Simple Raw Homemade Horseradish Sauce

I was in the grocery store wandering through the produce section when I came across some horseradish root. It looks a bit like a parsnip root. I love horseradish sauces, for dipping, in sandwich spreads and for wasabi.

Oil Free Raspberry Vinaigrette

When making a salad with nuts or other fats, sometimes it's nice to pair it with an oil free dressing. You need healthy fats, they help you absorb the fat soluble vitamins in your veggies, but if you are putting nuts on your salad, then you are getting plenty of fats. You don't have to have any oil in your dressing especially when you can make a delicious oil free dressing.

The Real Almond Joy - Chocolate Almond Bliss Bars

Coming up with this energy/snack bar has been in the back of my mind for a while now. I have contemplated a few different ways to accomplish this. Would I use pre-made chocolate chips? Should I make my own chocolate chips? Or make a chocolate topping that would be delicious but possibly quite messy for an on the go snack? I churned over these thoughts and a few others until my most recent trip to the health food store where I saw a package of raw cacao nibs...

"Cheezy" Pizza Hemp Kale Chips

For my trip to Michigan I have been preparing lots of snacks so I can continue to eat healthy on the road and while I'm away from home. If you eat like I do, you know how hard it is to eat out with friends and family who eat the SAD (Standard American Diet). So, to make it a bit easier, I've been dehydrating fruit, sprouting and drying nuts, making energy bars and today... kale chips!

Sweet Carrot Cilantro Juice

Just a quick post today with a delicious juice recipe! If you love cilantro the way I do, you will most likely love this juice! The sweetness of carrots and apple, the saltiness of the celery with the herby flavor of cilantro are a perfect combinations for a smooth, creamy flavorful juice!

GF Chocolate-Banana "Cheesecake"

I decided to make a dessert to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom, and we had a couple of birthdays as well. It came out pretty yummy. This dessert was inspired by the amazing dessert creations by Emily at This Rawesome Vegan Life and by another of my favorites The Detoxinista. I didn't follow one particular recipe, this is more of a conglomeration recipes from both of them. Emily makes the most beautiful raw desserts, there are so many to try! And I got the idea to add the zucchini from the Detoxinista... and I have to say I am sold. You have no idea it's in there, but the texture is amazing! It's kind of like ice cream and feels a bit less "heavy" than just the cashews which I personally love. This is also my mom's favorite version so far as well!

Home-Made Raw V-8 Juice & Synergy Kombucha Review

I've been wanting to make a homemade V-8 juice and today was the day! And all I can say is YUM! If you grew up loving V-8, then you will love this even more, as will your body! All fresh, and all raw! There are tons more nutrients in this juice than the traditional V-8!

Zesty Lemon Cilantro Ginger Blast

Today's juice, a bit similar to yesterdays with a few changes. I decided to make a "prettier" green juice. Yesterday's was delicious but sweeter, today's is slightly sweet, lemony and herby with a cilantro twist!

Zesty Lemon-Ginger-Basil Green Juice & Natural Vitamin D

So, if you have read my "My Story" page, you will know I am battling a terminal illness. So there are days when eating is a challenge. It's hard to tolerate all raw when I'm not feeling well, and I crave more starchy foods like rice and potatoes. I also get food aversions to some of my favorite things, which bums me out when it's something like cumin. Today is a chemo day. Surprisingly, I haven't felt quite as yuck as normal which I am really happy about. I have tons to do and usually I am a sickly couch potato for about four days. So, what does this have to do with my yummy juice recipe? Well, today I felt good enough to make a juice and drink it which is rare the day of my chemo!

Sweet & Spicy Thai Coconut-Peanut Dressing

I was down to my last fresh goodies before I go shopping again and pondering how I would make my salad for dinner. Spring lettuce mix, carrots, celery, purple cabbage, and, hmm. apples. And yes, you guessed it, ANOTHER salad dressing recipe! As many salads as I eat, I need to keep it interesting! So most of the time, I start each salad fresh. And I only make enough dressing to last me for about 2-3 salads. This works because one, they are fresh and won't last as long as the store bought ones, and two, I like to change things up frequently and I love getting creative and trying new recipes!

Raw Strawberry Chia-Hemp Breakfast Pudding

This pudding is so creamy and light at the same time. You'd almost think there was dairy in it. My daughter, who is very skeptical about everything I eat, said it made her think of yogurt (without the tang), which was my goal! This pudding is lightly sweet and makes a great breakfast topped with some fresh strawberries. You can easily substitute the strawberries for your favorite fruit. Blueberries would be delicious also! It just so happens that this is strawberry season and they are one of my favorites. Right now the prices for organic are $2.50 per pound which is super cheap! I keep buying them and devouring them!

Raw Fig Energy Bars

Ok, this is not to my credit whatsoever, credit belongs to the Detoxinista for sharing her recipe for Cherry Pie Larabars. I absolutely love her blog and encourage everyone to check out her recipes. I keep links of my favorite recipe blogs of some amazing chef's and nutritionists on my blog, so be sure to check them out!. Anyway back to the larabars. I did not know what a larabar was until I read her post. From what I get, they are pretty tasty, healthy treats. I guess there has been a lot of speculation about Larabars since the company was purchased by General Mills. GM is fighting to stop the labeling of GMO's which as we all know, means they are not looking out for the consumer but only their own pocket book. The good news is that the questions about GMO products used to make Larabars have been answered. Larabar has issued a statement on their website that they are enrolled in the Non GMO project and will continue to be GMO free. But, as always, making them yourself is always cheaper and best!

Purple Rainbow Salad with Orange-Ginger Poppy Seed Dressing

I was excited to finally make my first trip to Hoover's Market, which is about an hour away, but I wasn't nearly as excited as when I saw their fresh organic produce section... not to mention their bulk section and all the other healthy goodies! I am lucky to belong to a good local organic co-op which allows me access to a large variety of produce. But at Hoover's, they had all the things I had been wanting and more! I came home with a load of produce, my fridge was almost bulging! This will have to be a once a month trip.

Green-Carrot Juice

Creamy Almond "Ranch" Dressing

I like to switch up my dressings frequently since I eat so many salads. I love salads and I have always loved a good ranch dressing. Almonds are loaded with essential nutrients like calcium, vitamin E, manganese, magnesium not to mention the protein and fiber. They make a great base for a "ranch" dressing instead of dairy. Here are some nutrition facts on almonds.

Creamy Coconut Cilantro Lime Dressing

I eat a lot of salads, no surprise there I'm sure! I have my favorite dressings, one being my homemade balsamic vinaigrette, and I will get on a kick for days wanting the same dressing. But I love changing things up after that. Before I became vegan, another one of my favorites was a cilantro ranch dressing. So I have been on a quest to come up with a healthy, vegan creamy garlic-herb dressing to replace that. And YUM! This dressing is everything I wanted it to be, creamy, thick, garlicy, herby with a mild hint of coconut! The ingredients that make this work are the hemp seeds and the fresh Thai coconut meat. They blend up smooth and creamy!

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing:
1/8 cup hemp seeds
1/4 cup fresh young Thai coconut water
1/4 cup fresh young Thai coconut meat
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 small garlic clove
1 small lime juiced
3-4 sprigs fresh cilantro
1-2 sprigs fresh parsley
sprinkle of sea salt
sprinkle of pepper

Directions:
Simply add all of the dressing ingredients except the fresh herbs to a good blender. Blend 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Once the desired consistency is reached, add the cilantro and parsley and pulse a few times. The dressing makes enough for about 4-6 small salads or 2-3 large salads. I store my extra in a mason jar for to use later. It will last 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

The salad is baby spinach, tomato, shredded carrot, avocado & red pepper in a huge cabbage leaf! Now it you can eat this with a fork, but I wrapped mine up in the cabbage leaf and ate it like a giant wrap! I love using the outer beautiful leaves of fresh cabbage like this. I always pull those off and save them for wraps! I have been eating my cabbage many ways! I add it to stir-fry, soups, salads and came up with a tasty fully raw, vegan coleslaw recipe I will be sharing soon!

Healthy Chia Honey Mustard Dressing

I was craving some honey mustard dressing and in the past have tried a few different recipes and experiments that were just not quite there. One recipe I used called for using jarred organic mustard, and the results were very tasty, but for me, I like using all my own ingredients... so I tried once again and this time, I hit hit the nail on the head! The consistency is perfect and the taste is amazing. This dressing is great for sandwiches, salads, wraps, dipping you name it! The healthy secret is chia!

If you are into eating healthy, you will probably already know that chia has been touted as a super food. Chia packs a big punch with the right balance of omega 3's & 6's, protein, calcium and fiber. Here is a good article on chia on the Dr Oz site.

Besides chia this dressing has other healthy ingredients like the anti-cancer combo of turmeric and black pepper, fresh garlic, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey and dates. All nutrient dense ingredients! Ok on to the good stuff!

Chia Honey Mustard Dressing:

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/8 cup olive oil

2-3 tbsps raw apple cider vinegar (depending on how tangy you like it)

2 medjool dates (soaked makes them easier to blend)

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp turmeric

5-6 black peppercorns or fresh ground pepper

1-2 tsps raw honey (not vegan and this is optional, add another date instead if you like)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup water (you can add more if you want it thinner)

Toss all ingredients into your blender and puree for 2-3 minutes until thick and smooth. It will be to the point where it starts to warm up a bit. This makes 4-8 servings depending on size. I store my extra in a mason jar in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. 

Salad pictured is kale, carrots, cucumber, tomato, and avocado. Better photos next time. I did this on the fly so I could record this recipe. I have more ideas for some healthy dressings that I will experiment with soon. Enjoy!

Apple Walnut Waldorf Salad With Creamy Hemp Mayo

Waldorf salad always makes me think of my grandmothers house. It was at her table I had my first bite of Waldorf salad. Of course she used mayo in hers. Back then mayo was probably a bit healthier than it is now days with all the strange additives.

I have been craving this salad for a while and I happened to have all the right ingredients to whip up a batch except the mayo... I have looked online a few times for vegan mayo recipes and experimented a bit. A lot of mayo recipes call for cashews since they whip up amazingly creamy. And I love cashew, cashew is great for vegan sour cream, cheese sauce, cheesecake, ohhh so many things, but I was getting a bit tired of it. I also believe that to be healthy, you need to eat a variety and using cashew for every creamy thing is not optimal. Anyway, I have been using a little hemp here and there, and discovered how creamy its texture is when blended. Plus it is less sweet than cashews, more "herby" flavored. So, needless to say this "experiment" came out exactly as I planned! And what a great healthy mayo recipe I have now!

The great thing about making your own mayo is that you can flavor it any way you like... oh the ideas in my head... Not to mention it is super easy with a decent blender, I mean it doesn't really get much easier than this! Anyway, here is my take on a raw vegan Waldorf Salad!

Salad:
3 gala apples diced with skins on (or whatever sweet apple you like)
2 celery stalks diced (use the leaves too!)
1/2 cucumber diced
1/4 cup diced red onion (or any sweet)
1/4 cup match stick or grated carrot
1/2 cup raisins or fresh grapes halved
1 cup soaked raw walnuts
2-3 sprigs cilantro

Hemp Mayo:
1/2 cup hulled hemp seed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp real maple syrup
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp sea salt
1 small garlic clove (or half of a larger one)
1 1/8 inch slice fresh ginger root

For the salad, dice salad veggies/fruit and add to a large bowl. For the dressing add all ingredients to a blender and puree for around 3 minutes. You will feel the mayo start to warm a bit. It should be rich and creamy at this point. Spoon over the salad a little at a time for the desired amount and mix.   The dressing should be about the right amount. Place a large scoop on a bed of mixed baby greens and fresh sprouts and serve! This recipe serves about 8-12. I make up a batch and keep it in the fridge.

Zucchini Noodle Salad With Sun-Dried Tomato Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Today my spiralizer arrived and I was so excited I had to use it right away! Let me tell you, if you are wanting to make zucchini noodles this is the way to go. It makes it so easy to zip out some noodles and it is easy to clean up. And so much less dangerous for your fingers than a mandolin. The great thing is you can get one for about $35. Mine is going to get a lot of use! You can make noodles from squash, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, it also slices and makes curly fries. It's well worth the money! I received mine as a birthday present and I'm pretty happy about that!

Dressing:
4 sun-dried tomatoes
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp real maple syrup
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp water

Salad:
2-3 handfuls of mixed baby greens
1 handful of match stick carrots
2 sprigs of cilantro
2-3 sliced mushrooms
1 half slice of red onion
1 half of a zucchini

For the dressing, simply add all the ingredients into a blender and blend till emulsified. Alternately you can mince the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and mix by hand in a shaker or in a bowl. If the zucchini is organic leave the skin on and just wash it well, if it's not I wash then peel it. Then run the zucchini through the spiralizer or julienne it with a mandolin for nice long spaghetti type noodles. Put your salad ingredients onto a plate putting your noodles on top and drizzle with the dressing. This serves one large salad or two small dinner salads. The dressing will be enough for two large salads. I always store mine in a glass container in the fridge for my next salad. It will keep for a few days.

Balsamic vinaigrette is one of my favorite dressingss, but can easily make this salad and use any kind of dressing. I also think a creamy dill dressing would be amazing on it!

Chocolate Creme Pie - Dairy & Gluten Free

Filling:

2 cups of soaked raw cashews

1/2 cup of water

4 heaping tbsp raw cacao powder (chocolate)

3 tbsp real maple syrup (I use grade B)

1/2 tsp sea salt

Crust:

1 cup of soaked and dried raw walnuts

1/2 cup of raw oats (alternately, oat or almond flour)

4 medjool dates soaked

1 tsp vanilla

Whipped Topping:

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1 cup of almond milk

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla

Soak and dry your walnuts ahead of time. You can either dry them in a dehydrator or on low heat in the oven. Keep the temp under 115 degrees if you want to keep it raw. Or toast them at 350 for about 15 mins or till they are slightly browned. When they are wet I sprinkle a bit of sea salt over them.

Soak the cashews for a minimum of two hours, 4-6 preferably. Also, soak the dates for at least an hour to re-hydrate them a bit. After soaking, add the cashews and the water (I use the soak water from the dates) to the blender and puree till smooth and creamy. You may need more or less water, but add just a little at a time, you don't want it too soupy. Add the cacao, maple syrup and salt and blend till ingredients are mixed well.

In a food processor, add the pitted dates and pulse a few times. Don't forget they have pits, like me, and wonder what is so loud when you start to pulse them! :) Add the nuts, vanilla and oats and pulse a few times till everything is mixed and forms nicely when squeezed. Press the crust mixture into a pie dish, then scoop in the chocolate creme filling and toss in the freezer to let it set.

For the topping, add all the ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Spoon over pie and put in the freezer till you're ready to serve. Let it sit for at least an hour. I also chopped up some vegan chocolate to sprinkle on top as a garnish. You can keep this in the freezer to keep it firm. 

This is a yummy, creamy treat that you can feel a bit less guilty eating. It is a raw dessert, and all the ingredients are nutritious. It still has a lot of calories though so you can't pig out, but it is a healthy indulgence. Cashews, walnuts, dates, raw 100% cacao and even the grade B real maple syrup all have nutritional benefits. Personally I love the fact that I can eat a decadent dessert that is not empty calories! This recipe was inspired by the many amazing raw vegan desserts created by Emily at This Rawesome Vegan Life. Check out her site for her beautiful, tasty looking recipes!