Raw Recipe: Pineapple Crumble

Just Another Day in Paradise Raw Pineapple Crumble

I created this delicious dessert yesterday and it turned out fabulously. Plus it took less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. Enjoy!

Makes 1 8x8 inch pan

Crumble (base + topping)
3/4 c. almonds
3/4 c. walnuts
1/2 c. coconut
pinch of salt
6 medjool dates

Process nuts + coconut + salt in the food processor until they are smaller pieces - but not quite crumbs. Add the dates in slowly and process until the  mixture has the consistency of crumble topping. If you overprocess, it will become doughy, which is better for pie crust, not crumble.

Filling
1 fresh pineapple (skin and core removed)
3 dates
1 T coconut oil
dash or two of cinnamon
Optional: 1/2 T lucuma + 1/2 T psyllium husk (If you have neither, increase coconut oil to 1 1/2 T).

- Process 1/4 of pineapple together with dates, cinnamon, and coconut oil in the food processor until consistency is like apple sauce.
- Chop remaining 3/4 of pineapple into small cubes.
- In a medium sized bowl mix chopped pineapple with processed pineapple mixture and stir until coated evenly. If you have lucuma and psyllium powder, stir it in at the end.

Assembly
Place 1/2 crumble mixture on bottom of pan, and pat loosely down so it sticks together. Spoon finished pineapple mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture on top. Let sit in refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving to let it set.

Eat with a smile!

Happy Halloween! Raw Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

For the first time in at least a decade, I went trick o' treating this Halloween in rural Woodbury, CT with an old friend. We had a blast, and of course in true Halloween spirit, after coming in from the cold, I dumped my booty out on the floor and counted how many candy bars I had scored in each flavor. My favorite candy bar has always been Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and I could not resist unwrapping that shiny orange paper and biting into its saccharin sweetness. It tasted good because it brought back childhood memories, but let's face it, the Reese Cup is pretty low on the quality scale for chocolate and peanut butter.

So today I decided to make a raw version! I researched a few recipes, and finally decided on the one from Gone Raw. This was my first attempt at raw candy, so I would definitely do a few things differently next time. For example, melt the coconut oil before processing it with other ingredients. And I definitely made the chocolate layers way too thick- the recipe was enough to make 16 and I only produced 9 so the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate was low. Overall, however, I produced a much tastier Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, as confirmed by my father during an official taste test. His official comment: "I like the chocolate better." Raw cacao baby!

And perhaps one could argue this version of the Reese Cup is healthier, but raw or not, it's still candy. Yes, there is such a thing as raw junk food!

Raw Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
From Gone Raw 
Servings: 16 candies

Ingredients: 

½ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup coconut butter (Ed. note: I thought this was a bit high, would reduce next time to 2/3)
½ cup agave
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ teaspoon sea salt
5 tablespoon raw peanut butter

Preparation: 

Blend all ingredients except the peanut butter in a food processor until smooth. Then put half of the batter into a 16 cup mini muffin tin that has been lightly greesed with a little oil. Put in the freezer for two minutes. Then put about one tsp of peanut butter into each cup and then cover with the rest of the chocolate sauce. Freeze (about five minutes-but I keep them in all the time and just take them out when I want one) and enjoy.

Juice recipes

Some more juice recipes to inspire you and delight your senses. Do you have any favorite recipes you'd like to share?

Utopia Juice
1 canteloupe (get organic and it can be rind and all)
Mint (I juiced 20g and then added about 1/3 of that)
3 sticks of celery (smallish sticks)


Olfactory Delight Juice (makes one pint)
60g of alfalfa sprouts
60g of roquette/ arugula (It is arugula season right now and it is sooooo good! I would have added more but this was all I had).
20 strawberries (they were on the small side)
juice of 1 lime
1 cucumber


Blow your mind green juice (makes more than 1L)
3 handfuls bean sprouts
2 zucchinis
1/2 large red pepper (or 1 small)
knob of ginger
1 cucumber
3 pears

Yum yum yum!

Juicy Green Italian Soup

Today is Day 3 of my first ever juice fast. I am doing the fast through an online program offered by Natasha St. Michael on Raw Radiant Health. So far, so good! My sense of smell has improved enormously -- to the point where I can smell the traffic fumes on my morning ride to work. No wonder fasting causes people to radically change their lives!

Last night I made a super delicious green juice, poured it into a bowl, sprinkled a few spices on top, and ate it as a soup. Really delicious and filling! Above is the picture of ingredients before going through the juicer, below is the recipe. Enjoy!

Tguch Green Italian Soup
1/2 head of red lettuce (could increase this to 1 head)
5-6 stalks of basil
1/3 bunch of parsley
6 tomatoes
1/2 a large cucumber
1 red pepper
3 carrots
1/4 fennel (yum, juiced fennel is awesome!)
2 garlic cloves
cayenne pepper + paprika sprinkled on top

Consciousness and the restaurant

Occasionally a vision jumps into my head of me sitting in a restaurant with friends or family and ordering a meal off a menu that someone else has purchased ingredients for, prepared, and served to me. This vision is accompanied with a warm feeling of comfort. A comfort that comes from being taken care of by someone else.

When we eat out, we trust that the restaurant is offering us food that will benefit our bodies. And in response to this trust, we turn off our brains. Eating out is enjoyable in part because we allow ourselves to turn our brains off and eat without consciousness -- consciousness of where the food came from, how it was prepared, what it's nutritional value is etc. In part, the comfort of eating out comes from the comfort of not having to think.

On a raw food diet (and sometimes on a vegan diet) eating out is no longer a comfortable experience. One, most menus do not offer more than one raw option. And two, eating together is a communal experience and I am always concerned that my eating companion will be uncomfortable with my side salad or plate of crudités in comparison to their appetizer, main dish and dessert. As a result, unless it is a raw or vegan restaurant, I no longer eat out with friends. So what else is there to do? you may ask. Good question! It has been fun finding other social activities to invite friends to that do not involve eating.

But unfortunately, I miss that comfort that comes from turning off my thoughts and just indulging. I am ashamed to admit that because one of the reasons I strive to live a vegan raw lifestyle is because I want to live consciously. But there is something relaxing about not being conscious... perhaps with time I will find that same sense of relaxation and comfort in this choice as well.

Recipe: Summer Zucchini-guine with Miso

Day 14 of my 30-day 100% Rawgust adventure, and I am so psyched to be sharing my first raw food creation with you. This is the very first raw recipe thought up completely from scratch in reaction to what tastes and food my body was craving. And it was delicious! A really nice, light, flavorful pasta dish for the summer. I would do a few things differently next time around, and I am including these potential variations in the recipe below. As with all raw recipes, take liberties with it and mix up the veggies based on what your body gravitates towards. Bon appetit!

Summer Zucchini-guine with Miso

Summer Zucchini-guine with Miso

Pasta: one round zucchini spiral-sliced in a saladacco to make wide noodles. I have recently started using the round zucchinis as they make thicker strips then the long squash, and I love a nice pappardelle noodle.

Sauce:
- Bring water nearly to a boil (this will be the quantity of your sauce so use as much or as little water as you want. Remember also that the zucchini will expel water unless you salt and drain it prior to mixing in with the sauce).
- When the water has cooled a touch, mix in with 1/2 T of white miso. Let sit while you prepare your veggies.
- Cut up your veggies. I chose thinly sliced yellow onion (1/4 of an onion), freshly shelled peas (my first time eating raw peas - yum yum and yum! be sure they are not old- you will know because old peas' skins come off and the peas split- as old peas are bitter), thinly sliced radishes (about 6), green onion (2 bunches), 1/2 green pepper. You can see I was gravitating towards bitter and spicy veggies... I will add tomato next time.
- Back to your miso: cut up ginger (I did 2 T) and add together with sesame oil (few squirts) to miso. I also added a touch of agave, but next time I will use lucuma as I prefer the taste, and the powder will help to thicken the sauce. Whisk it up!
- To serve, I put the veggies on the bottom of the bowl, then added the noodles, then poured the sauce over the top. Stirred it up, and ate it with a smile.

Any comments or thoughts, please share. And enjoy!