Nut Butter Cups ~ Raw Food Recipe

makes about 8 cups ~ $.96 per cup

1/2 cup almond butter ($.50)
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast ($.05)
2 tablespoons agave ($.40)
pinch salt

1/2 cup cacao butter or coconut oil ($3.00)
3/4 cup cacao powder ($2.50)
6 tablespoons agave ($1.20)
pinch salt

This is a very basic version of the nut butter cup. Mix together the almond butter, nutritional yeast, agave, and salt. Form into round disks that will fit inside your chosen mold (I used a cupcake pan with paper liners) and place on waxed or parchment paper. Stick in the fridge for about a half hour, until the mix is chilled well and firm.

In a double boiler, melt the cacao butter or coconut oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Into your mold, pour a thin layer of chocolate and then put in the freezer to chill to harden. Put the nut butter disk on top in the center and pour on another layer of chocolate. Freeze this for about a half hour and unmold.







nutritional information:      calories: 290      fat: 24 gr      carbs: 21 gr      protein: 4 gr

Raw Food Menu: June 16, 2013

Breakfast 

Jennifer Cornbleet's Apple Crisp

8 servings ~ $1.35 per serving
a recipe by Jennifer Cornbleet

ingredients

• 4 apples, peeled and thinly sliced ($3.00)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice ($.50)
• 1/2 cup pitted medjool dates, soaked in water for 10 minutes and drained ($1.00)
• 1/2 cup raisins, soaked, soaked in water for 10 minutes and drained ($.50)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups crumble topping (see recipe below)

This is a recipe from Jennifer Cornbleet's Revised Edition of Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People. I love this book. It's among the best out there for doable raw food. The recipes are simple but delicious, and Jenny has super easy and clear instructions. Look out below for a chance to win your own copy!


Thinly slice 2 of the apples and chop the remaining 2 apples. Put the sliced apples and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice in a medium bowl. Toss gently and set aside. Put the chopped apples, dates, raisins, cinnamon, and remaining tablespoon of lemon juice in a food processor fitted with the S blade and process until smooth. Add to the sliced apples, stirring until well combined.

To assemble the crisp, press 1/2 cup of the topping (see below) into an even layer in an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Spread the apple filling on top using a rubber spatula. With your hands, knead pieces of the remaining 1 1/2 cups of topping until they stick together. Lay these pieces of topping on the filling to form a cobbled appearance, allowing some of the filling to peek through. Serve chilled, at room temperature, or warm (see warming option). Cover with plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator, Apple Crisp will keep for 3 days.

crumble topping

• 2 cups raw walnuts or pecans ($4.00)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut ($1.00)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins, unsoaked ($1.00)
• 8 medjool dates, unsoaked ($.80)
• 1/2 cup whole cane sugar or maple sugar (optional, for a sweeter topping)

Place the walnuts, coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a food processor fitted with an S blade and process until coarsely ground. Add the raisins and dates and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and begins to stick together. Don't over process. Add the optional whole cane sugar and process briefly. Store in a sealed container. Crumb Topping will keep for one month in the refrigerator or three months in the freezer.

Warming option: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Turn off the oven, insert the crisp, and warm for 15 minutes. Alternatively, heat for 30 minutes in a food dehydrator set at 105 degrees F.

nutritional information:      calories: 300      fat: 12 gr      carbs: 51 gr      protein: 3 gr

Lunch

Carrot Apple Soup

serves 2 ~ $2.01 per serving

6 carrots, chopped ($1.00)

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 avocado ($1.49)

1 large apple ($.89)

1 red bell pepper, chopped ($.79)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

pinch cinnamon

pinch cumin

water for blending

In a blender, combine all ingredients and pureed until very smooth and creamy. Use as much as necessary for the desired consistency. This soup would be awesome in a Vita Mix or a similar blender, but any blender will work ... although it may take a few minutes. If it's not smooth enough, press through a wire mesh strainer.

Serve with a few bits of chopped apples and onions and a drizzle of olive oil.

nutritional information:      calories: 363      fat: 25 gr      carbs: 37 gr       protein: 4 gr 

Dinner

Portobello Marinara with Pasta

serves 2 ~ $3.75 per serving

This is a warm and hearty dish, sure to satisfy during the colder months.

mushrooms

• 2 portobello mushrooms ($3.00)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced ($.40)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil ($.20)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar ($.10)
• 1 tablespoon agave ($.20)
• 1 clove garlic, pressed ($.10)
• 1/2 teaspoon favorite herb blend
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

zucchini pasta

• 2 medium zucchini ($1.00)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil ($.10)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice ($.10)
• 1 tablespoon agave ($.10)

marinara sauce

• 1 large tomato ($1.00)
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes ($1.00)
• 1 tablespoon agave ($.20)
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• salt and pepper

directions

• Brush off the mushrooms with a soft towel. Remove the gills underneath, if desired, by rubbing them gently with a finger (they should come off fairly easily). Slice the mushrooms into 1/2 inch slices.
• Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, agave, garlic, herb blend (I used Mrs. Dash Chipotle), and salt. Toss with the sliced mushrooms and onion to coat well. Spread out on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for about an hour.
• While the mushrooms are warming, slice the zucchini into pasta noodle sized strips. I keep intending to get a spiralizer, but so far a vegetable peeler works well to make noodles. Whisk together the remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Let stand for about 45 minutes.
• In a food processor, fitted with an "S" blade, process all marinara ingredients until very smooth.
• Spoon out a bit of the marinara sauce and lay the mushrooms. Serve with a side of onions, and zucchini pasta.     

nutritional information:      calories: 338       fat: 21 gr      carbs: 33 gr      protein: 7 gr

Dessert

Molten Cupcakes

 serves 3 ~ $1.08 per serving

ingredients

• 1/2 cup almonds ($1.25)
• 4 dates ($.80)
• 1 tablespoon cacao powder ($.20)
• 3 tablespoons agave ($.30)
• 3 tablespoons cacao powder ($.60)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil ($.10)

directions
In a food processor fitted with an “S” blade, process the almonds until they are coarsely chopped. Add the dates and one tablespoon of the cacao powder. This will come together into a crumbly but sticky pie crust like texture.

Stir together the agave, remaining cacao powder, and coconut oil.

Use half the crumbly mix and press into the bottom and up the sides of a cupcake tin or similar container (I used a small teacup), leaving a well at the center.

Spoon the agave, cacao, coconut oil mixture into the center well and cover gently with a layer of the remaining crumbly mix and press to seal at the edges.

Too serve, heat for a half hour in a dehydrator, and the gooey chocolate center will be warm enough to be “molten.” Top with a tablespoon of any sweetened almond cream and strawberries, if desired.

nutritional information: calories: 238 fat: 21 gr carbs: 11 gr protein: 8 gr

Total cost for the day: $8.19

total calories: 1,269

total fat: 79 gr

total carb: 132 gr
total protein: 22 gr

Raw Food Meal Plans, Book News, & Recipe Testers

 Raw on $10 Meal Plans 

Weeks Five through Eight

Four weeks for only $10!

I'll be back to making meal plans one week at a time next week! Until then, grab them while they're on sale!

A Book ...

I'm really, really excited to announce that I'm writing a book that will be published by Quarry Books next year. It's a raw food lifestyle and recipe book that focuses on luscious, beautiful recipes that are also affordable. Quarry is a terrific company ... they've published books by Judita Wignall, Suzi Blu, Jenny Doh, and lots more of some of my favorite cookbook and art authors. I'll give you more details as I go along!

Recipe Testers

Would you like to test drive some recipes before they're published?

Send me a note at lisacole690@aol.com

Green Salad with Mango Dressing ~ Raw Food Recipe

serves 2 ~ $1.55 per serving

dressing

• 1/2 cup mango chunks ($.40)
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped green pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil ($.20)
• 1 tablespoon agave ($.10)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar ($.10)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice ($.20)
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

salad

• 1 head romaine ($1.89)
• 1 medium onion
• 4 stalks celery ($.20)
• walnuts

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bullet type blender and pureed until smooth. (I use small canning jars with the blade assembly of my regular blender.)

Toss together the chopped romaine, chopped celery, chopped onion, and add some walnuts. Top with the mango dressing.

How and Why to Soak Your Nuts! ... {and How to Store Them, Too!}

Nuts are indispensable in the raw kitchen. Nutrition rich, they form the base of creamy nut milks, cheeses, pie crusts, pies, and more. But, some of them, if not soaked before use, can cause problems with digestion or taste bitter. Soaking will improve the digestibility, and the flavor, of any nut.

 It’s the nut’s enzyme inhibitors and tannins that cause a great deal of the problem. Enzymes are what power any biological process, including germination. Nuts contain enzyme inhibitors to prevent them from germinating until they’re in the right conditions. Water not only deactivates the enzyme inhibitors, it’s most important for a growing seed.


Also, you’ll notice the water from soaked nuts turns brown. This is the tannins which have been released into the water. It’s very acidic and shouldn’t be used in your recipes, but it’s excellent for watering plants.

Once soaked, or soaked and dried, nuts are much sweeter and will have a lighter, fresher taste and be easier to digest.

To soak, place the almonds in a container along with approximately twice the water that is needed to cover them completely. The nuts will soak up much of the water, so make sure you have enough. Soak for two to three hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.

Pour off the soak water and rinse the almonds well. For milks and other recipes that will have added water, just set aside the wet nuts. They can be drained and placed in tubs and put in the refrigerator for up to three days or in the freezer until needed.


For recipes that require dry nuts, like pie crusts and truffles, spread the nuts on a lined sheet and dehydrate for several hours or overnight at about 118 degrees. They can also be dried in an oven set on a low temperature with the door left slightly ajar. These dried nuts can be stored in jars or other lidded containers at room temperature. For even more freshness and longer shelf time, they can be kept in the refrigerator or freezer and will keep this way for up to three months in the freezer.