Many people are looking for ways to be healthier, eat better, start juicing, cleanse, etc. but they just don’t know how or where to start.  Here’s my tip for the day…. Start at your local farmers market.  Walk around and just pick up what looks good to you that day. Then go home and ask our good friend Google for a raw vegan recipe using whatever you picked up at the market.  You don’t have to go 100% raw vegan.  Just start incorporating more raw fruits and veggies into your diet.  Start with Watermelon!

One of my favorite things to get from the market each week is a massive Watermelon. They are not only delicious and extremely refreshing; they are loaded with vitamins and have the most nutrition per calorie of most foods with only about 45 calories in one cup.  They are loaded with Vitamin A, B and C, which we all need more of. Not only do they serve as a major antioxidant and fight off various cancers, heart disease and reduce arthritis – they are also packed with potassium and magnesium which supports cardiovascular and brain health. Magnesium deficiency is a common among most people who are on the SAD Diet (Standard American Diet) and causes sleep disorders, tension, stress, irritability and muscle cramping. The lycopene is what makes the watermelon its vibrant red/pinkish color and helps protect from prostate cancer (so drink up guys!)

The best way to consume the melons is to juice them and drink in the morning.  Watermelons are 90% water based; loaded with electrolytes therefore a great way to rehydrate and cool down on those hot summer days. I usually pay about $6-7 for a watermelon and get about 6-8 32 oz. jars of juice out of it. A buck a juice… that is a steal! I throw some mint and lime in the juicer too for added flavor. I made popsicles and melon heart cubes from the last batch I made.  It’s so easy and just takes a little bit of time.  If you don’t have a juicer then you can use your blender.  This is one of my favorite summer remedies

so is this….

Until next time… keep it raw. keep it fresh. keep it alive. and worship your temple.

This could be my best raw creation yet, maybe even better than the pizzas I have made!  The delicious “calzone” was stuffed with cashew-macadamia cheese, spinach-avocado spread and marinated mushrooms and broccoli. It was aaammaazzziingggg. I’ve already started sprouting more buckwheat groats and chick peas for my next attempt at making this. I want to perfect making the “calzone” because I think it’s fun to bite into something that is stuffed and loaded with flavor.

I have the 9 tray dehydrator and it sucks up a lot of energy to use it so when I am making something I like to fill each tray and get the max out of the time.  I had a container of carrot pulp in my fridge left over from some juice I had made the day before.  I also had left over kale stems and green scraps that I needed to use up. I usually always keep nuts/seeds in my fridge so I was able to find some almonds and flax seeds to make the carrot and green crackers. I ended up making Carrot Crackers from a recipe I found on Gone Raw. They turned out so good! I can’t wait to make more of these! I also made some veggie pulp crackers with random greens, flax seeds, onions, garlic, etc…

I made a macadamia nut cheeze to go along with my crackers.  This was the perfect appetizer and my guinea pig friends loved it

Now for the Calzone….

Here’s the recipe::

special thanks to Carmella adopting it from From Alissa Cohen’s “Living on Live Food”

Crust
4 Cups Sprouted Buckwheat
1 1/2 Cups Soaked Flax Seeds
3/4 Cup Olive Oil (I used more like 1/4 cup)
1 1/2 Cups Carrots (or carrot pulp)
2 Cloves Garlic
1 teaspoons Curry
1 teaspoons Rosemary
1 teaspoons Thyme
2 teaspoons Sea Salt

Mozzarella Cheese
1 Cup Macadamia Nuts
1 Cup Cashews
2 Tbs Tamari
1 1/2 Tbs Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup Water

Spinach Dip
4 Cups Spinach
1 Large Avocado or 1 1/2 small Avocados
1/2 Tbs Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoons Herbamare Seasoning Salt
(I added a little water as the dip was too thick to my liking…)

Marinated Veggies
1 Cup Broccoli, diced
1 Cup Mushrooms, diced

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

*I also added a Tablespoon of Tamari and Apple Cider Vinegar

Dash Sea Salt

For the Dough:
Grind the carrots in food processor (or use carrot pulp if you have recently made carrot juice)  Add in rest of ingredients and blend well until reach dough-like consistency.

On teflex sheet, form half the dough into a half circle about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick. Repeat on second teflex sheet with remainder of the dough.

Dehydrate at 105 for 3 to 4 hours; then turn over and dehydrate for another 1 to 2 hours. (You don’t want it too dry though!)

For the Cheese:
In a food processor, blend all of the mozzarella cheese ingredients together until its completely smooth.

For the Spinach Dip:
In a food processor again, blend all of the ingredients for the spinach dip together until smooth.

Marinated Veggies:
Marinate the broccoli and mushrooms in the olive oli and sea salt for about 20 minutes or until the dough is done in a few hours.

Now let’s assemble the Calzone:

1. Remove one sheet of crust (the dehydrated dough) from the dehydrator and spread the entire mixture of Mozzarella Cheese on top of the crust.

2. Place the spinach dip on top of the mozzarella cheese that is now on top of the crust. (These layers will be thick!)

3. Drain the marinated veggies and place these on top of the spinach dip.

4. Remove the other “half” of the crust from the dehydrator. With a very large spatula and with your hands flip the crust onto the top of the “loaded” crust.

5. You will have to push this down a bit and may have fillings seeping out. That is okay.

6. With your fingers, go around the sides of the calzone and pinch together the crust. You may have to wipe away any filling that is leaking out as you pinch. Just be sure to close the sides well.

7. Dehydrate your assembled calzone at 105 degrees for 14 to 18 hours.

This will stay in the refrigerator for a day or two but is really great warm, straight out of the dehydrator.

Who would have ever thought you can eat something like this and it is raw vegan!?!?!  I believe you can make anything happen if you spend the time and get creative…

I paired the calzone with my favorite Kale salad and used my new plating cylinder.

I simply massaged the kale with lemon and salt. I added some tahini and tamari and massaged some more.  I finally got to use my new plating ring to give the salad a beautiful presentation.  I layered the massaged kale with julienned carrots and cucumbers, sprinkled crispy kale crackers and  hemp seeds…

Get creative. Get RAW! xoxo Rebecca Jean

ps. Thanks again Carmella for the sharing the recipe!!

Happy Valentine’s Day!! Here’s to all my sweethearts out there….

There is no better way to express your love to someone than homemade delicious treats!

Check out this very simple recipe to make raw vegan strawberry cheesecake. They are bites of heaven in your mouth!

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

Crust
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup almonds, soaked for at least 3 hours
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 cup medjool dates, pitted and chopped

Filling
- 3 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight (or at least 3 hours)
- 1/2 cup agave nectar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 16 oz. strawberries chopped
- 3/4 cup coconut oil

Lightly grease mini cheesecake pan or tart tin with coconut oil and set aside.

To make the crust, pulse nuts and salt in a food processor fit with an S blade. When nuts are fine crumbs, add the dates and pulse until the dough holds together when squeezed between your fingers. Firmly press about a tablespoon of crust mixture into the bottom of prepared dish. Set aside.

To make the filling, pulse cashews in food processor or high speed blender until crumbly.  Add the agave nectar, water and lemon juice and blend until it becomes a puree. Feed the strawberries through the top of the food processor and puree until blended well. With the processor running, add the melted coconut oil and blend until 100% smooth.

Pour the filling into the cake pans with crust. Set in fridge for 3-4 hours to let them set and then push out of the tins.

Top with strawberries and share with your loved ones.

Healthy Hearts = Happy Hearts

Waiting to go here all day felt like I was a little kid waiting to open my presents on Christmas morning.  I have never been so excited to go to a restaurant before…. It was so enthralling!  When our lovely server came over to greet us, I immediately started telling her how excited I was to be there, that I love Samra’s books, blog, been waiting to go there for years, etc…   She then took me on a full tour of the restaurant and showed me where all the magic happens.   I could have just stayed in that kitchen all night long, observing, studying and taking notes of the masters of raw food at work.

But of course, I came hungry and couldn’t wait to indulge in some delicious food and drinks… I wanted to order EVERYTHING on the menu! I absolutely love when I can go to a restaurant and could order anything on the menu; usually as a veggie I only have a few options.  With the help of our server, we decided on the following:

Hazelnut Crostinis with Crimini Mushrooms and Caper Bearnaise: caraway sauerkraut, local apple cider reduction

Niwa Maki of Avocado, Enoki Mushrooms, Pickled Heirloom Baby Carrots: asparagus, mango, scallions, spicy aioli

Three Pizzettes in the Style of Southern Italy with Almond and Rosemary Crust:- spinach pesto with arugula, pizza margherita, crimini and kalamata, black garlic

Zucchini, Local Roma and Heirloom Tomato Lasagna:

basil pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato marinara, macadamia pumpkin seed ricotta

Some sort of sorbet for dessert…. It was delicious!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention… they have sake on tap here!  So we of course drank some warm sake and I also ordered a sake mojito

One of my favorite things about this experience was that I brought a friend  with me who is so unfamiliar with raw vegan food, and even more vegetarian food.  I get such gratification when someone who is so apprehensive to try raw vegan food actually finds it tasty and filling after the meal.  New York has plenty more of raw vegan restaurants that I plan to visit on my next trip there.

Do your body a favor and try something raw today!

~ Rebecca

This was by far LE BEST raw vegan pasta I have made yet and definitely something to-LIVE-for!!  I first made the Caprese Salad and nibbled on that while we talked about our goals for the New Year, sipped on wine made the sauces for the pasta.

I used this simple recipe for the Macadamia Mozzarella and used for both the Caprese Salad and the Cheesy sauce for the pasta. I added more water for the sauce and kept this one more thick.

Macadamia Mozzarella:

• 1 c macadamias
• 1/4 c pine nuts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1T Braggs Amino Acid
• 2t lemon juice
• 1/4c water
• 1T nutritional yeast

Mix in a high speed blender or food processer until creamy. Use a spatula to scrape down sides and continue to blend. Add water as needed to mix, using as little as possible as we want this to  be more solid and thick.

Method:

I sliced the 4 heirloom tomatoes, chopped some fresh basil and layered with the Macadamia Mozzarella cheese. I drizzled olive oil on top and fresh crushed black pepper.

I found the recipe for the marina sauce on goneraw.com and adjusted it to my liking.

Linguine:

• 3 medium zucchinis
• 2T Italian seasoning
• 2 medium plum tomatoes, cut into small sections

Macadamia Mozzarella:

• 1 c macadamias
• 1/4c pine nuts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1T Braggs Amino Acid
• 2t lemon juice
• 1/4c water
• 1T nutritional yeast

Marinara Sauce:

• 1/2c pine nuts
• 2 medium tomatoes
• ¼ c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 20 minutes
• 1 red pepper
• 1/2T lemon juice
• 1T Braggs Liquid Amino
• 1T agave
• Italian Seasonings
• Dash of Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

Method:

Using a spiralizer, turn the zucchini into pasta noodles.  If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can use a veggie peeler.  I highly recommend purchasing a spiralizer, I bought mine from Amazon. It is an inexpensive tool that makes eating raw food easy, creative and delicious.

In a bowl combine the vegetable pasta (linguine) you have produced with the salt and mix well by hand.  You want to massage the pasta with the salt, put in a colander over a bowl and let sit in the fridge while you prepare the sauces.

Combine all mozzarella ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Blend until a creamy texture is achieved, you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of extra water to get it all to mix. Set aside.

Mix all of ingredients for Marinara sauce in a food processor or blender until smooth(blender is ok for this at the mixture is saucier than the cheese). Again, you may need to add water to get a ’sauce’ consistency.

Go back to the linguine and you should find that it has released it’s water and is now has a cooked ‘al dente’ feel about it. Wash the salt off and dry with kitchen towel or a salad spinner.

Transfer linguine to a clean, dry bowl and add the remaining linguine ingredients. When thoroughly mixed add the macadamia cheese and  marinara sauce and mix well so all of the pasta is covered in sauce.  I only used a portion of the cheese and marinara sauce and put the remainder in the fridge for left overs. I then put the sauce in a sauce drizzle bottle and drizzled over the top. Garnish with fresh basil and black pepper.

Bon Appetit!

Try something RAW today!!

Bee pollen is known for improving allergies by boosting immune function, which I have struggled with my whole life.  There are various superfoods that boost immune function, but few do it with as much potency as bee pollen. Through its unique combination of trace minerals, vitamins, amino acids and enzymes, bee pollen offers one of the most restorative natural superfoods this earth can provide us. Bee pollen has more amino acids and vitamins and other amino-acid animal containing products like beef, eggs or cheese.  It is also a good source of vitamin B12 which many people get from animal products.  B Vitamins are crucial for me, as they increase my mood and energy.

So by simply adding a heaping teaspoon to my morning smoothies, I am reaping in all these great nutritional benefits that I need supplemented when eating a primarily raw vegan diet.

SO this has been my go-to smoothie of the week:

• 2 bananas
• ½ pineapple
• 1.5 cup coconut water **
• 1 big handful spinach
• 1 heaping teaspoon of bee pollen
• 1 teaspoon ground flax seeds

-Put it in the blender and mix together until smooth.

**I cheat and get the stuff in the container rather than using a fresh young coconut. I just don’t have access to the young coconuts where I live.

Check it out my new view! The way the sun hits the glass on the dominant immense buildings in the morning and the way the lights shine on me at night is quite inspirational.  I’m so grateful this new year for my new home, my family, my friends and my health.

So ask yourself this question: Are you getting the maximum amount of nutrients you need in your daily life???  Sit back and think about it, then change it if you are not.  Start off my making smoothies in the morning and getting a superfood supplement to throw in there.  It’s super easy and takes less time then scrambling up eggs, buttering toast or running into Starbucks.  You have to start somewhere and the morning is the BEST time to start. Be good to your body, be good to yourself, eat something RAW today!

xoxo

-Rebecca

I put the following items in my Breville juicer on slow speed:

• 1 bunch of Red Swiss Chard
• ½ Celery bunch (about 5 stalks)
• 1 Cucumber
• 2 Granny Smith Apples

I hope you can find peace and joy in your heart, no matter what kind of emotions this time of year stirs up for you. Peace of mind brings serenity and freedom from restless thoughts.  A peaceful mind is the gate to enlightenment. 

I started out with the spinach pear smoothie that was perfectly light, cool and refreshing.  I sucked it down so fast that I didn’t get a photo of it but I am sure you can imagine what it looks like.

Then I had the tomato basil soup which was delicious! It was creamy, rich and warmed to perfection.

My friend had the avocado lime soup and it was good, but the tomato basil soup was much better.  We then split the collard green wrap, which was okay.  There was not much to it but some veggies wrapped in a collard green leaf.  I was hoping for a tasty marinate or something with more flavor.

I know they just opened so I will cut them some slack and come back again when I am in town to try some more things on their menu.  I would rather go to a raw food restaurant over any other restaurant as I just love to support the movement.

I also ordered the blueberry cheesecake to go and brought it home to share with my parents.  I don’t have any evidence of that as they ate it before I was able to photograph it or even get a bite!  I guess I need to put “DON’T TOUCH” on things I put in the fridge that I don’t want eaten

My sister, girlfriend and I then went to The Red Pepper Deli in Northville for a late dinner that later that night.  This place has been open for a couple of years and is super cute and comfortable.  We met the owner, Carolyn, who was wonderful and it was so nice to have the opportunity to chat with her for a bit.  Anyone who follows their dreams and opens a restaurant is a hero to me.  We share a similar desire of attending The Living Light Institute! I found myself wanting to ask her so many questions as I dream about open my own café someday….

We ordered a few different things and to share… Lentil Soup, Fresh Spring Rolls, Spicy Taco Salad & The Italian Pizza.

The Lentil Soup was cooked, not raw, and was super yummy!  Lentil soup is my favorite and I especially love it when it is thick and chunky like this one was.

Fresh Spring Rolls – loaded with Mint, Basil, Cilantro, Parsley, Cabbage, Red Pepper, Avocado and wrapped in a Rice Paper.  This was also not raw, because of the rice paper.

Spicy Taco Salad –Romaine, Spinach, Carrot, House-Dried Tomato, Cashew, Spices, Raw Chips and Lime Red Pepper. This was probably our favorite!  I loved the spicy kick the salad had.

Italian Pizza – Cashew Ricotta, Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce, Zucchini, Red Pepper on Pizza Seed.

Everything was fantastic and I look forward to coming back to try more things on the menu when I am home next.  I didn’t get a chance to make it to The Cacao Tree Café in Royal Oak, which just recently opened too.  I plan to go there when I am home next week for Christmas.  I am so happy to see the Raw Food Movement prevailing in Detroit; I wish all the supporters great success and have much respect for them sticking it out in the D.

Put Your Hands Up For DETROIT…. I Love This City!!

Until next time…..

Rebecca Jean

When I think of butternut squash, I think of creamy soup or a  mash so I was very intrigued when I saw this recipe for raw butternut squash pasta. I recently purchased a mandoline and have been using it quite a bit in the kitchen. It’s pretty cool what I have been learning I can do with different squash and root vegetables on the mandoline.  It’s another great little addition to my raw kitchen.

This delicious winter squash carries a sufficient dose of dietary fiber, making it an extremely heart-friendly choice. It is low in fat, provides significant amounts of potassium which is important for bone health; they loaded with beta-carotene and antioxidant-rich in vitamin C.  They can be harvested very late into the fall season and have a long storage potential, which makes it easy to buy one or two from the market and have them sit on your counter for a few weeks.

Try something different and prepare it raw to get the maximum benefits from the enzymes with this recipe:

Butternut Squash Pasta

(recipe from Rawxy)

1 peeled butternut squash
truffle oil
olive oil1 tsp + sea salt
dried Italian mixed herbs
fresh basil, chopped for garnish
black pepper

Using mandoline, thinly shave squash. Stack shaved slices and cut linguine sized strips. In a large bowl combine noodles and sea salt. Be generous with sea salt, as you will be rinsing most off. Vigorously massage noodles and salt, let sit for about 30 minutes. Once noodles have softened, rinse noodles in a colander (squeeze out excess liquid). In a large bowl toss softened noodles, equal parts truffle oil and olive oil, Italian herbs, and a dash of sea salt. Garnish with basil and fresh ground pepper.  Warm to perfection in the dehydrator for the ultimate comfort dish.

p.s. truffle oil may be my new favorite thing! It is so powerful in taste and smell, I LOVE IT! It is kind of expensive and hard to find though…

And for the Caesar dressing, I altered it slightly from Rawxy’s.  This is so good though and I agree with her that I could eat this everyday all day! I always double my dressings when making them so I have extra on hand for the week. It’s so easy to maintain a healthy diet when you have all of the means on hand to do so.  Salad dressings are KEY for me because a good dressing can dress up any plain greens and take that boring salad to the next level of a flavorful, fulfilling meal.

(Raw Vegan) Casear Salad

Dressing

1/2 C soaked sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
2 T raw tahini
3 T lemon juice
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tsp capers
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 C filtered water

In a high-speed blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.

Parmesan

1/4 C pumpkin seeds
1/4 C nutritional yeast
dash or two of sea salt

Process all ingredients in a food processor, or, I use my magic bullet.

Assembly

1 head of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped.

In a large mixing bowl, dress lettuce with a few spoonfuls of dressing and toss well. Sprinkle Parmesan on top (store leftover parm in a glass container).

What a perfect combo for winer. This is total comfort food for me. YumYum Yum – Thanks Rawxy! Keep em’ coming girl

Here is a delicious treat that will impress your family and friends. Don’t even tell them at it’s raw vegan until after they are drooling over how good it is This is super easy to make too.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 avocados, peeled and seeded
• ½ cup raw cacao powder, or carob powder
• ¼ cup raw agave nectar
• ½ cup dates, soaked
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup water or vanilla low fat almond milk (add a ½ cup first and add more as needed

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Chill in fridge until ready to eat. Serve in a fancy glass and garnish with coconut flakes and strawberries or other fresh fruit.

Stay tuned for more yummy treats…