Raw Vegan Zucchini Chips and Organic Tomato Corn Salsa

For years the notion of a crispy chip has alluded me on the raw food lifestyle. My chips, be it savory or sweet, were always chewy. The exception being only my beloved kale chips. (Who would have ever thought kale chips would become so popular?!)

Kale chips are even Kardashian-approved (Oh lord.) with Kourtney Kardashian espousing the benefits of kale chips vs. regular snore bore 'tater chips. But this isn't really about kale chips, which seemingly always give me a weird reflux reaction where I feel like I've got shards of kale stuck in my throat (not fun) for days. And since I avoid gut-bombing condiments like vinegar, oil, & salt, these days I much prefer a crispy zucchini chipper.

Bring it!

The beauty of this crunch-satisfying chip is not just in texture, but also in simplicity in that once you put them in the dehydrator at the standard temperature for raw-fooding-- 115-118 degrees-- you can forget about them for about 2 days. The longer you let them dry the more crispness your chip will bestow upon you.

Recipe? Sure.

1-2 organic zucchini peeled or unpeeled whatever is your groove, sliced thinly on the mandolin
Juice of 1 lemon
For me, I love dill or thyme so I chop them up really well and sprinkle on generously.

I let my zucchini and herbs soak overnight, but an hour or two will do.

Then I put them in the dehydrator at 118 degrees and let those babies go, only checking periodically to flip them over if need be.

After two days they are as crispy as a gosh darn Lays chip MINUS the gmos, preservatives, oils, and salt.

I eat them with guac or my fav. Mango And Sweet Organic Corn Salsa and they are righteously and absurdly delicious.

By the way, that insanely-mind-blowing salsa that eeks of summer bounty goes as follows: (all ripe and organic)

1 mango
2 heirloom tomatoes
1 ripe peach or nectarine
2 ears of corn
1 bell pepper (any color but green which are unripe, therefore, inedible)
Small handful of chives or the top of one green onion
Massive fistful of cilantro
Half a peeled lime

Pulse to your desired consistency and use your chips to go to town!

I would imagine if you were joansing for some serious chip-age of the Cheeze-y variety you could add a heaping tablespoon of Nooch to the lemon juice and dill and then lovingly MASSAGE it into the zucchini. (Is meditation through the vehicle of food possible? Anyone? Anyone?)

Happy Chipping my fellow raw food nerds!

Spicy Detox Salad Dressing

So, remember that post a few weeks back where I blogged about my running improvements while training with sugar cane juice?

Ironically, a few short days after I declared that I was going to be running that 10k sponsored by Raw Cane SuperJuice Bar and subsequently ran my fastest 2 mile time to date (7:30 pace!!!), I aggravated my old hip injury and unfortunately was unable to continue running (training) at the time.

I knew there was only one solution for this so I pitched the idea to Rey, co-owner and dealer of my cane addiction: a 30 day Bikram yoga challenge in conjunction with various forms of cane juice; regular sugar cane juice, a detox elixir, ginger cane juice, and alkalizer elixir (chlorophyll, lime, and cane juice)

Between the restorative nature of Bikram yoga and the enhanced mineral composition of cane juice, I was positive some serious healing action would take place and I'd be as good as golden by the time the race came. (It's actually this weekend!)

[In my next post I will be discussing this in greater detail. Over the course of the last 31 days, I kept a detailed journal documenting my experience; how my body felt, goals, progress, accessing postures, etc. Recovery being the overall theme for this installment of the cane juice chronicles!]

During the last 31 days I have successfully incorporated cane juice into my lifestyle as much as possible, which wasn't too difficult all things considered!

Raw Cane SuperJuice Bar makes a killer anti-inflammatory mix called Detox Elixir- think Master Cleanse but, way better- with cane juice, ginger (extremely powerful anti-inflammatory and healing properties), and cayenne (also good for easing inflammation).

picture courtesy of sugarcanejuice.org

Detox Elixir has a serious kick and I personally have a low tolerance for things of the spicy variety, so, I turned that baby into the most amazing salad dressings!

Raw Cane SuperJuice Bar WILL SHIP CANE JUICE TO YOU ANYWHERE IN THE US! So if you don't live in LA you can STILL make this delicious dressing. (Or perhaps you too are lucky enough to live in a place like Hawaii where fresh cane juice can still be found which in that case, you can make your own detox elixir! If you can't get cane juice to make these dressing you can also replace it with dates and water blended together, but make sure if you do this that you don't add the avocado. Avocado plus dates is absolutely horrible food combining and this will make you very bloated and cause very, very uncomfortable digestion. Just sayin'. )

Needless to say, my salads this month have been to-die-for. And it would be SO wrong for me to keep them to myself!

Note: I am quite liberal with my use of ginger and turmeric here because I found them particularly beneficial in my healing process, so feel free to scale back. But, turmeric is the bomb- fresh, it tastes like mustard which used to be my favorite condiment.

 Eat the Rainbow Salad w.Detox Vinaigrette 

This salad is just bursting with color and so much flavor! You will hardly realize you're eating a salad!

 What you will need: Organic Salad

Swiss Chard

Spinach

Beet Greens

Green Leaf Lettuce

Tomatoes 

Mint 

Parsley 

Basil

Scallions 

Chives 

Detox Vinaigrette

Detox Elixir: Sugar cane juice, cayenne, and ginger 

Juice from 1 lemon 

Chopped turmeric

Chopped ginger

Chopped dill

Finely chopped chives 

In a medium-sized bowl combine chopped turmeric, ginger, dill, and chives. Squeeze in juice from one lemon and then wisk in 3-4 tablespoons of detox elixir. Pour over salad. 

I like to let this sit for about 10-15 minutes because the dressing softens the greens and allows for all the flavors to combine making for a particularly delicious salad! Crisp and light, perfect for slimming that waistline, packing in those dark leafy greens, and reducing inflammation!

 

 Hearts of Palm Spicy Greek Salad

Ingredients: 
Hearts of palm (I buy from Whole Foods, this brand is organic and has the lowest amount of sodium) 
Tomatoes 
Scallions 
Chives 
Mint 
Parsley 
Dill
Romaine
Greek Dressing:
2-3 T Detox Elixir 
juice of two lemons
1 teaspoon dried oregano 
chopped chives
dash of lemon-pepper 
dash of greek (salt-free) seasoning that has marjoram, oregano, sweet basil, rosemary, garlic, onion, spearmint, thyme, and chili

For the dressing, mix everything together in a bowl and pour over salad ingredients. I like to shake this one up really well so that the dressing covers every inch of my salad for maximum flavor. In order to do that I put this in a large salad Tupperware and cover it so I can shake this baby real good! 

On occassion, I will add some avocado to this salad, either whole or I will take all my dressing ingredients and blend it up with the avocado. This makes a great Creamy Greek Dressing or even a dip for veggies! 

 I'd like to stress that for me, these salads are either a first or second courses. Salad alone is too low in calories and does not supply the necessary amount of carbohydrates to properly fuel your body, regardless of your fitness level or amount of exercise. 

If I am having an all raw day either of these salads will follow a large fruit meal. Right now, I am SUPER into jackfruit and mangos, so I make sure I get enough calories from them FIRST. If I am having a cooked food day then I will have either of these salads first followed by potatoes or rice plus an obscene amount of steamed greens. The point? Carb-up, raw or cooked, always vegan and you will never fail! 

Give these dressings a try and remember to check out and like my page on Facebook: Positively Plant-Powered and follow me on Instagram and Tumblr: Rawfoodnerd and if you live in LA don't forget to hit up the Hollywood Farmers Market where you cane find fresh cane juice! 

 

Exotic Eats!

Happy Thursday everyone! Time for a small update!

"Open heart, open mind."

Getting my stretch on before Bikram. I'm on Day #3 of my 100 day Bikram yoga challenge. (I will be talking more about this next week after my Friday update on The Cane Juice Chronicles)

Still drinking cane juice like it's my job. It's been so beneficial for alleviating sore muscles. I can't wait to share my findings with you guys as far as my running goes!

I've also been eating ginormous quantities of jackfruit lately. We've been going up to San Gabriel Valley to hit up 99 Ranch at least once a week and we've been getting 2 15-20 lb. jackfruits at a time...which I polish off all by myself by the end of the week.

Sweet and juicy! So much yum!

If you've never had jackfruit it kind of tastes like pineapple and bubblegum. In fact, it is rumored that Juicy Fruit Gum was supposed to mimic the flavor of this exotic fruit.

I wasn't really into jackfruit like this until recently when I went to a Fruitluck and had the most bombing fresh jackfruit! After that, I was hooked. There is such a clear difference in taste and texture in fresh jack vs. frozen jack. I find frozen jackfruit to be very chewy and almost gummy. It's decent, but if you really want to experience everything this fruit has to offer I would suggest biting the bullet and picking up a fresh one.

It should be soft and fragrant when ripe; I've read that it should smell a bit over-ripe and that's a good sign that you've got a delicious jackfruit on your hands.

Durian! King of fruits!

Also, this happened today. Everyone's favorite stinky fruit, mmmm DURIAN! I, personally, do not find it's smell that offensive, but I know lots of people do. To the extent that in Asian countries where this fruit originated, Thailand, for example- this fruit is banned in hotels, buses, trains, most public venues. Poor Durian, but that's ok because what it lacks in appealing smell it makes up for with the most amazingly creamy, sweet, almond-y vanilla custard!

A lovely treat for a beautiful, sunny Thursday in California!

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday and don't forget to keep it Postively Plant-Powered! 

Learning to Love, Happy Valentine's Day!

I am going to get a bit unconventional here today and choose to acknowledge Valentine's Day as a way we can ALL celebrate not just loving others, but loving ourselves as well! 

Carob-Date Caramel Covered Strawberries!

For an easy sweet treat, that's healthy and delicious, try dipping strawberries in Carob-Date Caramel Sauce (Equal parts pitted dates of your choosing + coconut water + 1-2 tablespoons of carob powder, blend!) and popping it in the freezer for an hour. So much yum!

Learning to love yourself, for who you are AT THIS MOMENT, is so important as you embark on your journey towards a healthier lifestyle. 

Without getting too cliche here, it really is true that your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you will ever have. If you don't take care of yourself-- your body and mind, what good are you to other people? 

For the longest time I looked at food and exercise as a rewards/punishment system. Even though I was eating a 100% plant-based, vegan, low fat raw diet! My exercise correlated to what I could and couldn't eat; if I did Bikram and then ran at the gym then I deserved to eat two durian, but if I didn't then I was lazy and I wasn't worthy of indulging in my favorite food. This would then correlate to how I perceived my body overall; my abs weren't visible enough, my stomach wasn't completely flat, my jeans felt a bit tighter. Even when it came to normal food consumption, I had rules that I had set for myself in regards to eating and often this translated to this feeling of constantly needing to be moving, expending energy -- earning my food. I couldn't just sit back and relax. I felt manic and stressed. 

In essence, just because I changed the way I was eating, didn't mean that my negative view of myself or my body dis-morphia, that manifested in high school when I began dieting, magically went away as I thought it would. I was still ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT FOOD. And granted, I love food, and I love making food, but the way I was always thinking about food wasn't healthy. 

Food and exercise should never be used in a rewards system situation no matter how healthy you are eating. Food and exercise are about nourishing your body and soul, end of story. 

It wasn't until I got some disappointing blood tests back that I finally was able to take a step back and say, "Woah, what am I doing to myself here?" and "Is this really all worth it?" (Let me be clear in saying that I was never restricting calories- I still ate huge portions and never counted calories.) I realized that this obsessive routine I had created around food and exercise was interfering with what I wanted to do in my life. And I began to look at the larger picture in that, when I look back, twenty years from now, am I going to be happy? Ultimately, the answer was, "no." 

Somewhere along that way I had begun to equate the way I looked, how my clothes fit, etc. with how much I valued myself and in turn, how much the people in my life loved me. I felt like if I looked a certain way then they would love me more. It is a common way of thinking, but extremely deluded, especially since no one in my life EVER gave me a reason to feel that way. I allowed myself to be consumed with negative thoughts, anger, and simply never feeling worthy. 

It took time and a lot of dedication to change 10+ years of thinking, but learning to love who I am, right now, was key. Allowing myself to relax a little and not put so much pressure on myself to be perfect and always in control was another big step. And I think just learning to trust my overall natural instinct again was very important. 

So, on this day of love, if you are feeling unworthy, self-conscious, angry, sad, alone - just take a minute, breathe in deep, and allow yourself to feel all these things. Then exhale them all out, let them go. Really, just let it all go. Tell yourself that you are worth it. Whatever body you are in right now, LOVE IT. 

Once you accept that you are perfect as you are right now then achieving all the other goals you have set for yourself, will be that much more possible. 

Hope you all have a sweet, positive, self-LOVING day! 

Quick & Easy Raw Meals for the New Year

Happy New Year everyone! I know I am a little behind and it's been 2014 for at least two weeks now, but I have been hard at work putting together some new delicious recipes for the blog and my future e-book, which hopefully will be coming out this summer.

In honor of 2014 I wanted to share with you a couple of incredibly simple and satisfying raw vegan fruit-based meals that I have been enjoying as of late.

The first is a sweet mango vanilla pudding topped with thawed organic blueberries and tart crunchy pomegranate seeds. It takes less than five minutes to make and you can find the ingredients in virtually any supermarket. I purchased mine from Trader Joes, mostly in the freezer section. Frozen fruit is a perfectly acceptable way to get your fruit in especially if you live in an area where getting quality fruit in the winter is more difficult.

Mango-Vanilla Pudding with Organic, thawed Blueberries & Pompom Seeds

Ingredients: 

One bag of thawed, frozen mango chunks or two ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped 

1 bag of thawed, organic blueberries or 1 punt fresh organic blueberries 

dash of vanilla powder 

seeds from 1 whole pomegranate

Blend mango and vanilla in high speed blender until smooth. Pour into bowl and top with blueberries and pom seeds. 

This pudding is light, creamy, and so so sweet. It's easy on digestion, a great way to refuel, and full of healthy carbohydrates that will keep you energized throughout the day! 

The second recipe I want to share is for a savory salad that I ate nearly everyday during the holiday season. The dressing is really what makes this salad and the flavor just explodes in your mouth! It's overt-fat free, salt-free, and oil-free, but it tastes so rich, you would never been able to tell! You can also put this over zucchini and/or cucumber noodles -- I've done both! 

Butter Lettuce w. Tomato-Persimmon Ginger Dressing

 

This dressing totally reminds me of French Dressing! However, this is a dressing that is actually GOOD for you!

Tomato, Persimmon, Ginger Dressing over Zucchini Fettuccine

Ingredients: 

4 ripe (soft to the touch)persimmons

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

1 cup of mango

3-4 sun dried tomatoes, soaked

knob of ginger 

handful of chives 

In a high speed blender combine the mango, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, and ginger. Taste to make sure flavor is on point-- you want to really be able to taste the ginger as that is what gives it the yummy kick! Blend until smooth and then add in your persimmons. Blend again until creamy consistency is reached and at the end pulse in chives. Pour over salad or noodles of your choice. 

In the first picture I poured my dressing over butter lettuce with chopped tomato, mango, and chives. Best.salad.ever! 

In the second picture I used the dressing for my zucchini noodles. And this was actually my Christmas Day dinner! Several of my family members tried and it loved it as well!

If you try either of these recipes, please let me know! I love to get feedback! Enjoy!