Tangy Mango Hemp Cilantro Dressing

Posted on: September 29, 2015 by: admin Comments: 2 Comments

I was having a major craving for a crisp, romaine salad with a cilantro dressing last night. I always have lots of cilantro in the fridge and I was ready to create something new. I threw a bunch of ingredients into my mixing cup and searched the fridge for cilantro, only to find two half used bags of mostly spoiled cilantro. *Long deep sigh*

I could have easily just blended the ingredients I had and added some basil instead but that’s not what I was wanting. My body needed cilantro! My husband was so sweet to drive me to the store so I could run in and grab some. Thank you giant grocery store on the corner for having a decent size organic section with plenty of fresh cilantro bunches!

Here’s what I came up with for the dressing…

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mango
1 TBLS plus 2 tsp Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
1 small garlic clove
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 TBLS hemp seed
1 TBLS fresh lime juice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
* 1 or 2 tsp of 100% pure maple syrup (optional if you’re like me and you like a sweeter dressing)
* pinch of salt (optional)
* chopped green onion or chives for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a blender like a Vitamix, blend mango, vinegar, garlic, ginger, hemp seed, lime juice, maple syrup and salt until smooth. Add chopped cilantro and stir it into the dressing.

Pour over your favorite greens and add green onion or chives for garnish. You can also top your salad with another tablespoon of hemp seeds.

For my salad, I used romaine lettuce, cucumber noodles, mango chunks, fresh tomatoes and a handful of thinly sliced purple cabbage.

Enjoy!

Sweet Lo Mein Noodles

Posted on: September 29, 2015 by: admin Comments: 2 Comments

Chinese food was always a favorite of mine before following a raw food diet, so I was super excited to find this incredible dish from The Raw Caterer, which I purchase often at my local farmers market. It’s so delicious! It’s definitely one for those who like SWEET, savory meals. I keep begging them to release a recipe book because their food is SO GOOD! Hopefully someday soon, they will. Until then, they were so kind to share the ingredients used in this recipe. However, I don’t know their exact measurements and because I’m making much smaller batches, I had to modify the ingredients a little to be able to blend it properly.

This is reminiscent of the sweet dishes you might find at PF Changs or other Asian restaurants.

Ingredients:

16 oz. zucchini (spiralized or julienned into noodles)
1 medium red bell pepper cut into thin, 1 inch strips
1 cup green or purple cabbage thinly sliced
1 or 2 button mushrooms or your favorite mushrooms thinly sliced *see additional mushroom options below
1 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of mango or if you’re allergic to mango you could substitute celery
1 TBLS Tamari or Coconut Aminos
1 small clove of garlic
1 thin slice of jalapeño, add more if you like more heat
1 tsp of finely diced fresh ginger

* For the mushrooms, I actually prefer the flavor and texture of dried mushrooms. I like to dry shiitake mushrooms in the dehydrator and then slice them and mix them in with the noodles and sauce. They taste more mild and I like the consistency better. I also slice and then dry portobello mushrooms too. I’ll break them up and put a small handful in the dish instead of shiitake. Button mushrooms will also work great if you decide to go this route. If you like fresh mushrooms, no need to dry them, just slice and add them to the dish. You can also slice and marinate fresh mushrooms in tamari, or coconut aminos, for 20 minutes before adding them to the noodles for enhanced flavor.

Directions:

Combine zucchini noodles, cabbage, bell pepper and mushrooms in a large bowl. I sometimes like to add thinly sliced celery to this dish for added flavor.

For the sauce, using a small blender like a Nutri Bullet or Smart stick, blend raisins, mango, tamari, garlic, jalapeño and ginger until smooth or almost smooth. Pour over noodles and mix gently until all ingredients are combined well.

Sauce will be thick but once properly mixed with zucchini noodles, it will thin out and cover noodles well.

Hǎo wèikǒu
好胃口
That’s enjoy your meal in Chinese!

Delicious Fat Free Kale Chips

Posted on: July 20, 2015 by: admin Comments: Leave a comment

These yummy chips are actually good for you, easy to make, delightfully crunchy and Fat Free!

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of Kale washed, stems removed & cut into approximately 2×4 inch pieces (I used Lacinato Kale in this batch)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups largely chopped celery
1/2 large red bell pepper, seeds removed
1/2 cup of sugar plum or your choice tomatoes
a handful of dilantro (you can use other herbs of your choice such as chives, basil, parsley etc.)

Directions:
Blend lemon juice, celery, bell pepper and tomatoes in a blender until smooth. Add cilantro and blend or pulse gently until herbs are cut up but not pureed. Place kale in a large bowl and pour mixture over kale and massage it in so mixture covers all parts of the kale leaves. Place kale on dehydrator trays evenly spaced apart for proper drying and dehydrate at 105 degrees F for 8-12 hours. Be sure to check kale from time to time for crispness.

Store in an air tight container, if you don’t eat them all as you’re removing them from the dehydrator. ;0)

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If you don’t have a dehydrator and want to bake them in the oven for a non-raw chip, you can bake them at 225° F for 7-10 minutes. Just be careful not to burn them.