July 18, 2010

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Breakfast
Banana Pancakes (or Banana Nut Bread)
7 servings ~ $.65 per serving

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 hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Mine is just whizzing by. How about yours? I do hope you enjoy these reposts of previous recipes …

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, coconut nectar, or maple syrup.

calories: 440
fat: 23 gr
carbs: 58 gr
protein: 8 gr

Lunch
Cream of Broccoli Mushroom Soup
serves 2 ~ $2.61 per serving
1 head broccoli, chopped ($.89)
10 ounces mushrooms, sliced ($2.49)
1 medium onion, chopped ($.05)
1 tablespoon olive oil ($.10)
1 tablespoon agave ($.10)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar ($.10)
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
pinch of basil
1 avocado ($1.49)
1 1/2 cups water
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
To make this creamy and hearty, the veggies are marinated and dehydrated just a bit before making the soup. Chop the broccoli and onions and add it, along with the sliced mushrooms, to a container. Whisk together the olive oil, agave, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and a touch of basil. Pour over the vegetables and shake or toss to coat. Let marinate for about a half hour. Then pour into solid dehydrator sheets and dehydrate for about another hour.
To make the soup, set aside about a quarter of the marinated vegetables. Take the rest and put in the blender with the avocado and water. Puree until very smooth. Salt and pepper to taste if need, and top with the reserved marinated vegetables and a bit of red pepper flakes.
 
calories: 320
fat: 22 gr
carbs: 30 gr
protein: 9 gr
Dinner
Mushroom Burgers
serves 2 ~ $2.40 per serving
burgers
1/2 red pepper ($.45)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds ($.10)
10 oz mushrooms ($2.49)
1/3 cup walnuts ($.50)
1/2 white onion, chopped ($.13)
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped ($.05)
1 rib celery, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil ($.20)
avocado mayo
1 ripe avocado ($.78)
1 teaspoon agave ($.10)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon vinegar
This is more preparation than I usually do, but it still took less than a half hour of actual work. Mostly, it’s planning ahead. To make the burgers, wash the mushrooms well. Then, to enhance the flavor slightly and remove any excess water from washing, dehydrate the mushrooms for an hour or two.
In a blender, puree the red pepper until liquefied, adding water as needed for blending. Stir together with the ground flax seeds and let the flax seeds soak in this for 15 minutes or so, until the flax seeds have become gooey. This is what will hold the burgers together.
Reserve about 1/4 of the dehydrated mushrooms and set aside. In a food processor fitted with an “S” blade, pulse the mushrooms, walnuts, jalapeno, onion, and celery until chopped finely. Stir in the red pepper and flax mixture and two tablespoons olive oil.
 
Form burgers and place on a teflex or plastic sheet. I spread a bit of olive oil on my sheets so the burgers will flip easily. Dehydrate for about 2 hours then flip onto a regular dehydrator screen and let finish dehydrating, which takes about another 2 hours.
The avocado mayo is simple. Just blend the avocado, agave, vinegar and spices until creamy. I used the blender and think this probably needs it to be creamy enough, although mashing with a fork would probably suffice.
Serve the burgers on a bed of lettuce leaves, with a dollop of avocado mayo, some chopped red onion, chopped jalapenos, and the slightly dehydrated mushrooms that were set aside earlier.
I was getting impatient, and hungry, and took my photos below before these were fully dehydrated. They will get a bit darker than is shown here. With the oil in the mix as well as on the sheets, they are as much like a burger as just about anything I’ve seen.
calories: 223
fat: 20 gr
carbs: 7 gr
protein: 6 gr

Dessert
Banana Split with Chocolate Fudge
2 servings ~ $1.13 per serving

2 bananas, frozen in chunks ($.30)
2 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder ($.40)
pinch salt
water for blending

1 banana, sliced in half both ways ($.15)

fudge sauce

3 tbsp agave ($.30)
3 tbsp olive oil ($.30)
2 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder ($.20)
pinch salt

4 chopped strawberries ($.20)
2 tbsp chopped walnuts ($.20)

This chocolate sauce is like the really thick fudge found in jars. Very yummy with banana ice cream over sliced bananas.

Mix up the sauce first. It only takes a minute. Stir together the agave, olive oil, cocoa/cacao powder, and salt. Stir well until creamy and gooey and set aside. I suppose a bigger batch would last quite a while in the refrigerator, since there’s really nothing in it to go bad. But I can’t imagine it lasting even a day around here.

Put the frozen banana chunks in a food processor with a pinch of salt and the 3 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder (omit the cocoa and add a couple tsp of vanilla instead, if desired). Add just enough water to help process. It takes a bit of scraping down the sides, but this will churn up into smooth, creamy, soft serve ice cream.

Slice the bananas into bowls, using a half banana for each serving. Put on a few scoops of the chocolate ice cream. Top with the chocolate fudge sauce, strawberries, and walnuts.


calories: 480
fat: 26 gr
carbs: 67 gr
protein: 8 gr

Total cost for the day: $6.79

total calories: 1,463
total fat: 91 gr

total carb: 162 gr
total protein: 31 g

 Question of the Week
What is your favorite raw food book and what do you like the most about it?

 

14 Responses

  1. Vegan Epicurean says:
    July 19, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    Wow the banana pancake/bread looks great. I may have to play around that recipe soon. I have been seriously missing something like that.

    I actually don't have a favorite raw book. Though "Entertaining in the Raw" by Kenney is beautiful to look at though I don't seem to cook from it.

    Ali

  2. griffen says:
    July 19, 2010 at 12:42 pm

    i just want you to know, that raw on 10 has inspired me! your recipes are all simple and beautiful to make!

  3. kelli says:
    July 19, 2010 at 1:49 pm

    i'd love to make my own mushroom nut burgers. thanks for the recipe! everything looks great!

    the blogosphere is my favorite cookbook. it's free and i can usually find whatever it is i'm looking for. for chocolate recipes, i love heathy's just desserts ebook.

  4. Jessica @ Dairy Free Betty says:
    July 19, 2010 at 3:18 pm

    everything here is amazing (as always)

    I just did a 2 week raw foods course and fell in love with the cookbook we used, as it was so simple. http://www.rawrose.com is where you can find the book!!

  5. Amber Shea @Almost Vegan says:
    July 19, 2010 at 4:26 pm

    I'd forgotten how high in protein broccoli is :]

    I love all of Matthew Kenney's and Ani Phyo's books. I most often use MK's Everyday Raw or Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. I see myself getting much use, too, out of Ani's new book, Raw Food Essentials.
    Was very lucky to meet both of them last week as well!

  6. Nelly says:
    July 19, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    oh yum! everything on this menu looks and sounds INCREDIBLE. i love banana pancakes/bread…

    hmmm i was thinking maybe you can adopt me…haha!!!

    =)

  7. Antony says:
    July 19, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    LOVING these recipes Lisa!

    I think, if I'm honest, my favourite raw book is probably the one I've just read about and haven't bought yet 🙂 They all offer hopefulness but the ones I don't have yet offer that most of all xx

  8. Jenny says:
    July 19, 2010 at 11:02 pm

    I have everyday raw and one of Ani's books. I also have one of Kristen's raw ebooks. I like them all, and everything I have made out of them has turn into a success. I always prefer the books with as many pictures as possible. I do probably use blogs just as much as my books, as well, and like them because of the pictures, too.

    Commenting for the first time here…as someone who spends entirely too much money on food, your info. is inspiring.

  9. Angelique says:
    July 19, 2010 at 11:05 pm

    I go through phases where one book will be my favorite for a while, then another, etc. Ones I keep going back to are probably Everyday Raw, Alive in 5, and Ani's Raw Food Desserts. I'm really liking the new Ani's Essentials book and that might end up being a new fave. Once I'm done reading it all the way through, I'll leave it on my counter and see what happens. I can't wait to try the Korean recipes in it especially.

  10. Pam says:
    July 20, 2010 at 3:32 am

    Girl, you really should open a restaurant..you would be so good at it!..just my thoughts! You Rawk!…enjoy!

  11. La Mama Naturale' says:
    July 20, 2010 at 7:05 am

    Yummy! Everything looks soooo good! I'm with Pam… You rawk! I love the interwebs for recipe…enjoying your e-book! 🙂

  12. Elizabeth says:
    July 20, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    I just have to say again that I love your food!!!
    Each week most of my menu comes from your recipes, I just love eating your recipes!! Thanks.
    Favorite books are Ani's because she does such a great job explaining and keeping it relatively simple, and also Raw Transformation…just darn good recipes in there!
    Peace and Raw Health,
    Elizabeth

  13. bitt says:
    July 21, 2010 at 3:31 am

    i'll take the whole day please!

  14. Neven says:
    July 22, 2010 at 4:03 am

    Those are some seriously good looking meals especially breakfast. My favorite raw food book is Ani's Raw Food Kitchen I love the ease of the recipes and the pictures and stories remind me of why I love raw foods so much. They are fast, simple delicious and good for the earth.