Raw Vegan Chocolate Sandwiches

Chocolate = my friend. Raw Vegan Chocolate = My best friend. Best friends do good things for you. Raw vegan chocolate does good things for you:) If you LOVE chocolate and decadent, chocolaty things, than this is the recipe for you. It is rather easy to make and does not involve you buying some scary ingredient in a crazy health foods store in the middle of nowhere. It will satisfy any chocolate craving and guess what...it is 100% low fat (in the entire recipe there is only 0.5g of fat...yeah) and it is raw vegan = eat as much as you want of it! To make it you will need...

makes about 4 sandwiches

1 cup raisons c

2 tbsp cocoa powder or raw cacao

3 dates soaked for 1 hour

1 banana 

In a blender, mix the dates with 1 tbsp of cocoa. This is your chocolate sauce. I love this stuff, and honestly, I am not even exaggerating, it tastes like cookie batter. I promise. The only difference is that this has 0.25g of fat and is healthy for you :) Set that aside, and in a food processor, blend up your raisons with 1 tbsp of cocoa powder. You may need to add some water, but try not to. If you do and you add too much, just add some more cocoa powder. Th best way to make this is to pulse the food processor until it all clumps into a ball in the machine. You should be able to stick it together with your fingers. Form little cookies (2 per sandwich). 

 

Layer some chocolate sauce on both of the cookies. Chop your banana into slices and put them on one side of the cookie. Close the cookie, and than...eat away my friends. 

Chocolate can be good for you,

Julia

Stuffed Red Peppers

On most Saturday nights, I tend to not only cook only for myself, but for my entire family. This is a great vegan recipe that will satisfy any hungry crowd of people, who are opposed to your vegan ways. It really satisfies people and I guarantee they will not miss the meat or dairy. It is low fat, oil free, and 100000000% vegan :D The great thing about peppers is when you cook them they let out a natural oil that has no fat, so no need to add any oil here! Start cooking by..

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
You'll need (serves 7; or less, and use leftovers for lunches during the week)

7 red peppers
6 cups of pre-cooked red rice
3/4 cup peas
3/4 cup corn
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1 cup cherry tomatoes
10 stalks asparagus
10 shiitake mushrooms
1 handful of enoki mushrooms (optional)
1 green onion
1 chopped garlic clove

Dressing
2 tbsp soya sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tbsp mustard seeds
Pinch Black pepper and Garlic poder
1 tbsp mustard

Take out the tops of the peppers and clean out the insides. Set them aside. In a large bowl, put the rice, peas, corn, carrots, garlic, and cherry tomatoes and mix well. Chop up your mushrooms and add them in, and chop your asparagus and add them too. Using scissors, cut the green onion into slices and add them to the mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix the soya sauce, mustard, vinegar, black pepper, garlic powder, and mustard seeds. Pour them over top of the rice mixture and stir well. Than, grab the peppers and stuff them with the rice; get as much as you can in there. Place them in a large pan and if you have nay left over rice, just spread it out evenly amongst the peppers. Cover with tin foil and let it cook for 45min-1hour. Make sure you check on it around 30 minutes just to be sure.

Serve with sweet potato fries, and some olive pine nut salad :)

Family vegan dinner? I think so,
Julia

Olive Pine Nut Salad

When I have my fats on the weekends, I really love to include them in salads using nuts, seeds and olives. This is like the pesto pasta, but in salad form. It is truly delicious and so many people love this, so it is great for family meals too. I always love to try out new recipes on my family, partially because they are forgiving if I really make something gross- not too often I swear ;) - but also cooking your food for non vegans is a great way to introduce them to your lifestyle. If you are someone who has parents who don't accept your eating habits, cooking for them is a great way to show them your knowledge about what you are doing, and if what you make them is really good, they'll be more accepting. When I first became a vegan, I had several vegan dinner parties to introduce my relatives to my new lifestyle, and therefore, they are all supportive. So try this out on them, by grabbing some..

1 big bowl of mixed greens (romaine)
1/4 head romaine lettuce
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tbsp hemp seeds

Dressing:
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp Agave nectar
2 tbsp white vinegar

First, mix together the dressing ingredients so they can marinate. Then, put all your lettuce in a big bowl, and add in your pine nuts and hemp seeds. Hemp seeds are a great source of protein and they also have a salty flavour to them, so they kind of taste like cheese :3. Chop the olives and add them as well. Pour over top the dressing and mix well. Serve to yourself, friends and family:)

Yum,
Julia

Guilt-Free Sweet Potato Fries

YES. YES. YES. YES. YES. That is how I feel about this. Amazing. You have now met heaven my friends. This recipe will stop any craving for fatty fast food fries. And guess what, you can eat AS MUCH as you want, and you will NEVER get fat. Ever. Wanna guess why? Because one sweet potato have..hmm..let's see... ONLY has 0.3g of fat. That's why. The best thing about a plant-based diet is that it is extremely low fat; calories do NOT matter, only fat. If your diet is composed of only fruits and vegetables, is low fat, and you only have fats from nuts, seeds, and avocados 1-2 a week (at amounts of your choice), you will never have to count calories ever again, I promise. So, that being said, get some..

Sweet potato (4-6 medium will make 3 trays)

That's all....:)

Preheat the oven to 345 degrees F. Slice your sweet potatoes into fries and lay them on parchment paper on a cookie tray. Slide them in the oven for 20 minutes, and than take them out and flip them. Put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes and than watch them until they are crunchy enough for your likings; make sure you watch them so they do not burn.

You could literally eat this for dinner...
Julia

Cooking to the Beat and Veggie Salad

(Get the title??;)

The red noodles are kelp noodles; they are usually white but the beats died them red:)

So the other day, my mother literally came home with, no exaggeration, at least 200 beats from her uncles garden. Holy. As a result, for the past few days I've been peeing red because of all the beets I have been eating. This recipe is one of the meals I made out of beats; I really love it since it combines my typical salad with all the beets I have to eat now. For this recipe, you will need...

7 Medium Beets....obviously;) boiled for 25 minutes
1 head of romaine
1 cup mixed greens
1/2 cup kelp noodles
1 raw cob of corn
1 carrot
1/2 cup cauliflower boiled for 5 minutes
10 spears of asparagus boiled for 3 minutes
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

Dressing:
2 tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup if you do not have it)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar

Chop the romaine lettuce and add it to a large bowl with the spinach, mixed greens, and cherry tomatoes. Chop the cauliflower and asparagus, as well as the corn, and add it to the lettuce. Take your beets and cube them into medium sized pieces. Take your kelp noodles and using scissors just snip them so they don't bunch up in one piece and spread them out evenly in your salad. Kelp noodles are really awesome; they are seaweed made into noodles, an they taste super awesome! Great raw noodles! Finally, mix the dressing in a bowl and pour it onto your salad- if you need more, than feel free to add more vinegar, lemon, or even more agave. Mix and eat it all! If you want to make this recipe raw, do not cook the cauliflower, asparagus, or the beats. When using raw beets, just thinly slice off the peel as it can be bitter, and cube it the same way you would as if it was cooked; the inside will taste sweet, not bitter like the peel (I actually love raw beets).

Beware of red pee,
Julia

Nori Rolls:Baie St. Paul Style

Okay, don't get to excited about the title....it is a little misleading..since this recipe doesn't really have anything to do with Baie St. Paul (Quebec) directly. But here is the story: when I used to go there during the march break for skiing, there was this place by the inn we would stay at called Joe's Smoked Meat (yuck). Well, I won't lie I loved it then, but anyways. So, they used to serve smoked meat, obviously, but with pickles and muster, and I loved that combination. This recipe uses pickles and mustard, and really reminds me of the sandwich I once thought was fantastic.
To make these rolls, you'll need... (makes about 10-12)

4 sheets of nori (sushi sheets)
1/2 cup Baby tomatoes, chopped in half
1 roll of Hearts of Palm chopped (about 3'' long; you can buy them in a can at most stores)
2 big pickles
1 cup alfalfa sprouts

Dipping sauce
1/8 cup vinegar
1/2 tbsp mustard


Lay out one sheet of nori roll, and put a thick layer down of the alfalfa sprouts; this will act as your rice. Slice 1 pickle into thin pieces and layer them in the middle of the alfalfa sprouts evenly. On top of that, put the chopped tomatoes, and right beside them, layer the hearts of palm; the hearts of palm should be chopped into circles, and then into halves. Tightly rap the nori roll and stick together with water. Than, put it onto another sheet and roll again, since the moisture can often make them break. Cut them into 6-5 thick pieces using scissors (the easiest way I find). Repeat these straps again for the other roll. Finally, mix together the vinegar and mustard. Dip the rolls into them and enjoy.

Yummy veggies,
Julia

Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Smoothie

I believe that the most important meal of the day is breakfast, and this is coming from someone who never used to eat breakfast. I usually eat majority of my calories at breakfast, so that I can stay energized throughout the day, and avoid eating too much at night. That being said, who doesn't like pumpkin pie for breakfast ;) This is my own personal recipe that a made when I was trying to find a way to use up the left over pumpkin I used for the pumpkin oatmeal. Than, out of my experimentation, I came up with this:)

3/4 cup pumpkin puree
6-10 bananas depending on size
1 extra banana
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp mace
1/4 tsp thyme
6 soaked dates (for 1-3 hours)
Almond milk (see instructions for amount)

In your blender, put all of your ingredients except for the milk and the extra banana. When you add your milk, like always, pour it in until it reaches the halfway point of all your ingredients. Than, mix it all together until it is smooth. Slice some banana on top with the extra banana you have set aside, and EAT EVERYTHING. I eat all of it every time; YOU CAN NEVER EAT TOO MUCH FRUIT. EVER. PERIOD!:)

Hope it makes your day as great as mine,
Julia

Typical Veggie Salad

Everyday, I usually have two big fruit meals, breakfast being my biggest, and finish off with a giant salad for dinner. I love my routine, since on it I feel my best, and it gives me all the energy I need to get through the day, and come home and workout. It is rather easy to make, and I have listed a few salad dressing variations you can use, on any salad you see here. It can be raw, but I cook two of the ingredients in this recipe, which would make it not raw; you can easily just add them in raw, it will taste just as good!

Start with...
1 head of romaine lettuce
1 carrot
2 mini cucumbers
2/3 cup cherry tomatoes
10 stems of asparagus boiled for 3 min (optional to cook)
1 cup cauliflower boiled for 5 min (optional to cook)
1 cup mixed lettuce greens
1 cob of raw corn

Cut your romaine lettuce up and put it in a large bowl with the other lettuce and the baby tomatoes. Chop the cucumber up, asparagus, and cauliflower, adding that in as well. Cut the corn off the cob and add that as well. Raw corn is super sweet, which is why I do not cook it like the cauliflower and the asparagus. Take your carrot, and using a peeler, over the salad, peel it until you get to the core so you have thin strips of carrot.

To dress, you can..

Use vinegar

Use lemon and honey (microwave to melt honey for 20 seconds)

Or all three together!!:)

Eat everything!!!! I'm serious! Veggie Up!

Julia

Rice Raps: Two Variations

I usually do not make small vegetable plates, since you tend to need big bulk when it comes to getting everything you need. When I do, rice raps are an awesome choice, and the best thing about them is you can change the fillings all the time to switch it up; you can make the recipe your own! Here are some ideas of what you can fill your raps with, and how to go about making them.

First, you want to soak the raps in warm water until they are soft. Than, lay your filling in the middle and rap it up so it is as tight as you can get it. In one of these pictures, you can see I have filled it with some cooked carrots, zucchini, and lentils and have put that onto a slice of raw asian cabbage. The cooked veggies were just boiled. The other variation I did was with some raw veggies, carrots, tomatoes, etc, and some oranges all put on top of some mixed greens. By putting lettuce on the bottom, it prevents it from breaking the rice paper. 

So try out your own recipes, and fill them with your favourite foods!

Julia

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a great breakfast to have as a vegan! It is fast to make- can even be made the night before- and truly delicious. On top of that it can be topped with anything you desire, and it has way more nutritional value than most store bought cereals filled with artificial chemicals and god knows what else. I really recommend trying to eliminate as many foods that contain chemicals or are not homemade- endless you read the ingredients and it is made up of all whole foods- from your diet. It allows your liver to process your food more efficiently, and even lets you burn fat more efficiently, since your liver will not be preoccupied with cleansing your body of all the chemicals you eat. As well, foods and drinks with chemicals make your body more acidic, which actually forces it to retain fat around your organs in order to protect them. This fat is called visceral fat, and since it is close by your organs, it is the most dangerous. Finally, because your body stores chemicals that your liver cannot dispose of in fat-overload of chemicals forces the liver to store them- by eating less chemicals you will ultimately reduce your body fat percentage; your body cannot let go of fat full of chemicals otherwise these chemicals would leach into your system and poison your body. Point is, read the ingredients!
But enough of that, oatmeal time! For this version of oatmeal, you will need....
(makes enough for 1-3 people)
1/3 cup canned pumpkin pure
1/3 cup steel cut oats
1/3 cup whole grain rolled oats
1 cup water
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp maple syrup
juice from half an orange
Handful of Pumpkin seeds
Handful of cranberries dried
Some flaxseeds
Fresh blueberries

First, put the water into a pot and let it come to boil. Than add all your ingredients in except for the seeds, cranberries and blueberries. Cook for about 20-25 minutes, and taste just to make sure it is not uncooked. Put some in a bowl and add the toppings. You can even add a little almond milk too!

Happy breakfasting,
Juila

Steel Cut Oat Salad

If you are tired of your usual salad, either of fruits or of veggies, and find yourself adding more nuts and seeds to them than you should in a quest for texture, than I am going to give a solution. I really love barley salads, primarily because of the texture. Barley can take a while to cook though and the prep of cleaning it can be tedious to some, especially if you want something fast. When I saw a recipe for a salad with barley, I really wanted to make it, but I didn't have barley so than I came up with an improvise: using steel cut oats. If you don't know what they are, steel cut oats are a form of oatmeal but they have texture, similar to that of barley. It just so happened that my dad had some left over from breakfast in the fridge, so I got creative:P To make this salad, you'll need
 (snack sized salad; use 2-3 times as much for a regular salad)

1/3 cup steal cut oats
1 cup water
1/2 a head of romaine chopped
2 peaches or 1 large california peach
1 cup blackberries
2 cups green grapes
Balsamic vinegar

First, pour the water into  pot, and once it has reached a boil add the oats and cook for 20-25 minutes. When they are done, set aside in the fridge to cool. Next, chop up the salad and fruits adding them all together in a big mixing bowl. Take out your oats and break it apart into chunks and add it to the salad. Toss with vinegar or dressing of your choice.

Enjoy,
Julia

Ultimate Breakfast: Banana Minty

I am going to share today a very special recipe I created a couple weeks ago. I don't know how exactly I came up with it, but I do know that anyone who tries it will not be able to resist it. It makes the perfect breakfast, especially if you're someone like me who has little time in the morning, or has to sometimes eat breakfast on the go and does not have time to eat a giant bowl of fruit. I eat this every morning for breakfast, well probably 90% of the time I do, and I never get tired of it. I encourage you to try it, it is fully raw, vegan, and delicious!
You shall need

--- 6-10 bananas (depending on how much you like to eat; I usually use 9-10 if they are small, if they are big 6, and if they are average 7-8)
--- Almond milk - store bought or homemade raw
--- 1/2 to 1 cup blueberries (depends on how many bananas you use, but if you only use six and you love     blueberries use the entire cup too!!)
--- 5-7 Dates
--- 10 medium sized leaves of mint
--- other berries of your choice

First, blend up all the bananas you are using EXCEPT FOR ONE OF THEM; leave one set aside for later. With your bananas in the blender, add the dates and the blueberries as well along with the almond milk. When you add the almond milk, fill it up half way to all the other ingredients you have put in there (i.e. your bananas, however high they reach in your blender, would be the top, so half of that). Mix that well and add in your mint too. Poor it into a bowl, or you can just leave it in the blender :) Next, for the finishing touches, chop up the left over banana and add that in with any other berries you'd like. Finally, eat it with a spoon and EAT IT ALL! Stuff that fruit in if you have to! It will do your body good and eventually you will be able to eat it all with no problem!

Fruit up,
Julia

p.s. I eat everything in the above picture of the blender just so you know :)

Raw Vegan Blackberry Cheese Cake

No, you did not read the title wrong; it is possible to enjoy cheesecake on a vegan and specifically raw vegan lifestyle. No need to fret, there is more to life than just salads. This recipe is one that I made based off several recipes I found on the internet. I normally don't follow a recipe exactly, but just take ideas from it to make my own version; I just use the basics. I really recommend this to anyone who is trying to cook for themselves, since it is a good way to get creative, and allows you to not always have to plan and find a recipe for everything you want to eat. Anyways, here are the following things you will need for this recipe...

for the crust...

2 cups walnuts

9 medjool or large dates pitted

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

for the filling...

4 cups raw cashews soaked for 5-10 hours

1 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup maple syrup

2/3 cup olive oil

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup blackberries

for the sauce.....

1 cup blackberries

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup blackberries for decorating

First, in a food processor, chop the walnuts until they are in fine chunks. Than, add in the dates and cinnamon until you can pick up the mixture with your fingers and it sticks together. Spread it out along the bottom of a cheesecake pan (has removable sides) nice and thick, and set in the refrigerator to cool.

Next, in you blender, mix the soaked nuts, lemon, vanilla, olive oil, and syrup. You should not require any water, but if you do add only a little; you want to keep it as thick as possible. Taking your mixture, poor about 1/2 a cup worth of it into a bowl and set it aside. Than mix the rest of the mixture with the blackberries. Pour the blackberry mixture on top of your crust and than take your white, non-blackberrie mixture and using a spoon, drizzle over top to create a design. 

Finally, using your blender, blend the other blackberries up with the maple syrup and drizzle that on top of the cheese cake as well. Set in the freezer for 6 hours and serve frozen (it will thaw pretty quickly so keep it in the freezer until you serve it). Add some fresh blackberries to decorate and you're golden!

Feed back is welcomed,

Julia