Raw Food Menu: May 12, 2013 and Raw and Simple Book Review

ingredients

• 18 stawberries ($2.50)
• 2 tablespoons agave ($.20)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• pinch salt
• 2 avocados ($2.00)
• 1 small onion ($.20)

This goes together really fast, so make the strawberry sauce first and set aside.

For the strawberry sauce, in a bullet type blender, puree six
strawberries, the agave, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil until very
smooth.

Slice the avocado and arrange on a plate.  Thinly slice
the remaining strawberries and place on top of the avocado. Sprinkle on a
bit of minced onion as well.

Spoon on the strawberry sauce.

ingredients

• 5 ounces arugula ($2.50)
• 1 cucumber, sliced ($.50)
• about 12 cherry tomatoes ($1.00)
• 1 medium onion ($.10)

• 1 cucumber peeled and chopped ($.50)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil ($.10)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice ($.40)
•  1 tablespoon agave ($.10)
• 1 teaspoon tarragon ($.05)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

ingredients

• 1/4 cup walnuts ($1.00)
• 1 large tomato ($1.00)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 head romaine ($2.30)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced ($.20)
• 1 small jalapeno, sliced
• 1 ripe avocado ($.1.00)
• black olives ($.50)
• green olives ($.50)

• 4 tablespoons cashew cream ($.60) {recipe below}

directions

• Make the walnut taco meat first and set aside.
• In a food processor fitted with an “S” blade, pulse the walnuts,
  half a tomato, cumin, and salt until chopped but still a little chunky.
• To a bed of chopped romaine, add the walnut taco meat, the other
  half of tomato (chopped), sliced onion, a bit of sliced jalapeno,
  chopped avocado, and olives. 
• Top with a couple scoops of cashew cream.

cashew cream 

• 1/2 cup cashews ($2.00)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice ($.20)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Blend all ingredients in small blender until very smooth. Store
leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three
days.

nutritional information:       calories: 398      fat: 30 gr      carb: 26      protein: 13

ice cream

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

fudge sauce

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

toppings

• 1 banana, sliced in half both ways ($.15)
• 4 chopped strawberries ($.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 or date paste,
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.

Total cost for the day: $9.76

total calories: 1,534

total fat: 103 gr

total carb: 162 gr
total protein: 29 gr

Book Review:
Raw and Simple
by Judita Wignall

Judita Wignall has a beautiful new book out, called Raw and Simple: Eat Well and Live Radiantly with 100 Truly Quick and Easy Recipes for the Raw Food Lifestyle.

This is a new favorite. I loved her first book, Going Raw, and this one is an excellent addition to my raw food book library. Judita’s recipes are creative and delicious, but they’re also simple and easy to make. Most of Judita’s recipes require a relatively short list of ingredients and the recipes are easy to follow.

The thing I really love about these books is the stunning photography and food styling … the pics are beautiful and both books are luscious enough to be coffee table books.

Some of the recipes in Raw and Simple include:

Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Cookies
Apple Pie Smoothie
Winterland Salad
Cucumber Basil Soup
Creamy Kale Salad with Capers and Hazelnuts
Maple-Dijon Brussels Sprouts
Thai Veggie Noodles
Root Vegetable Slaw
Cherry-Hemp Muesli
Watermelon-Fennel-Mint Chiller
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette
Colorful Cabbage Salad
Cauliflower Couscous
Carrot-Ginger Coconut Soup
Orange-Cranberry-Apple Relish
Herbed Pecan Pate
Orange-Almond Truffles
This is a great addition to any raw food kitchen.