Super healthy raw wilted kale salad

So far DB and I made 3 recipes from The Raw Chef blog and each have been delicious. We made carrot and orange cake, lasagna (I prefer this version over the traditional pasta kind), and on Sunday I made wilted kale salad with a creamy chipotle dressing. There's a farmer's market nearby where a local organic farmer sells absolutely beautiful leafy greens this time of the year so I stopped by last Saturday and bought 3 bunches of kale. I can't remember the names but they were two different kinds and much tender than the variety you would typically find at the grocery store. I really enjoyed the salad and felt so energized immediately after. DB and I had small portions because it fills you up plus it requires a lot of chewing which is a good thing (I can be bad about not chewing my food enough). I modified the recipe because I didn't realize I was missing some of the ingredients until I was prepping. We ran out of hulled hemp seeds so I replaced it with 1/2 cup finely chopped raw walnuts and 1/2 cup finely chopped raw cashews. I didn't have chipotle peppers either so I followed the recommended replacement. I had 2 avocados instead of 3 so there wasn't as much dressing. Despite these modifications, the dish came out great. Next time I make this, though, I'm cutting the recipe in half because there's just two of us so we had tons leftover and there's just so much raw kale I can consume. Boo tasted it but didn't like it which didn't surprise me. I don't think a dish can get any healthier than this one!

Raw lasagna

DB surprised me by making this absolutely delicious lasagna (photo courtesy of The Raw Chef Blog) this evening. It's raw, vegan, and the flavors and textures complement each other extremely well. I couldn't get enough of the lasagna and am actually thinking about tomorrow when I can eat it again! The "cheese" is made from macadamia and pine nuts and is AMAZING - it was creamy like ricotta cheese in traditional lasagna. We ate it at 6pm and it's 10pm now and it has kept me full although writing about it is making me hungry again! This is the 2nd recipe DB has made from The Raw Chef and both are delicious (other was a carrot cake) and we're not even vegans or vegetarians. He has a few recipes bookmarked so we'll have to try one out this weekend.

Note: The walnut meat layer was really salty from the miso and soy sauce so DB left the salt out from the other components of the recipe.

4/20 Update: It's even better the next day. I've already eaten it twice today!

Juicing and raw carrot & orange cake

Boo helped DB make juice on Sunday. Since she was involved in the process she was willing to try it and ended up liking her concoction. The juice contained apples, carrots, celery, beets, and cucumbers. She's been a bit picky lately so the juice was a nice injection of vitamins and minerals. I didn't add the juicer to my top 10 list because it's been sitting in the cabinet for a while. I think it's going to creep its way on the list because I had forgotten what yumminess it creates. I'm glad we dusted it off and put it back to work.

After the juice was made, DB cleaned it up (which can be a bit tedious hence the reason why it's not used as often) then juiced carrots and used the finely shredded pulp to make a raw carrot and orange cake. Boo had fun preparing it with him, using her hands to mix all the ingredients together. She liked it at first but she hasn't wanted to eat it since the first day. The texture is fibrous so not soft and spongy as one would expect from an actual cake - but remember, it's completely raw. It's definitely a pretty hard core healthy dessert but I love it. I especially LOVE the icing. Even if the cake doesn't sound appealing to you, try the icing. It would be really good on a fruit & nut muffin. I can eat spoonfuls of it which is just made of raw cashews, agave nectar, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. This is a 100% guilt-free dessert that is filling and satisfies my sweet tooth. We eat light dinners and have this as dessert and I'm fine the rest of the night.

Veggies with a creamy cashew sauce

This meal is entirely raw from the sauce to the veggies. The original recipe was a tad bland so I made it more Asian by adding the following so it resembles a peanut sauce:

- 2 TB soy sauce
- 1 TB toasted sesame oil
- 3 TB coconut milk
- 1 tsp agave nectar

I also replaced the sesame seeds with tahini since I had some I needed to use plus I added more salt to my liking. It's super easy to make. The sauce contains cashews which makes it creamy and rich (in a good way). You can use roasted cashews if you have difficulties finding them raw (I found some at an Indian grocery store.). The recipes yields a lot of sauce so for a few days I sliced cucumbers, carrots, and celery to dip with. By the way, the intro for the recipe says it satisfies a mac n' cheese craving but I don't get that at all but perhaps you may.

Pictured: Shredded zucchini and carrots, English cucumbers, cauliflower, and campari tomatoes topped with the cashew sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Broccoli salad by DB

DB is getting in the kitchen and preparing raw vegan meals for us. It's been a treat to get a break from cooking. I do have to give him credit because he cooked the first 11 years of our relationship but I took over since becoming a stay at home mom. He says I told him I didn't know how to cook but that's not exactly correct. I never said I didn't know how, I just didn't do it so he assumed. ;) Everything he has made has been delicious. He proposed eating raw every other day for the next few weeks (and vegetarian meals the other days) and at first I was reluctant about the raw part. How can a bowl of raw veggies be satisfying? I've been pleasantly surprised that it has been that and also filling. There are a lot of recipes out there that are spa-like. Now, we do eat 5-6 mini meals as opposed to just 3 big ones so this keeps us going throughout the day and we don't go through that super hungry phase.

Pictured is the broccoli salad he made Sunday. We ate it along with various sliced veggies and dips. It reminds me of coleslaw because it's sweet with a touch of sour from vinegar. It contains broccoli, craisins (not in recipe but added for a punch of color), raisins, sunflower seeds, and red onions with a sauce made of cashews, agave nectar, salt, and apple cider vinegar. Yummy!!! Boo even likes it and named it monster salad. Next time he makes it he says he's going to add shredded carrots for some added nutrients and more color.

What's on the menu next, DB? Looking forward to what else you whip up.

Grrrrr...monster pudding!

I bought this cute monster cup at Target yesterday and it inspired me to fill it with monster related contents. Bolthouse Green Goodness, a.k.a "super juice", looks pretty cool in it with its icky green color. I was trying to think of something fun, nutritious, and of course, tasty, to put in it and here it is...monster pudding.

Monster Pudding

2 bananas

1 avocado

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla extract)

Mix together in blender. Serve right away.

Note: The color of the pudding in the pic is a bit darker than how it will come out in reality. Just couldn't quite capture the vibrant avocado green with my camera.

Super easy to make and yummy! Unless you are a supertaster you will barely detect the avocado - my husband didn't believe me when I told him the pudding contained avocados. Be sure to make it just before serving to maintain the monster green color because both bananas and avocados brown. If your child is hesitant about eating something green, you can put in a teaspoon of cocoa or carob powder to make it look like banana chocolate pudding, but with Halloween right around the corner I bet your little one(s) will get a kick out of the color. When I made this for Boo today, she could not get enough. In fact, she pulled her step stool up to the counter where I was photographing the pudding and she kept saying, "May I have some more, please", over and over again. At least she was being polite - but wow, was she persistent! Give this one a try - it is absolutely delicious.

Thank you to Laurie at Tip Junkie for featuring this blog post!

Banana ice cream, sweet red bean paste, and mud pie?

I gave Boo her breakfast and she pushed it away and said she didn't want it. Um, okay, you loved it the last time I gave it to you... but I'm used to it by now. She also loved carrots a couple weeks ago now she thinks it's yucky. She told me she wanted banana ice cream and I told her what a fabulous idea. Boo loves ice cream but it’s not often she gets it. I don’t want to deprive her so here’s a healthy non-dairy ice cream recipe I make that she could have everyday and it’s fine with me.

Cashew Banana ice cream
- 1 frozen banana
- 2 tablespoons cashew nut butter or any other nut butter

Place ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.

That’s all there is to it. If there are any left over, I put it in the freezer and when she wants it again I’ll blend it for a few seconds to soften. This is a good base and other frozen fruits can be added like blueberries and strawberries.

We are a banana loving family but none of us like them when they get lots of brown spots. I buy a couple of bunches at a time so the few we don't eat can get really ripe. These I peel then stick in the freezer for smoothies, ice cream, and other recipes.

I made beany brownies last week and they turned out really good then I remembered it isn't a new concept to eat beans as a desert. How could I forget? In Japan, many of the sweets include sweetened azuki beans that are mashed to a paste-like consistency. When I was little I ate taiyaki which is defined by Wikipedia as:

Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Taiyaki is made using taiyaki, regular pancake or waffle batter. The batter is poured into a fish-shaped mold for each side. The filling is then put on one side and the mold is closed. It is then cooked on both sides until golden brown.

I made the azuki bean paste using agave nectar yesterday and it turned out really good. It's usually just mashed with chunks of beans intact but I don't like big pieces so I put it in a food processor for a smoother consistency. I don't like fruit peels and bean skin - I think its texture interferes with the softness of the interior. I don't mind black, navy, and some kidney beans but I do not like lentils unless they are pureed. Moving on...since I'm gluten intolerant I can't have the traditional taiyaki so I thought to try it on gluten free waffles and it was a pretty good substitute. It makes for a healthy snack whether you are gluten intolerant or not.

Finally to wrap up tonight's blog, my 3 year old entomologist and I went outside today to search for bugs. After she grew tired of looking at ants, she wanted to dig in the dirt in hopes of finding other kinds of insects there. The dirt was dry so we got some water to soften the earth. We came across a couple interesting looking creatures that we need to look up in her bug book to identify them - she reminded me of this at bedtime since we forgot to do it. She soon grew bored of that so we made mud pie. We were on the far side of the yard so she happily walked back and forth with her pail of water as shown in the pic. It was really cool to see determination, hard work, and focus in my little girl today. I have a feeling we'll be bug hunting and mud pie making again tomorrow. :)