Gluten-free/Raw Update

I can't lie, gluten-free was hard for the first week...even though I'm just "doing my best" at being 95% gluten-free.  The first week I ate a good bit of the "gluten-free" breads, waffles, etc, just replacing what I would normally eat.  Then we did our first "Raw Food" demo, where my friends, Cheryl and Maria, and I demonstrated a day of raw foods.  We did, a green juice, a green smoothie, zucchini with raw alfredo, salad with raw dressings, homemade almond milk, and chocolate and vanilla chia pudding.  So starting that week I've been doing about 80-90% raw foods everyday, which has made "gluten-free" very easy!  

Single serving "Tropical Delight"

Green Juice

Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

(with LOADS of Kale)

Cheers!

Fresh Veggies, with (homemade) Raw Salsa, and sometimes ya just gotta have some Nacho Doritos (I said 80-90% Raw) ;)

This was my after workout drink last night--not as sweet as some of the other juices I've done.

It had an "off" aftertaste, which was probably the red and green chard that was in the "power greens"

This was about 2 cups of the 3 cups that I made...Sara ended up with the last cup, however, she was not as enthusiastic about this one as the others I've made.

I have also been experimenting with some nut/veggie pates, which work well as a "taco" filling, or a spread on gluten-free bread, and even as a dip for raw veggies. (You can check out those recipes and pictures on a previous post.) This week I hope to do some raw crackers in my dehydrator, and experiment with sprouting some nuts/seeds.

Chocolate for Breakfast :)

I absolutely LOVE the DQ's Chocolate Cherry Love Blizzard...so that was the inspiration for this morning's breakfast smoothie.  However this one IS actually good for you!

BTW...I am LOVING my Ninja Ultra Kitchen System...I use the single serving smoothie blender almost EVERYDAY.  

The Ingredients:

(this is a mix of kale, spinach, chard, and beet tops--you can use any greens you have, keep in mind though beet tops will give a slight "beet" flavor)

Frozen cherries, frozen banana (about 1/2 of one banana is enough to sweeten), almond milk, cocoa powder (about 2t.) and vanilla extract (about 1/2t)

Blend it all until...SMOOTHIE :)

Vegan Raw Taco/Sushi/Salmon

Ok, so the post title is a bit strange and confusing.  Let me explain.  These are raw nut/vegetable pate type "spreads/fillings", which I find to be quite versatile.

I also found, while playing with these recipes, the end result is better when the nuts are soaked for several hours before blending.

First up Taco filling.

1 C sunflower seeds
1 1/2 C walnuts
1 1/2 t cumin
3/4 t coriander
2 T soy sauce (or liquid aminos of some sort)

Soak the seeds and nuts for several hours or overnight.  Blend in a food processor until finely ground.  Add the remaining ingredients and process until well mixed.

This can be used in place of taco meat or if you want to stick with a more "raw" entree, you can use lettuce leaves as your "taco shell" and top with raw salsa and avocado.

As you can see, I was lazy and just threw some chopped tomato on top.

Next up, Sushi....

I'm not including a recipe, for this one, just the idea, because I'm still tweaking the recipe.  I am using soaked walnuts and sunflower seeds, orange bell pepper, and water chestnuts (you can leave these out IF you want this to be 100% raw), sesame seeds, soy sauce, and ginger.  Once this is all processed in your food processor, you can roll it up in seaweed by itself, or with other veggies.

And finally, mock salmon spread.

2 C almonds

1 C carrots

3/4 C water

1 T lemon juice

1 t salt

1 t paprika

1-2 T Liquid smoke

Soak the almonds for several hours or overnight.  Blend in a food processor until finely ground, add the remaining ingredients and process until well blended.

This is great on cucumber slices, bread, crackers, etc.

Tropical Delight Smoothie

This smoothie is packed with greens giving it lots of vitamins and minerals, and FIBER!

In your high speed blender (I used my single serving ninja cup) pack:

1 C spinach
1 C kale

Then pour in about 1 C lite coconut milk (Thai Kitchen Brand is what I used)

Now blend until smooth.

Add:
1 C pineapple (frozen, unsweetened)
1/2 medium banana (I used one from my freezer--I keep overripe bananas in my freezer just for smoothies)

Blend again until smooth, adding a bit more coconut milk or water if needed.

Raw Brownies

My first attempt at raw "brownies".  I'm not sure I would call these "brownies" because I am of the opinion that there is only one REAL brownie, and that it is in the cake mix aisle of your grocery store.  However, I decided to make this "raw" dessert recipe and give my honest opinion.

1 C Walnuts
1 C Almonds
2 C Medjool dates
3/4 C Cocoa powder
1/4 C Coconut shavings
1/4 C Coconut oil
1 t. Vanilla extract
2 T Agave nectar
pinch of sea salt

In the food processor, blend the walnuts and almonds until finely ground.  

Add the cocoa powder, coconut, coconut oil, vanilla, agave, and salt, blend well

Rough chop the dates.

Add this to the food processor and process until it forms a sticky mass.

Press this into a 9X9 or 8X8 pan.

At this point you want to refrigerate it for an hour or so.

You can drizzle melted chocolate over this, or you can frost it with the following recipe:

Raw Chocolate Frosting:

Process the following in a food processor until smooth.

1/2 Avocado

3-5 T. Agave nectar

1/4 C. Cocoa powder

2 t. vanilla extract

I am a bit disappointed because I didn't take a picture of the finished product, but because it was actually really yummy (however not really a "brownie"), I'm sure I'll be making it again....and hopefully I'll post a picture then. ;)

UPDATE:  Here's the picture :)

Chocolate Chia Pudding

These Chia seeds...heard a lot about them, but once seeing the price, I was hesitant to actually try them. Until now.

So the benefits of Chia seeds....they are packed with fiber, calcium, protein, manganese, phosphorus, and healthy omega-3 fat.  There is even talk that chia seeds have a stabilizing effect on blood sugar and can lower blood pressure in diabetics...

Now, what to do with these little guys?  Use them as a topping to yogurt, oatmeal, fruit?  Add them to your granola bar recipe? Sprout them? OR...Make pudding! (ok, that one wins...let's see what happens...)

Chocolate Chia Pudding
(looks like tapioca to me??)

1/4 C. Chia seeds (they will "grow" absorbing the almond milk)
2 1/4 C. Almond milk
3 T good quality cocoa powder
2 T Agave nectar



Mix the Chia seeds with the almond milk and let soak AT LEAST 2 hours, overnight in the fridge may be even better. (I am impatient, so 2 hours it was.)

Then add the cocoa powder and agave, mix well, and serve. :)

Besides it looking like goopy fish eggs...the texture was similar to (small pearl) tapioca.  The flavor was a slightly sweet chocolate.  It was actually quite tasty, the kiddos loved it. This 1/4 C of seeds gave about 8 small servings.

Walnut Oat "Burgers"

I made this twice in the last week or so...but just now getting the time to post.

The Recipe:

2 C Black Olives
1/2 C water

Blend those in a blender until smooth.

In a large bowl combine the following.
5 C old fashioned oats
2 C shredded onion
1 C finely chopped walnuts
2 T low-sodium soy sauce
2 t salt
1 t sage
1 t thyme
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic salt
1/2 t marjoram

Add the olive mixture and stir well.

In the blender blend 2 C walnuts with 3 1/2 C water until smooth.  Add to your oat mixture and stir well. Let sit for 15 minutes allowing the oats to absorb the liquid.

Using 1/3 cup measure out and "flatten" the patties (the mix will still be "runny") on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min, turn the burgers over and bake another 15-20 minutes or until browned.

Gluten-free?

I started a little experiment this weekend.  I'm going to go gluten-free for a few weeks.  My mom recently decided to do this because she "heard" it would help her lose that last little bit of weight.  Now, do I believe that?...I'm skeptical. Although, in the first few days her "chronic cough" has improved.  I have read that gluten sensitivity can cause all sorts of issues, including (but not limited to) headaches, migraines, allergy symptoms, and a whole host of digestive issues.

There's a book titled "Wheat Belly" that has gone international, with the catchphrase "Lose the wheat, lose the weight..."

Several years ago, our first set of allergy tests for my step-daughter showed an allergy to wheat (in second tests it came back negative).  However, right after the tests, I had the privilege (or maybe it was a punishment?) of testing out the "gluten-free products".  I have to say I wasn't impressed.  The texture and taste of some of these products were awful--some of which I still see out there!

Fast-forward three years.  I am testing the gluten-free "diet" to see if I can see a difference in the way I feel without the wheat/gluten.  No real big reason.  I do suffer from migraine headaches and allergies, but I don't actually believe it has anything to do with wheat.  I don't really have much weight to lose either, so this is essentially a test to see if "gluten-free" will make any difference in the way I feel overall.

I do have to say that, with this new "craze" a lot more products are available for those opting for a gluten-free diet than there was 3 years ago.  Most grocery stores care some gluten-free bread and pasta if nothing else.  There is a substantial price difference though between stores.  I have found a few brands that I think are probably the best, in terms of ingredients, nutrition, and flavor/texture.

First up...bread...my  weakness...I LOVE BREAD.  I can't say that LOUD enough.

All ingredients that I can pronounce :)

Next Waffles...

For those who want a "white/fluffier" waffle

Or for those who want a "heartier" waffle.

I have also bought some various "gluten-free" pastas, which I will test out and post about later.

So far it's been about 4.5 days and I can't say I notice any difference, but everything takes time :)

Stay tuned....