CARROT GINGER CONFETTI "RICE"

 

 

 

Last weekend I went to a conference where I needed to pack a picnic lunch and was racking my brain as to what I wanted to bring.  My friend Christine posted a raw "rice" dish photo on her Instagram that I thought was fabulous.  So, I made my version of it.   It's so easy to make you won't know what to do with yourself.  I love the color!  And the flavor of the carrot ginger dressing just gives it a subtle tang that's just delicious.

 

CARROT GINGER CONFETTI RICE

 

1 head cauliflower, chop in the food processor

1 cup tomatoes, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup cucmbers diced

 

DRESSING:

 

Carrot ginger dressing... you can find the recipe HERE.

 

Chop up the head of cauliflower in the food processor to your liking.  You can chop it really fine or leave the pieces a little bigger if you'd like.  Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and stir in the carrot ginger dressing to taste.  And voila!  It's so easy!

 

I topped it off with my vegan flat bread.  Can you say tasty???  You can find the flat bread recipe HERE.  I friend of mine who is not raw or vegan tasted it and she was so surprised by how flavorful it was. 

 

Let me know how you like it or what your own raw rice combination is. :)

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIMPLE HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD

This was an inspiration from an outing with Felicia to the wonderful little cafe Lemonade.  Side note: They have many great and unique options for the everyday vegan.  Anyway, Felicia got this wonderful salad that was heirloom tomatoes with a light olive oil and basil dressing.  And that was it, but it was sooo flavorful!  I think that the key is to use really great tomatoes,  if you don’t have quality tomatoes you might as well make ketchup or something else because it just won’t do the salad justice!  I purchased my tomatoes from my local farmers market.

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD

 

THE BASICS

 

2 small heirloom tomatoes

8 yellow grape tomatoes

1 tbsp. basil finely chopped (I used purple basil, but you can use whatever you have on hand)

zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 c. olive oil

coarse salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

 

THE PROCESS
 

Pour olive oil in a bowl.  Add finely chopped basil and muddle basil by smashing with the back of a spoon.  Next quarter tomatoes into bite size chunks.  Add salt and pepper.  Stir to coat all tomatoes and garnish with lemon zest.  Enjoy!

 

Makes approximately 1 serving

 

A flavor revolution in your mouth!

GRANOLA CEREAL WITH STRAWBERRIES

I think of myself as a lazy vegan/raw foodist.  Living in a household where others have different dietary habits, I don’t always want to make a full on meal after a long day just for me.  So I get kind of lazy and make this cereal if i’m just not feeling like doing much or if i’m bored of smoothies.   Sometimes you just want a bowl of cereal, simple and uncomplicated!

 

I stumbled upon this as I was trying to make the energy bars Felicia posted about here.  It was kind of a disaster.  In the end my bars were mostly chunks and crumbs (I ran out of dates opps!)  I made about 2 gallons of energy crumbs!  So, I decided it would be my new cereal.

 

 

 

GRANOLA CEREAL WITH STRAWBERRIES

 

1 cup almond milk (or any other nut milk)

1 cup of strawberries (or whatever fruit you have available)

1/2 cup of energy bars
 

**Note: This cereal could be raw if you follow the recipe for the energy bars here.  Mine however were vegan since I used rolled oats. 

Break up the energy bar in a bowl.  Slice the strawberries and add them to the bowl.  Then pour the milk over it all et Voila! (I feel kind of silly giving directions to make cereal).

 

**Another variation I tried from Just Glowing With Health is to blend a cup of almond milk with a frozen banana in a high speed mixer.  This is a delicious variation,  and really the variations are endless, so have fun, there are no limits!

Is your mouth watering yet?

CREAMY CUCUMBER AVOCADO DRESSING

I love this dressing because it's so flavorful and creamy and is based on using a lot of fresh vegetables.  I have been using this as a dip, as a salad dressing and I even mixed it into one of the vegetable purees the other day to add flavor.  You may have seen that post on my Instagram yesterday.  This dressing is extremely tasty to say the least.  This recipe was adapted from Sunset Magazine.

CREAMY CUCUMBER AVOCADO DRESSING

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 english cucumber minced

1 avocado, peeled and pitted

1 cup baby spinach

1/2 cup cilantro (If you don't like cilantro you and use mint to make a slightly different version)

2 green onions

1 lemon, juice of

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 teason salt - you can add more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper

Purée all ingredients with 3/4 cup water in a food processor until smooth.

Makes about 2 cups

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION for 1/4 cup serving

• Calories: 75
• Calories from fat: 80%
• Protein: 0.8g
• Fat: 6.8g
• Saturated fat: 0.9g
• Carbohydrate: 3.9g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sodium: 288mg
• Cholesterol: 0.0mg

Enjoy!
       
Photo:  Creamy Cucumber Avocado Dressing, Organic Rainbow Carrots from Whole Foods, Paper from Michaels Arts & Crafts 

TGIF! And Currently Reading...

TGIF Ya'll!

I am still fine tuning the blog, but I wanted to leave you with some eye candy on this very fine Friday.  I am currently drooling over this cook book by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis ~ Raw Food Real World.   The recipes are just fabulous! The ones I have tried came out tasting so good.  I've put my own twist on some of them too.  I will be posting these recipes real soon.  But in the meantime, check out some shots from the book. What great photos!

King Oyster Mushroom and Dried Cherry Tomato Fettuccini

Summer Rolls with Green Papaya

Eating raw or even healthy can get a bit boring, and if you don't spice up the menu with flavor it's easy to get off track.  I love the recipes in this book for the very fact that Matthew and Sarma really take eating raw to the next level.  The flavors they mix into the foods are so wonderful! 

Spicy Thai Vegetable Wrap

Tomato Tartare

Zucchini and Green Zebra Tomato Lasagne

This weekend I will working on a page that will note staples and every day items you should keep on hand in your pantry.  Have a wonderful weekend!

GREETINGS: MY FOOD REVOLUTION

Ta-dah!

I am excited to write my first post for A Simply Raw Life!  I am really excited to be able to jounal my thoughts, recipes and happenings that revolve around food, which is a HUGE part of my life.  One of the recipes that got me started on this food revolution is a Raw Peach Cobbler recipe from Just Glowing with Health.  I went crazy with it and have adapted it into my everyday meals.  The "crust" of the Raw Peach Cobbler recipe has become something I eat almost every day with my favorite fruit.  I even use it on desserts!  I've made a couple versions of this which I will detail below.  This Crumble is so delicious, I hope you love it just as much as I do.

RAW ALMOND, COCONUT & DATE CRUMBLE

INGREDIENTS

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw dried coconut

6-12 dates

Add all the ingredients into a food processor and mix together.

Spoon onto your favorite fruit and add a drizzle of raw honey or raw agave to add some gooey sweetness.

Here's a slightly different version for those who want something a little sweeter and not so "raw".

ALMOND, COCONUT & DATE CRUMBLE

INGREDIENTS

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup bakers coconut

6-12 dates

Add all the ingredients into a food processor and mix together.

The baker's coconut is sweetened, however, you still can add a drizzle of agave or honey to make it just that much more sweeter.

Dates have become one of my new best friends.  It's a super food that is a force to be reckoned with even though it is small in size.

Check out the nutritioinal information on dates HERE.



Here are a couple more photos of the crumble on various dishes I have eaten...

with pears and blueberries



with peaches, blueberries and ice cream