving an uncovered edge on all four sides. Save the juice that they've been soaking in.

5. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until the pastries are nicely golden brown.

6. Transfer the soak juice to a small sauce pan, bring to a boil and simmer for at least 15 minutes until the consistency turns into syrup.

7. Take the pastries to a cooling rack, cool for 5 minutes.

8. Brush the syrup onto the pasties and sprinkle with orange peel.

Makes 2 large pastries that can be cut to 6 pieces.

Celery Root Soup

About this recipe:

Celery root is one of those things you find in a market, you look at and think it looks pretty interesting but you are not quite sure what to do with it. In this recipe it gives a sweet, smoky flavor to the soup that will please your taste buds. Celery root also happens to be high in fiber, potassium, magnesium and vitamin B6. 

Ingredients:

• 1 small to medium sized celery root, peeled and diced

• 2 leeks, sliced in rings

• 1 or 2 red potatos, diced

• 2 c. vegetable stock

• 2 T. dried mint

• 1 T. ginger powder

• pomegranate seeds for decoration

• coconut oil for stir frying

1. Melt some coconut oil in a dutch oven or soup stock pot and sauté the leek rings until semi translucent (3 - 4 minutes). Add in the diced celery root and potatoes, sauté for another 4 minutes.

2. Cover the stir fry with vegetable stock.

3. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the potato / celery root is tender.

4. Take a stick mixer and blend into a smooth soup. If you don't have a stick mixer (which I highly recommend) you can use the blender. Add the dried mint and ginger.

5. Scoop in soup bowl or plate and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Makes a good pot of soup, 6 - 8 servings.