Banana Crepes

First attempt at cracking a Thai young coconut. The directions on the label sure did not work! They said to chop off the top and insert a straw to drink the water. That wouldn't have done the trick for me anyways since I needed the meat. I hope people just don't drink the water and waste the meat. That's the best part! Thankfully I came across this awesome YouTube video from Chef Steffy Sue.

Three knives and a spatula later, I successfully opened the coconut.

Blending the Coconut Cream

• 1 cup young coconut meat
• 2 cups cashews
• ½ cup young coconut water
• 4 tablespoons agave nectar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Pulp from 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cup water (optional)

Wow! I can't believe the taste of this non-dairy cream! It's just like homemade whipped cream.



 I have extra so there may be an apple pie in my future. :)















 Banana Crepe
Layered with Coconut Cream and Strawberry Date Sauce

This is one of my all time favorite recipes - cooked or raw. I can't wait to have it again and I want everyone to try it!

Raw: Day 47 - EASTER

I made it! I am so surprised with how disciplined I was! I only had a few cooked food items, and I felt like they didn't taste as good as my raw food.

My first non-raw item was actually stale Cheez-Its after I got home late from Middle of the Map. They didn't taste good; I just ate them because I could. :)

Sunday morning coffee! The biggest surprise to myself about the raw food diet was I actually didn't crave coffee. The only day I really wanted it was Good Friday, but I knew I could make it two more days.

I had a bag of Peet's coffee in a box on top of my refridgerator all through Lent. My brother gave me a 3-month coffee tour for Easter and the final bag arrived just before Lent started. I was thrilled to have my favorite coffee to break my raw food and coffee fast. Thanks bro and sis-in-law!

7 am Easter service at Jacob's Well.

I wish I could have captured the beautiful light shining through the stained glass windows. It was glorious.

Easter brunch at Beer Kitchen with Kerry, Nathan, and Katie (complete with Top 40 hits)

Coffee by The Roasterie.
Grand Mimosa with Grand Marnier.
Drunken Doughnut with Grand Marnier Chocolate Sauce.

 I saw a picture of a Belgian Waffle a couple of weeks ago. Since then, it's really been the only food I thought I would like to have on Easter. I didn't know Beer Kitchen had them, so I was thrilled when I saw it on the menu!














And here it is!

Easter dinner with the family.

I made Thai coleslaw as my contribution. Everyone thought it was great and my 92-year-old grandmother asked for seconds and leftovers to take home.

Asparagus, deviled eggs, pasta salad, fruit, and bread.

Note the bunny-ears napkin fold. :)

Stay tuned for my top quick and easy recipes!

Raw: Days 43-46

(I've had some internet problems so this is after the fact.)

The last few days of the Lenten season were pretty busy. I had a couple salads, which I usually don't eat a lot of. I ate out at McCoy's in Westport before Middle of the Map and had the Bistro salad.

I used my leftover tomato marinara sauce and cashew cheese with some kelp noodles to make "spaghetti." Yum! I forgot how crunchy the kelp noodles. Maybe I should have soaked them in water more, but this was tasty!

Raw: Day 42

 Jamaican Jerk Wrap

This was super quick and easy to make. The texture was a little dry. I added more olive oil and a bit of lemon juice. I could have added too much flax seed. I could have gone for more intense flavor, so next time I'll add more Jamaican Jerk seasoning and maybe more jalapeno.

Spread on collard green leaves, with stems removed.

Add some red pepper or other herbs and veggies...

 ...and roll up!

Banana Soft Serve

I found a recipe for banana soft serve that claims it will change my life. I was amazed at how frozen bananas can turn creamy and literally look just like soft serve!

At first, my food processor was not a happy camper and almost jumped off the counter! The bananas were very very frozen so I let them rest at room temperature for just a bit then tried again.

After a couple minutes, the mixtures gets a little chunky. I added a bit of almond milk and a bit of water. Then, the magic happened! Check out the link above for more photos.

I added chocolate syrup, made from 1 T of agave and 1 T of cacao powder and topped with strawberries. Delicious!

Raw: Day 41

Falafel

Here's another great one! Very quick and tasty and I already had all the ingredients on hand.

I loved the flavor of this one. The cumin with the sun-dried tomatoes and lemon juice...mmm...good.

INGREDIENTS | SERVES 4

• ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 cup almonds
• ¼ cup celery
• 2 tablespoons lemon
• 4 tablespoons Tahini (I used a jar of Krinos)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 4 cabbage leaves
• 1 cup Zucchini Hummus (I made this just before the falafel and it was very easy to make.)

1. Soak the sun-dried tomatoes for 2 hours. Chop them into small pieces.
2. Prepare the falafel balls by processing all ingredients, except for the cabbage leaves and hummus, in a food processor until well mixed and slightly chunky. Pat them into little balls. They are ready to serve immediately.
3. Lay the cabbage leaves on a plate. Spread the hummus onto each leaf and place falafel patties on top. Roll up into a sandwich wrap.

PER SERVING:
Calories: 784 | Fat: 77 g | Protein: 13 g | Sodium: 101 mg | Fiber: 8 g

This recipe is higher in calories and fat. No wonder I'm so full!  


I also finally found Young Coconuts! I'm excited to try some more desserts with this guy. :)

Raw: Days 37-40

Wow! I can't believe how fast Lent has flown by on the Raw Food diet. A lot of people have been asking me if I plan to continue it. Currently, I do. I'm aiming for about 70% raw. We'll see how it goes! I still have so many recipes I want to try.

Here are some highlights from the last few days:

Raw Foods Pizza with Sprouted-Grain Crust

This crust is AMAZING. It has great texture and the flavors of sun-dried tomato with Italian Seasoning and honey are fab.

Sauce - Tomato marinara sauce, which I've made before for zucchini pasta. This time it tasted different. I thought it was better. Maybe it was a better tomato.

Cheese is Pine Nut Cheese. I was low on pine nuts so I added extra cashews.

Toppings: Red bell pepper, onion, and parsley



Raw Swiss Muesli / Breakfast Cereal

Yum! What a tasty and quick breakfast. I'm not sure why I didn't try this one out sooner.

This is kind of a combination of the two above linked recipes.

1/4 c. Rolled oats (which I've learned are actually steamed so not technically raw, but I'm not going to be legalistic about things), sunflower seeds, and walnuts with
1/4 c. Walnuts
1/4 c. Sunflower Seeds
1 T Lemon Juice
1 T agave
1 t ground flax seed
1 t hemp protein powder

Mix together and add fruit!

 Thai Iced Tea

SO good. I didn't have star anise, so I threw in a little bit of allspice and cardamom. This has fantastic flavor!!

• 4 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1½ cups black tea, brewed
• 1 cup Almond Milk
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• ¼ teaspoon star anise powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups ice

1. Pour agave nectar into the black tea.
2. Stir in the almond milk, orange juice, star anise, vanilla, and cinnamon.
3. Serve in two tall glasses. Put 1 cup of ice in each glass and pour the tea mixture over the ice cubes.

PER SERVING:
Calories: 204 | Fat: 11 g | Protein: 4 g | Sodium: 9 mg | Fiber: 1 g

Lemonade

Not a fan. I was really craving some citrus and a margarita. I thought this would be a good alternative.

The agave overpowered the lemon far too much. (I used 3 T since generally I like agave.) I think I would have preferred no sweetener at all!

I went from the initial 1/4 c lemon juice to 3/4 c lemon juice and added more ice, but the agave was still too strong.

I'll try a variation of this in the future. Maybe with limes next time.

Raw: Days 35-36

Yesterday: Day 35

Breakfast:
Strawberry, Blackberry, Banana Smoothie

Lunch:
Last of the Shepherd's Pie

Dinner:
Sprout Burger
Cauliflower Couscous Salad - Fantastic and super quick!




Today: Day 36

 Chia Porridge

Yum! Tastes way better than it looks. I may have added a tablespoon of cinnamon instead of a teaspoon. I do know the current organic cinnamon I have is more intense than the regular cinnamon I've used in the past.

Banana-Pineapple Smoothie

Lunch:

 Sprout Burger and Cauliflower Couscous Salad








Dinner:

Mock-Tuna Salad Sandwich

Yummm...Though I haven't really been craving sandwiches, it seems like everyone has been talking about Jimmy John's lately. This hit the spot. I overdid it on the red onion, but I love 'em! Who knew sunflower seeds were so versatile?

I do not have dulse flakes. I looked for them at the health food store, but couldn't find them. I read nori sheets can be a replacement. I tore up a strip of a nori sheets and put it in a coffee grinder to break it up. 

This also required little prep time. The bread is Essene Bread I made last week.











 Dessert: The last of the Carrot Cake and Chocolate Chip Cookies! More on those tomorrow. :)