Breakfast
Banana Pancakes (or Banana Nut Bread)
7 servings ~ $.65 per serving
ingredients
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped ($1.60)
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped ($.80)
1 cup flax meal ($.30)
3 bananas, pureed ($.45)
1/2 cup raisins ($.40)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 bananas, sliced ($.60)
4 tbsp agave ($.40)
I had a hard time deciding what to call this. Trying to fit cooked food
descriptions on raw vegan foods can be fun, but trying as well. I
started out with an idea for raw banana nut bread that could be a
breakfast meal with some fruit added. I was in a rush and took them out
of the dehydrator when they were still quite soft, which was about two
hours on each side. With bananas on top and some agave, they made
perfectly soft, almost fluffy pancakes. The ones I left in a bit longer,
about twice as long, were excellent for banana nut bread. And, I those I
left in even longer, twice as long again, were crunchy banana cookies
… crunchy on the outside, but still having a bit of softness in the
middle.
Call this whatever you like, and adjust your dehydrating time to suit your preference.
For this recipe, the ingredients need to be processed separately and
then folded together. First, add one cup water to the flax meal and set
aside to gel. I used the food processor with the S blade to grind one
cup of walnuts fairly fine and put them in a large mixing bowl. Puree
three bananas and chop the remaining half cup walnuts coarsely, add to
mixing bowl. Add the salt, spices, and soaked flax meal and stir. Fold
in the raisins.
Place on plastic, teflex or parchment sheets in the dehydrator. Use a
spoon to scoop out 14 portions and smooth out into 3″ rounds. They
should be about 1/4 in thick and somewhat thicker than when making flax
crackers, basically the shape and size of small pancakes.
For soft pancakes, flip as soon as it’s possible to handle them and then
allow to dehydrate on the other side until firm on the outside, but the
desired softness inside.
Top with a sliced banana and a tablespoon of agave.
calories: 440
fat: 23 gr
carbs: 58 gr
protein: 8 gr
LunchTomato Cucumber Salad
2 large servings ~ $2.18 per serving
ingredients
2 cucumbers ($1.00)
2 tomatoes ($2.00)
2 cloves garlic, pressed ($.10)
1 large onion, minced ($.25)
4 ribs celery, chopped ($.30)
4 tbsp olive oil ($.40)
3 tbsp vinegar ($.30)
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
This is actually something my mom makes every once in a while on special
occasions, so I associate it with holidays and birthdays and not
necessarily “raw” foods. But it is raw and was always one of my
favorites. It’s also remarkably easy.
Slice cucumbers and tomatoes, chop onion and celery, and press (or very finely mince) the garlic. Layer on plates.
Mix together the dressing ingredients; the olive oil, vinegar, salt,
pepper and spices. Whisk together until emulsified, and drizzle over the
top.
calories: 347
fat: 56 gr
carbs: 40 gr
protein: 10 gr
Dinner
Green Salad with Cheez Crumbles
4 servings – $2.77 per serving
ingredients
1/2 batch of herbed bazil nut cheez (see dessert recipe) ($2.70)
1 head romaine ($1.89)
10 oz spinach ($1.99)
2 tomatoes, chopped ($2.00)
1/2 red onion, chopped ($.40)
1 red bell pepper, chopped ($.89)
4 tbsp olive oil ($.40)
4 tbsp viengar ($.40)
4 tbsp agave ($.40)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
The night before, take one cheez round (recipe below) and break into small pieces and dehydrate overnight.
To make the dressing, just whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, agave, and spices until emulsified.
Assemble the salad ingredients, add the cheez bits on top, and drizzle with the dressing. Salt and pepper to taste.
calories:
fat: gr
carbs: gr
protein: gr
Dessert
Brazil Nut Cheez with Grapes
4 servings ~ $1.67 per serving
ingredients
1 cup brazil nuts ($4.90)
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
juice of one lemon ($.50)
dried or fresh herbs for rolling
1 lb grapes ($1.39)
This “cheez” is amazing, and surprisingly simple to make. In a blender,
add all the cheez ingredients. Puree for several minutes until as smooth
and creamy as possible (it’s a delicious alfredo sauce at this point).
Pour into a jar or other glass container and cover with cheese cloth.
Let sit overnight or longer to develop the desired sharp taste. As it
sits, the nut “cream” will thicken up as well, making it easier to
handle.
Once the flavor has developed to your liking, divide in two equal
portions. Place in center of several layers of cheese cloth and form
into roughly a circle shape. Wrap each in the cheese cloth and place
them in a colander with a weight or weighted plate on top. Put the
colander in a sink or over a plate or bowl to catch any drips. A lot of
the liquid will be pressed out of the cheez this way. Let it press for
several hours.
This doesn’t get gooey, but it will be the consistency of cream cheese. Further pressing can make a firmer cheez.
When it has the desired consistency, remove from the cheese cloth, shape
into a wheel and roll in dried or minced fresh herbs. Serve with
grapes.
* To make cheez crumbles for the green salad above, take one of the
wheels of cheez and break into small pieces, about the size of peas or
about. Dehydrate the pieces until they’re a little crunchy on the
outside but just a little soft on the inside.
calories:
fat: gr
carbs: gr
protein: gr
total carb: 157 gr
total protein: 31 gr
Very interesting – and thrifty! You can't compete with that 🙂 That dessert looks awfully tasty too.
Angela from Jellybeans! Nice to see you here. Love your art!
The pancakes look great! And one of these days, I'll have to try my hand at vegan cheese.
Love the raw cheese … it doesn't last long enough, though!
voted for you for BEST blog in the Best of Raw Awards!!
And I voted for you for the BEST in just about every category in the Best of Raw Awards!
I know I have been learning alot from this blog! I appreciate the nutritional information she always posts at the end of the menu. I am the opposite of alot of vegetarians and vegans. I need to limit the amount of protien I eat due to the type of kidney disease I have. She makes it so much easier on me to track how many grams of protein! THANK YOU for all the HARD WORK!!!
Hi Crysta, so glad it's helpful 🙂
lisa, i drink water kefir on a daily basis–do you think i could use water kefir grains as my probiotic for the brazil nut cheeze?
I can't make it through a day on that few of calories.
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