Low Fat Vegan Chilli

I decided since today is a rainy day and it is semi cold, a warm lunch would be the best thing to eat. I've never been a big fan of chilli, but when I became vegan I made a recipe of it that I personally really like. It is gluten free, nut free, practically fat free, but unfortunately not raw vegan.
For this recipe you will need,

1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 onion
1 garlic clove
1 can red kidney beans, or fresh and soaked if you have them
5 medium carrots
1 cup green beans (a good handful)
4 small red potatoes
1 parsnip (looks like a white carrot)
1 tbsp canola oil
Some ground black pepper

Chop up the onion and garlic and put it into a pot with the oil. Once they are soft and begin to brown, add in the can of tomatoes and half cup of water. Put it the stove on high until it comes to a boil, than bring it down to medium. Meanwhile, chop up your potatoes and green beans into small cubes, and chop your carrots and parsnip into circles- the size may very but that is okay. I did not peel my veggies but if you want to you can. If you do not peel them just be sure to give them a good wash. Than, open your can of beans and poor them into a strainer. It is important to rinse your beans if you are using them from a can because you will take off all the extra salt (in the fluid) that is put into the can to preserve the beans; fresh beans are optimal for awesome health. Once the tomatoes come to a boil, add the beans and wait until it comes to a boil again to add the chopped veggies. When you have added the veggies, turn it on high until it comes to a boil, and once it has put it down to low, stick a lid on it, and give it one hour; stir every 15 minutes. When you come back to it you will notice that some of the water has disappeared which is what you want. It is ready to serve! Be sure to blow on it though because it will be super hot!

Enjoy yahs chilli,

Julia:3

A Rawilicious Experience X2

Okay, hello again:) It's been a while, again, and I'm sorry, I'm really bad at managing my time enough so I can blog, but I have made myself sit down and put my mind to work. I do have two very interesting stories to share, that I think you'll find interesting.

                                             Raw Vegan Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich

The first one happened about a week ago. I was at St. Lawrence Market with my Media class, and I was eating my lunch with a friend when something crazy happened. I had packed my lunch for the day, because I figured I wouldn't find any vegan takeout places, but I did buy a bag of grapes, blackberries, and a small box of edible flowers, which I spent almost all my money on. As I am about to finish my lunch, my friend says to me, "Hey look!" and points to the restaurant/takeout place in front of where we were sitting. I was right in front of a raw, gourmet vegan place, eating my lunch, and in fact, I was watching them make smoothies and thinking how awesome it was. I AM SO SMART. I managed to find about $6 worth of change and I bought an Oreo 'ice cream' sandwich which was AMAZING. But I was super sad because they had wraps and all sorts of raw goodies that I didn't have the money or tummy space to buy and eat.

St. Lawrence Market - Raw Vegan Takeout

So, I came home and told my family about what happened and said that sunday at lunch we must go their to eat. When we showed up there on sunday, the market was closed. They all started saying they wanted to go for indian food, but I refused. So I googled a raw restaurant and found one called Rawilicious (link is below). It was so good! They had pizza, smoothies to die for, awesome salads, nachos, cheese cake - which was the bomb!- brownies, thy noodles, pasta, and more. It was truly a treat!

I just thought I'd share this experience because it really was a nice break from feeling isolated because I do my own thing at home, and I recommend it for anyone who is a vegan or a raw vegan, as a nice place to take your friends and family.

Just sharing,
Julia

Link:
http://rawlicious.ca/canada/ 

Summer Squash Pasta For the Italian

I'm Italian, meaning, I was raised on pasta like yah wouldn't believe it. So you'd think that being a vegan I'd eat a lot of pasta, but I don't. In fact, as some of you might know from earlier blogs, I can't really eat pasta anymore. I'm so used to digesting easy fruits and veggies it gives me an upset stomach. Also, refined flours in pastas are not good for you, and even whole wheat pastas contain refined sugar, which is AWEFUL. But, I have found multiple substitutes that honestly are better than the real thing, well, at least I think so. One of them being summer squash pasta.

To make this, you will need..

1/2 a summer squash

1/2 can of pureed tomatoes (or you can blend your own, just be sure to drain them so it is not watery)

2 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp black pepper

1/4 cup vinegar

3 Raw corn

First things first, pull out your spiralizer! If you do not have one, ORDER ONE RIGHT NOW! I'll put the link below where you can get one, and if not, order off amazon! DO IT! It will change your life! Once you do that, grab your squash and spirolize it all up! This will easily make enough for 1 HUGE dinner, or for 3 people if your serving it with other stuff too, like a salad.

Take your corn, raw, and slice off the kernels into a bowl, and add them to your 'noodles'. This part is optional but it gives awesome texture and it tastes amazing especially if your corn is ripe and sweet.

Next, set your noodles aside, and grab your seasonings and tomato puree. Mix all your seasonings in with the puree and add the vinegar. Give it a taste to make sure it is up to your likings, and feel free to add anymore spices if you find that it needs it. I made this recipe last night and I don't really ever measure so my measurements may be less than I actually put it, so experiment.

Pour your sauce on top - you can heat it up if you want - and mix well. In these pictures you will see what looks like meatballs, and they are buckwheat meatballs, but I haven't perfected the taste yet so I will not share how I made those- I'm working on it I promise!

Eat as much as you want because it will taste that good,

Julia
Link: http://juicers4life.com/spirooli-vegetable-slicers-and-spiral-slicers/
Amazon link:  http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=pd_sl_j91wdg5wb_b?ie=UTF8&keywords=spirooli&tag=googcana-20&index=aps&hvadid=16534035466&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=182130322014472862&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b

Pie for Breakfast Anyone?

FIRSTLY. I know I have not posted something in a long time, but I promise you it is only because I haven't been making things that are all that exciting lately since school has started again. BUT, 'tis the weekend and time for something delicious. Pie. I had Pie for breakfast. Wow. And guess what, it's raw, it's vegan, and it's 100% healthy. All you will need is..

FRUIT! Specifically,
1 banana
6 medium strawberries
1 cup of dates
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup water - give or take
5 Mini pie plates or 1 relatively small pie plate
Some sliced fruit for garnishing


First, in a food processor, blend up the dates and the cinnamon by pulsing it until it forms a ball
of crushed date chunks - do NOT soak your dates before, we want it chunky. Than, scoop out little balls of it and wetting your fingers, spread it on to your tiny pie plates, or big plate, so that it forms a crust. By wetting your fingers the dates will not stick to you as much.

     
Whatever is left over of the dates, put it in a blender with the water, banana, and strawberries and mix on high. Now, here you can do one of two things.      

 - You could poor the mixture into the pies and freeze over night and have an awesome crust but a cold, frozen middle, which still tastes really good. Or you could stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour just so it holds the crust in place, but it may still fall apart.

  -You could make your crusts the night before, freeze them, than the next morning add your mixture and put them back in the freezer for 30 minutes just to chill the middle, and than eat them.



Your pick:)


Anyhow, cut up some fruit and decorate. Than eat everything because it tastes so good and it is so good for you! Enjoy!

Julia

Morning Granola Gone Raw

Granola is one of my favourite snacks, and I especially love it in a nice bowl of fruit with my breakfast. This is a recipe for awesome breakfast/snack granola that is raw vegan friendly, and that I came up with myself. It requires a dehydrator, but like always, I encourage those who do not have a dehydrator to try it in your oven at the lowest possible temperature, even if it is too high to be considered raw friendly.

What you will need to make this recipe is....
2 cups rolled oats soaked in water for 10 minutes
1/2 cup raisons
1/2 cup cranberries
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
1/3 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/3 cup water as needed
2 tsp of cinnamon

Mix all your nuts, seeds, and dried fruit in a bowl with the syrup and cinnamon until they are covered well. Drain your oats from the water - as much as you can - and add them to the mixture. If you need to add a little water you can, but you can also add more syrup if you find it to be too dry. Spread them out evenly in clumps and drizzles on your dehydrator mesh sheets and dehydrate for 12 hours at 105 degrees F. You can keep them in longer if you want them even crunchier, but I kind of like a bit of chewiness to it.

It will make about 1 1/2 jars of granola.

Keep it raw,
Julia

Raw Vegan Ravioli

No, you did not read the title wrong, it is possible to make raw vegan ravioli. I know, heaven. This recipe is a great way to satisfy a craving for some yummy ravioli, and is fairly easy to make. You can either make it vegan, or raw vegan, and I'll show you how, but both ways are just as easy.

To make enough for one person, you will need...
2-3 Big turnips with wide diameters
1/2 cup cashew cheese fermented for 6 hours (check almond cheese blog for how to make it)
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tbsp Lemon juice
Sprinkle Black pepper

First, peel your turnips so all the skin is removed and cut off the ends. Than, either boil them for 20 minutes, if making them vegan, or, if your making them raw vegan, grab a mandolin slicer and slice them into circles as thin as you can get them. If you boiled them, after they are done, just do the same or you can use a sharp knife to slice them.

Next, take your cashew cheese and add in the garlic powder, lemon juice, and pepper. Mix it well, and then, taking your biggest circular slices of the turnips, place about a teaspoon of the cashew mixture into the middle of the circle, and fold it over like a ravioli. It is important that your slices are thin if you did not cook them otherwise when you fold them over they will break; be sure they are thin too if you cooked them.

Serve alone or with some tomato sauce! Also, if you want to spice it up, make it beets instead of turnips! Yum!!

Ravioli is the best,
Julia

Healthy, Raw Vegan Onion Rings

One of the funnest things about vegan cooking is discovering all the different substitutes and recipes for foods you used to eat but you cannot anymore. Another great thing is knowing that these substitutes and recipes are healthy, so you can eat as much as you like. Fried food is something that so many people love and eat without a thought about what it is doing to their bodies. It does, however, make a nice side with a sandwich, if only it was healthy. Well, it can be :)

To make your own healthy onion rings, you will need...

1/4 Cup buckwheat flour
1/4 flax meal or ground up flax seeds
1/4 rolled oats ground up
Seasonings of your choice ( salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, coriander, etc)
1 onion sliced thinly

In a food processor, mix all the ingredients except the onion until blended well. Take your onion and slice it as thin as possible, and than pull each layer apart so you get different sized rings. Put them in a bowl and drizzle some water onto of them.


Take each ring and dip it into the mixture, and than place it onto a dehydrator mesh sheet. Dehydrate at 105 degrees F for 6-12 hours, or until they are as crunchy as you like. Serve on the side of a sandwich or in a salad! If you do not have a dehydrator, you can always stick them in the oven, but if you cook them above 110 degrees F they will not be considered raw; they will still taste AWESOME though!

Eat everything,
Julia

Vegan Egg Salad with Raw Bread

One of the hardest foods to recreate as a vegan is a sandwich. Yes, the simple sandwich. I only find this because you have no cheese or meat to put in your sandwich, so it is hard to make it filling and substantial. Now, don't get me wrong, I like my sandwiches with veggies and there are tons of things that you can stick in it, but sometimes I want something that fills me up more and feels like a real sandwich, without having to use fake cheeses made form soy or fake meats. Than, it hit me: egg salad, but not with eggs :O. And all I needed to do this was..

Eggs/others:
85g of tofu
Bread (I made raw bread; check out blog: Raw Sunflower Bread for recipe)
Pickles
Avocado
Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Ground Coriander

Mayo
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp mustard
Salt/pepper
2/3 tbsp Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp White vinegar
1/4 cup Almond milk/ Soy milk
(I'll link below where I based mine off of)




First, take your canola oil and milk and blend it up in a mixer. Add in the mustard, salt and pepper, and Maple Syrup. Than, add in half of the vinegar, blend it for 10 seconds, and than add the other half, blending it for another 30 seconds. This gives it a thicker consistency. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before continuing the next steps.

When your mayo has cooled, cut up your tofu into little cubes that resemble eggs that have been hard boiled and cut. Take a few spoonfuls of mayo and mix it in with the tofu, and than sprinkle some garlic, coriander, black pepper, and salt on top. Make sure you don't put too much mayo or it will over power everything.

On your bread, put some avocado and place your pickles - slice them first - on top. Slather on the tofu egg-salad mixture, and devour greedily.

Eggcellent fun to share and eat,
Julia

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aga09AgDBiU

Raw Sunflower Bread

For some reason, wheat no longer agrees with my stomach. It is not because I am gluten intolerant, I know that, but it just doesn't digest well. When I eat it, I swear to you I wake up the next morning and can feel it in my stomach. I believe this is because the more and more I got into raw food, the less I ate it, so it is almost like my stomach has just forgotten what to do with it, since it is so used to the easy digestibility of fruits and vegetables. So, I have the problem of not being able to eat any pasta or bread, despite my desire for them occasionally. I know though that I am not the only one who feels this way. Many raw vegans say that after eating cooked or processed foods they wake up and feel sedated or groggy, and that's exactly how it feels. Now, sometimes I will make an exception, like the time I made gnocchi, but other than that, I have to find other ways to enjoy my favourite foods. Raw foods = the answer to everything. Today I am going to share a really good recipe that I found in one of my raw books but I changed a little to suite my own taste buds, and made it my own. I will, however, attach the link to the book I have, because it is a really good source of basic recipes and fun new raw vegan ideas that you must know of.

For this you will need...
1/3 cup chopped celery
3 tbsp sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup steel cut oats/ rolled oats
1/4 cup water as needed
Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
Sea salt

Grind up the flax seeds and sunflower seeds in a blender or food processor. Add in the oats, and poor in the water as needed. Add the celery and seasonings. If you need to add more water go ahead, but don't make it to thin; it should have a doughy texture and it should be thick.

Scoop it up and spread it out on a dehydrator non-stick sheet. Make sure that the thickness stays consistent throughout so it dries evenly. Place it in the dehydrator at 105 degrees F for 4 - 4 1/2 hours.

Take it out and carefully flip it onto a mesh tray. Using a knife, slice it into the size bread pieces you desire (DONT CUT THE MESH!!), and pop that sucker back into the dehydrator for another 2-3 hours. The longer you keep it in, the more like a cracker it will become, depending on how thick you make it. You want it to be a little moist so it has a similar texture to bread.

Serve and enjoy!
Julia

Link: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Anis-Raw-Food-Essentials-Recipes-Ani-Phyo/9780738213774-item.html?ikwid=ani%27s+raw+food&ikwsec=Home

Before Vegan Baking #2

Time to post something about food :)

Well, if you read my other blog about non vegan baking, you will know that I helped out my mom with christmas baking last year and made a ton of cookies and cakes. Last time a shared a picture of a cake I made, and this time I thought I'd show a couple of the cookies I made/cookie platters I put together.
The cookies below are chocolate sugar cookies, which I made basically from using a simple sugar cookie recipe and adding some melted chocolate to it.  I'll attach the link for where I got the recipe from - excellent recipe may I add; people eat everyone of the cookies when I make them - as well as the link to the pictures that inspired the design for my cookies when I decorated them.

Always cooky,
Julia
    


                             





                               

                               

                               

Links: http://www.joyofbaking.com/SugarCookies.html

http://www.madbaker.net/category/cookies/