Raw Broccoli Salad

Eli loves mayonnaise. Seriously, he does. I can get him to eat almost anything on a sandwich, as long as it has mayonnaise on it too.  He get's it from me.

Eating raw there are some great dressings, but I sometimes long to douse my salad in ranch dressing.  One of my favourite salads is a broccoli salad my mom makes, but the main ingredient of the dressing is mayonnaise.  Honestly, this raw version is just as good, and a whole lot healthier.

Salad:
3 stalks of Broccoli
1/2 a medium onion chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup sprouted and dehydrated sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sprouted and dehydrated pumpkin seeds
1 cup currents (or raisins/grapes/dried cranberries, etc.)

Dressing:
1 cup soaked cashews
1/4 cup agave
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
 water to consistency
 

1. Chop broccoli, stalks and all, into small pieces.  This can be done in your handy food processor, if you are lazy like me.
2. Chop onions and red pepper and add to broccoli.
3. Mix all dressing ingredients in a high speed blender.
4. Pour dressing over salad.
5. Mix in sunflower and pumpkin seeds and berries.

Raw Chocolate Granola - Oh my!

With all my granola and muesli making, you think it wouldn't have taken me this long to figure out a like recipe with chocolate.  Is there anything that isn't made better with chocolate? Ice cream, pancakes, curry.  You see what I mean. 

So this week, with a jar of cacao in hand, I set off to make a delicious raw chocolate granola.  

And for your munching pleasure, here is what I came up with.  

Ingredients:

1 cup raw walnuts

1 cup raw almonds

3 cups buckwheat

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup coconut

1/4 cup chia

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup cacao

1 tbsp vanilla powder

1 tsp salt

1. Soak the walnuts, almonds, buckwheat, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.  For individual instructions of each of these, see note at the bottom of this post.

2. One at a time, pulse the walnuts and almonds into buckwheat sized chunks in a food processor. 

3. Put all the nuts and seeds into a large bowl.  

4. Place the coconut oil (and honey, if it's hard) in the dehydrator to melt.

5. Combine the honey, coconut oil, cacao, vanilla and salt.

6. Pour over nut mixture and mix well.  

7. Add the shredded coconut and chia seeds and mix.

8. Spread out over two dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 105 degrees for at least 24 hours, or until crunchy (the almonds especially, will need significant time to dehydrate - you can speed up the time it takes to dehydrate this recipe by using previously soaked and dehydrated almonds and walnuts in this recipe.)

9. Enjoy on it's own or with your favourite fresh nut milk andfresh berries poured over it!

 

A note on soaking nuts and seeds:

Nuts and seeds are covered in naturally occurring phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors to protect them until they find themselves deep under the ground prepared to sprout and grow.  In the moist, dark underground these protections are released from the dormant seed, and the seed becomes 'live' again and grows. 

In their dormant state, nuts and seeds can be difficult to digest at best, and toxic at worst. We learned just how bad the nuts' protection can be when we started soaking nuts last year.  Thinking we would otherwise be wasting the soak water, we began watering our house plants with it.  It killed our previously thriving plants in a matter of days. 

By soaking and rinsing nuts and seeds you release the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, bringing the life back into them, and create a living, nutrient rich food to eat.  There are varying opinions on how best to soak and sprout nuts and seeds, but this is the method I follow for each on in this recipe:

Walnuts - Place in bowl with about twice the volume of the nuts and cover with filtered water.  Soak 8-12 hours.  Rinse and use in recipe, freeze for future recipe, or dehydrate.

Almonds - Place in bowl with about twice the volume of the nuts and cover with filtered water.  Soak at least 12 hours.  Rinse and use in recipe, freeze for future recipe, or dehydrate.

Buckwheat - Place in bowl with about twice the volume of the buckwheat and cover with filtered water.  Soak over night.  Rinse very well (buckwheat gets very starchy).  Leaving the rinsed buckwheat in a sieve, place over a bowl and cover with a clean dish towel.  Rinsing occasionally (2-3 times a day) let sit for two days, or until the buckwheat starts to sprout, and the sprouts are as long as the buckwheat themselves.  Use in recipe, freeze for future recipe, or dehydrate.

Sunflower seeds - Follow the same instructions as the buckwheat.

Pumpkin seeds - Follow the same instructions as the buckwheat, but only sprout or an additional 24 hours after soaking.  Pumpkin seeds will not sprout long sprouts. 

Watch to make sure that whatever you are soaking does not go bad.  You know it has if it starts to smell or gets slimey.  Throw away rotten nuts and seeds as they will not be good for you. 

Raw Tamari Almonds

I like fresh almonds, but I LOVE tamari almonds!  It only recently occurred to me how ridiculously easy making raw tamari almonds will be.  This is not really a recipe, more of a 'how-to,' and a very easy how-to at that.  This is a great, healthy snack to have around - but I promise it won't stick around for long, because it's so delicious.

Ingredients
4 cups of raw almonds
1/4 cup of nama shoyu (or other soy sauce product - Bragg's Liquid Aminos, Tamari, etc.)

1. Soak almonds for 12 hours to remove the enzyme inhibitor, phytic acid, and improve digestion and nutrient absorption.
2. Drain almonds and rinse well.
3. Place almonds in a bowl and add nama shoyu.  Stir well and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes, stirring often. I did this in a container with a lid and shook the almonds to coat. 
4.  Drain the excess nama shoyu and place the almonds on a deyhdrator tray. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for at least 24 hours, or until very crunchy. 
5. Enjoy!

Candy Cane Cookies

Okay, one reason I haven't been blogging of late (other than the fact that I haven't had internet in my home for two months, I've moved twice since October, I'm 23 weeks pregnant, and it is the Christmas season, which means I'm ridiculously busy...) is because I have been cooking (and a little un-cooking) up a storm!  Believe me, the creations coming from my kitchen have been delectable.  For the first time in years I actually succeeded at whipped shortbread.  I don't think Michigan was meant for shortbread, but Calgary sure is. I've gotten most of my recipes from cookbooks, but I did want to share with you one little specialty that Eli and I created, straight from the kitchen of the Wiebes!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies (ya, we're working on a more concise name)

Trust me, these are delicious!

So, here you have it, my none to brilliant, but totally addicting method.  First of all, pick your favourite oatmeal cookie recipe.  It really doesn't matter which one. If the recipe calls for raisins, nix them and add chocolate. Lots of chocolate.  And candy canes.  Who doesn't love candy canes?  I bough a pack of die and HFCS free ones, so I even feel like these cookies are healthy (ha!). Then, while the cookies are cooking, use a bit of the crushed candy canes you used in the cookies to make a glaze.  While they are still hot poor a little glaze on each cookie, wait for them to cool, and ENJOY!!! Seriously, you won't regret it.

So, while you probably can find a oatmeal cookie recipe all of your own, here's the one I used, with the Christmas modifications:

Cookies:
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups WW Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats 
1 cup chocolate chips
6 crushed candy canes - divided

Glaze:
In blender mix - 
Remainder of your candy canes
1 1/2 cups of icing sugar
3-4 tbsp milk (you want it thin enough to drizzle)


Cream butter and brown sugar.  Mix in egg.  Sift together flour, BS and salt, and slowly add to mixture. Mix in oats.  Once well combined mix in chocolate chips and most of the candy canes (I pulsed mine in my blender until they were in small pieces.  Then I dumped most of them into the cookie mixture, leaving a little and all the powdered stuff in the blender to make the glaze.)   

Form into balls and flatten.  Cook at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack.  While still warm, drizzle the glaze over each cookie.  Wait for it to cool and ENJOY!!!


I promise to update a little more on the Christmas happenings of the Wiebes.  Stay posted, and enjoy this last week before Christmas!

The Greatest Raw Chocolate Dessert EVER!

If I haven't convinced you to try a raw food recipe yet, please let this be the first. You won't be disappointed, I promise!  I have being trying to write this post for months now, but the problem is, every time I make this recipe it gets eaten long before I can take any pictures.  But, finally I remembered to have my camera on hand while I made it.  Trust me, the pictures don't even come close to doing this justice.  My sister, Alice, came up with this recipe, and she will forever go down in history as the creator of this fantastic dessert. We love you Alice!

This recipe is fabulous for so many reasons.  First of all, it is good for you. No, it's not just not bad for you, but it is good for you.  Do you know how healthy coconut and raw cacao is?  Don't trust me, do some research and you will be eating this all day, every day.  Also, the ingredient list is simple and can be made with just a bowl and a spoon. Many people may not have almond butter or coconut oil on hand, but both are easy to get a hold of.  I use cacao powder, because it's raw, but it can certainly be switched for cocoa, and vanilla extract can be used instead of powder.  Alice likes it best with maple syrup, but agave nectar would be just fine. You get the point.  As I tell Jared often, raw food is an art, not a science.

Make it, and enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Fudge

1 cup - raw almond butter
1/2 cup - coconut oil (warmed to liquid state)
2 cups - shredded coconut
1/2 cup - agave nectar or maple syrup 
1/3 cup - cacao powder
1 tsp - vanilla powder
1/2 tsp - salt
1/2 cup - ground almonds/almond flour (optional)

 Mix together all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Place the mixture into a 9x9 or similar sized pan. Place in the freezer for at least two hours before serving.  Keep in freezer, if you don't eat it all at once!

Italian Dinner - Raw Style

Our raw food adventure has been going on for five months now. Crazy!  We aren't eating 100% raw anymore, but we are trying as hard as we can.  Jared is my inspiration: he is way more devoted than I am.  We all feel great, and there are so many things I will keep making FOREVER!  Like, for instance, raw alfredo sauce.  Real alfredo sauce is so bad for you, and so expensive, and so hard to make. I've only made it a handful of times, ever.  And then came raw food, and raw alfredo!  I love this stuff so much.  It tastes just as good as real alfredo without the heavy, want to just lie down on the couch and sleep for the rest of your life feeling that you get after you eat an entire plate of real alfredo.  And the marinara sauce whips up in minutes and is so fresh and delicious, no need to eat tomatoes from a can ever again!  I like to mix the both together best.

Now, if this meal were truly raw I would make Zucchini pasta by either cutting zucchini into very thin, long strips, or shaving it with a vegetable peeler, or spinning it through a spiralizer.  The boys aren't overly fond of zucchini pasta, so we have started making them rice pasta instead (still staying away from gluten as much as possible.)  There is no reason not to use the raw sauces on cooked pasta!  They are delicious either way. 

I'm constantly telling Jared that raw food is an art, not a science, but that's only because I'm really bad at following recipes.  There are so many different alfredo and marinara sauce recipes out there, but I don't use any of them.  I need quick and easy recipes, so I've made my own, and here they are for you to try out!  Do enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Alfredo Sauce

2 cups of white nuts (cashews, macadamia nuts or pine nuts, or any combination of the three), soaked for 8 hours

1 1/2 cups of water, divided

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-3 cloves of garlic

Spices to taste

In a high speed blender mix nuts, garlic, spices and 1 cup of water.  Add more water until you reach desired consistency. 

For spices you can just as salt and pepper, or you can experiment with others, like nutmeg, or thyme, etc. 

Marinara Sauce

Three tomatoes

10-15 sun dried tomato halves

1 clove of garlic

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp of salt

Spices to taste

In a high speed blender, mix all ingredients until smooth.  For spices I might add pepper, oregano, onion...

And, just so you know, my taste testers approved whole heartedly.

Eli has two plates because he finished off mine before I could.  He loved it!

Raw Muesli

I spent the entire weekend talking RAW.  Okay, I've spent most of the last 8 weeks talking raw, but this weekend I did it especially.  Janice Skoreyko of RAW Foundation, the woman who got me hooked back in December when I went to her Intro to Raw class, was back in town.  She taught a Raw Dessert class (absolutely incredible - yes, you do want to come over to my house!) another Intro to Raw, and then a five hour Intro to Raw Immersion class.  Honestly, I keep saying that I am NOT a true raw foodist, that I don't plan on doing this forever, but every time I listen to this woman speak I am convinced that this is the best way to live.  And truly, the proof is in the pudding: after 8 weeks of living raw we are feeling incredible, shedding weight healthily and easily, and we are not deprived in the least.  We eat as much as we want of whatever we want.  Chocolate cake for breakfast???  No problem!  Seven apples throughout the day? Go for it. Fruit pizza for dinner?  Absolutely!  We are having fun, feeling empowered, and don't go anywhere where someone doesn't ask what we are doing, because we are looking so great!  Janice has given me even more tools to make this journey fun and exciting.

Apparently my expertise in raw food has been focused on breakfast-type foods: granola, blueberry crackers, and today you get MUESLI!!!

Again, completely delicious.  This one doesn't need a dehydrator, and gives you all the benefits of raw, living food.  Eli and Silas eat it up every morning.  Never again will I buy boxed cereal, for this fills the craving.

It's this easy:

Raw Muesli

4 cups Hulled Oats, soaked overnight (you could even sprout them for even more nutrition) and rolled
1 cup raisins
1 cup currents
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup mullberries
1/2 cup goldenberries

1. Place 4 cups of hulled oats in filtered water overnight.  Rinse.  Run through a hand grain mill (available for under $50, and provides fresh oatmeal any time! We have a Norpro Grain Grinder.)
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Top with almond milk (or other nut milk) and maple syrup to taste and ENJOY!

This muesli freezes very well, not clumping together or anything, so you can just open the bag you have it frozen in and scoop out enough for your breakfast each morning. And don't be constrained by what I put in it, just put in whatever dried fruit or other goodies you have.  Just raisins would be fine.  If you like apricots, throw those in.  Really, as Janice would say, be your own raw food alchemist!

Silas digging in, with his green smoothie sitting next to him.

Eli is really a lot more excited about his muesli than he is showing here, I promise.

Blueberry Buckwheat Crackers

One thing I miss while on this Raw Food adventure is breads, crackers, pitas, etc.  Previously in my life I ate a lot of toast.  Let me clarify, I ate at least two pieces of toast a day, but more often than not twice or even three times that much.  Bread with peanut butter was my go to meal, for breakfast, lunch or an after dinner snack.  Reducing my dependency on bread has been a major breakthrough of this lifestyle. 

I have yet to find a truly suitable replacement.  There just isn't much out there that fills the same spot in my stomach heart. There are lots of good cracker type recipes though, and I find I would rather have some fresh fruit or veggies than those anyway, which is good. 

Eli's favourite thing is a creation of mine which I call Blueberry Buckwheat Crackers.  They are easy to make and nut free, which means we can send them with him to the YMCA and church without worrying.  He eats them most often as a cracker, but also loves to break them up into some fresh almond milk for breakfast.  For those interested, here's my recipe:

 Blueberry Buckwheat Crackers

2 cups of buckweat groats, soaked overnight - be sure to rinse thoroughly as they get really starchy
1/2 maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups blueberries (frozen is fine)

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor (or VitaMix blender) and pulse until combined, but still a little chunky-like. 

2. Divide onto lined dehydrator trays and spread to 1/8 inch thick. Dehydrate until the top is dry to the touch (8ish hours) and then flip over and peel off the liner.  Dehydrate for a few more hours until they are totally dry. 
3.  Break into pieces and store in a large zip lock bag. 


The original recipe from Raw Food Real World is for cinnimon and chocolate crispies.  I've tried them several different ways, but Eli likes my blueberry ones best, so we stick with those.  Like I've said before, the great thing about raw food cooking is that you can change it around really easy, so if you don't like blueberries you can use mango, or sun dried tomatoes, or anything else you think sounds yummy.  Enjoy!