Melissa's Roasted Eggplant Pesto

I love pesto! Even though olive oil is good for you, I probably get an excess when I'm on a pesto kick. This recipe uses a roasted eggplant to replace most of the oil. I love this pesto served on pasta, on top of a tortilla as the basis for a pizza or veggie wrap, and served over roasted zucchini strips or raw zucchini noodles.

Melissa's Roasted Eggplant Pesto



1/4 c. almonds -blend first
1 large eggplant, roasted and peeled
2 sundried tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 cups spinach
1 Tbsp. nutritional yeats
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2-3/4 tsp. salt
pinch red pepper flakes

Hot water
olive oil

Blend all ingredients. I used maybe 1/4 cup hot water and 1 Tbs. olive oil, but just add those ingredients to achieve desired consistency. Enjoy!

Lucuma Ice Cream - The Blender Way

This childhood flavor from my country is something I've been craving for a long time now and so when I found organic powdered lucuma at the health food store, I quickly began looking for a good ice cream recipe to make this yummy dessert once again. After trying a few different recipes, I combined a few different ones and changed a few ingredients here and there and came up with something new and original that I love, my kids love and is much easier than making ice cream in the old-fashioned ice cream maker.

1 Cup Lucuma Powder (I used the Navitas Naturals brand).

1 Cup Cashews or blanched Almonds (I prefer cashews for a creamier ice cream, but use almonds for my son who has allergies to cashews).

2 whole vanilla beans or 2 TBSP. vanilla

1/2 Maple syrup

1 Cup Water

1 Cup Almond Milk

1 Cup Coconut Milk

Throw all ingredients together into the blender and blend until creamy. Then you can do one of two things: 1. Pour into popsicle molds for creamy popsicles. Beware of kids. They may pester you for hours on end to have these before they've actually frozen. 2. Pour into ice cube trays and wait until frozen solid. Then pour a little water or almond milk into the blender with about 6 ice cubes and blend just long enough to make a yummy soft serve ice cream. Or if you want to blend it longer, you could eventually make it like a shake. Which is also yummy. Will definitely suppress the sweet tooth.

My kids love these. New family favorite. Oh and by the way, Lucuma is a fruit from Peru. In case you were wondering.

French Dressing

I tried this dressing for the first time today. Again, Jamie Oliver's. So tasty! Especially in a green salad.

• Peel and finely chop 1/4 of a clove of garlic
• Put the garlic, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of white or red wine vinegar (I used red), and 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a jam jar with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (I'm not into black pepper that much so I put...almost nothing)
• Put the lid on the jar and shake well

Of course if you don't have a jam jar you can put all of the ingredients in the Vitamix. I would say in variable speed 3-4. Until everything is well mixed. 

I just watched Julie and Julia again...and since the recipe is french and all, I say to you... Bon Appettit!!!!!

Lentil and Spinach Soup

This is one of my favorite lentils recipe. It's Jamie Oliver's Lentil and Spinach soup (you have to love that guy, even though he's not vegan. He always uses organic ingredients and he's super into having his own garden, you gotta love that guy)). One you thing you will have to get used to with me is that I will always change the original recipe. Most of the time is because I need to adjust for missing ingredients, but sometimes it's just because I think you need to be adventurous in the kitchen. Am I right?! Otherwise where's the fun in cooking...YOU CAN'T BE SCARED OF TRYING NEW THINGS, if you mess up SO WHAT?!

ok so enough of the blah blah. Here's the recipe

**This soup works really well if you make it with yellow split peas or dried green peas, as well as with greens like spinach, cabbage and swiss chard. 

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 medium onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 3/4 quarts vegetable broth, preferably organic (Pretty much the whole carton) 
• olive oil
• a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
• 1/2-1 fresh red chile (I used green serrano peppers instead)
• 10 grape or cherry tomatoes 
• 2 cups red lentils
• 7 cups of spinach (I used a mixed of spinach, kale and swiss chard) 
• sea salt (you always want those extra minerals in your salt!)
• black pepper

To make your soup

• Peel and roughly slice the carrots
• slice the celery
• peel and roughly chop the onions
• peel and slice the garlic
• put the broth in a saucepan and heat until boiling
• put a large saucepan on a medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil 
• add all of your chopped and sliced ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon
• cook for around 10 minutes with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened but are still holding their shape, and the onion is lightly golden
• meanwhile, peel and finely slice the ginger
• seed and slice the chile
• remove the stalks from the grape or cherry tomatoes ad slice the tomatoes i half
• add the boiling broth to the pan with the lentils, ginger, chile and tomatoes 
• give the soup a good stir and brig to a boil
• reduce the heat and simmer for 10 min with the lid on, or until the lentils are cooked 
• add the spinach, swiss chard and kale and continue to cook for 30 seconds 

To serve soup

• season well with salt and pepper
• you can now serve the soup just as it is, or using and immersion blender or liquidizer, pulse until smooth
• divide between your servings bowls
• try grilling, toasting or baking chunky croutons or slices of your favorite whole wheat bread

Cream of Cucumber Soup

It looks similar to this but a bit darker with the avocado

I really love this recipe. I got it from the "Raw Food Made Easy" cookbook by Jennifer Cornbleet. My husband loves it and he's the food critic in our house.

Yield: 2 cups, 2 servings

Ingredients

• 4 romaine lettuce leaves, chopped (about 11/2 cupts)
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon crushe garlic (1 clove) 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 ripe avocado, chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs (dill, mint, tarragon, or cilantro) or 1 teaspoon dried

Directions

1. Place the lettuce, cucumber, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in a blender and process until smooth.
2. Add the avocado and olive oil and blend again until smooth.
3. Add the herbs and blend briefly to mix
4. Serve immediately. For a chilled soup, refrigerate for 30 minutes before use.

Granola everyone!

So I know there's already another granola recipe in this blog but i thought this would be another option just in case you are looking for new ideas.

The granola made with this recipe has a very interesting quality: it is very crisp!
And along with a glass of soy milk, almond milk and some fruit (especially apple and apricot) is transformed into a full breakfast and otherwise quite tasty. Also, you could eat it with some plain yogurt

Ingredients:

• 2 cups wheat germ
• Thick 6 cups oats (organic if possible)
• ½ cup chopped almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
• ¼ cup quinoa (optional)
• ¾ cup water
• 1 ½ cup honey or maple syrup
• ¼ cup sunflower oil (can also use vegetable oil)
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• Zest of two lemons
• Dry fruits to taste

Preparation:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients, blending the liquid ingredients separately (only if you have honey that is not very liquid, otherwise collect the liquid in a bowl and mix well) then add to dry ingredients slowly and stir with a spatula .
2. Mix until a homogeneous result. Spread the mixed ingredients in a rectangular baking sheet pan. Bake in moderate oven (350F to 375F) for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Cool and add raisins or any dried fruit you wish.
3. As you can see is quite simple, cheap and otherwise healthy and more reliable than the granola we get many times at the grocery store.

 ~~Enjoy!

Avocado Pesto Pasta (Raw)

So this is not the actual recipe picture but I just added it so you can get the idea of how it supposed to look

This is my first contribution to this blog. So I hope you like my ideas. This recipe is inspired from Chef Chloe Coscarelli I just love her vegan recipes!
I've made some changes from her original recipe: instead of whole wheat linguini I use raw zucchinis as my pasta. Also, I like to add spinach :) Enjoy!!

Serves about 6 people

Ingredients

• 4-6 zucchinis (depending on the size and you can do a combination of yellow and green zucchinis)
• 1 bunch basil leaves (about 2½ ounces)
• ½ cup pine nuts (since pine nuts are a bit expensive I use walnuts instead)
• 2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ of a lemon)
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ cup olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp. of UDO oil (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional)

Directions

1. In a food processor or Vitamix, blend basil, pine nuts, spinach, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, UDO oil and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, cut the zucchini into lengthwise ribbons. Peel off several from one side, then turn the zucchini and peel off more. Continue to turn and peel away ribbons until you get to the seeds at the core of the zucchini. Discard the core. You can also do this on a mandolin, adjusted to a very thin slice.
3. In a large serving bowl, toss pesto with zucchini pasta and garnish each serving with a basil leaf. For an extra touch of color and flavor, top zucchini pasta with sundried tomatoes

Zesty Salad Dressing

A few people have been asking me for this salad recipe. It's nothing special. Just stuff I've thrown together in the right ratios I suppose. But I guess the thing that people seem to like the most is the dressing. This recipe is good for a huge salad and maybe even some to save for later depending on how much you use. I like to throw it over some fresh greens, tons of sprouts, a little tomato, avocado and some cooked or sprouted quinoa (since it is a complete protein.) Use whatever veggies you have lying around or whatever is in season. I wasn't much of a salad eater until I found a dairy-free dressing that tasted good. I guess it's a slight variation off of Kira's dressing that she posted a while back with a little extra zing. But that recipe was a great place for me to start. Feel free to vary it up and try a little more or less of certain ingredients.

1 Cup Olive Oil

1/2 Flaxseed Oil (for a good dose of omegas)

10 cloves Raw Garlic (or more if you like it spicier)

3 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 C Braggs Amino Acids

1 1/2 TBSP of your favorite Mustard (I like spicy brown)

1/4 of a small Sweet Onion

1/2 inch Ginger Root

1/4 Cup Kosher Soy Bacon Bits (for their smoky flavor, I find these at Good Earth in the bulk aisle)

Throw all ingredients into a vitamix or other good blender and blend till creamy. Toss into your salad or over some rice or anything. Enjoy!

Collard Wraps

This easy lunch has quickly become a family favorite. It doesn't even need a recipe really. It can be varied with whatever veggies and greens are in season. But here are a few hints for newbies to raw recipes so that it still tastes just as yummy every time with slight variations no matter what you use.

The necessary ingredients:

-Collard leaves. 1 big one per wrap.

-Your favorite Hummus. I used the Meza brand from Costco for this one because it's cheaper to buy in bulk, but at the Good Earth store there's also a yummy one called Lilly's smoked Tomato and Basil Hummus that I use from time to time.

- 3-4 slices of avocado

Filler Ingredients (Get creative with these and change them up, but here is what I used today):

-Cherry tomatoes sliced in threes

-Diced bell pepper (better source of vitamin C than oranges)

-Clover sprouts (great source of vitamin K for pregnant women)

-Radish sprouts

-Celery (chopped)

-tiny bit of Spinach or other green of your choice

-Cucumber

-One sliced Pickle

-diced onion

-a tiny bit of minced fresh garlic (great for winter sore throats)

-a sprinkle of lemon (optional)

Take your collard leaf and rinse off. Spread a spoonful or two of hummus and lay avocado slices in them. This gives your wrap a nice burrito-like filling. Then pile in the filler ingredients the best way you can and roll up the collard leaf to make a quick wrap. You don't need much of each filler ingredient. Just a small amount will fill the wrap quickly. Or you could pick just a few veggies and keep it simple if you want more of a certain filler ingredient. Sprinkle with a little lemon if you want and that "wraps" it up. There's no way to do this wrong. And if you don't want extra greens, no worries. Your wrap itself is already made up of dark leafy green. It's a collard leaf. High source of protein. Then eat away.

Trust me, you'll want another wrap after this one is gone. This recipe is a great way to take any leftover tossed salad that didn't get finished and stuff it into a savory treat. I usually make salads out of the filler ingredients anyways and so when I do have leftovers, I just make wraps and then you can avoid having to think too hard to make anything else. Hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Raw Almond Yogurt with Diced Apples

I know I haven't posted any recipes in a while. As mothers, kids keep us busy I suppose. But I would really like to start doing more raw and vegan recipes. For our little family, this journey of healthy eating has been somewhat of a struggle. I won't lie. But every now and then, we are suddenly inspired and set ourselves on crazy mode for finding yummy new recipes again. After a setback this last Thanksgiving (because we decided to have a traditional dinner) we needed some new recipes to regain some immune strength and our health. This easy recipe requires a little prep work the night before, but is super easy and surely hits the spot.

Almond Yogurt with diced Apples

-2 Cups of Almonds (soaked in water overnight) You can peel the skins for an extra creamy yogurt but you don't have to. I didn't like it at first. It seemed tedious. But someone told me it was therapeutic so I kept doing it for a while and now I really like doing it. It's like popping bubble wrap or something.

-1 3/4 Cups Water

-4-5 Ice Cubes

-1/4 Cup Agave Syrup

-1 teaspoon Danncy's Mexican Vanilla

-2 TBSP Lemon juice

-2 pinches of Salt

-6 diced of you favorite, fresh, organic Apples

-1 Cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Blend the first 7 ingredients all together in a VitaMix or other good blender until creamy and smooth. Spoon out mixture into a bowl. Toss the diced apples into it. Add walnuts or any other nut or granola in it if you like. You can do whatever you want. Or you can change the fruit. Since apples are in season, I did apples. Super yummy. Serves about 6-8.