Nori Rawrap

Nori Rawrap

1 sheet raw nori
1/4 avocado sliced
4 thinly sliced cucumber slices
2 sliced shiitake mushrooms
small handful of sprouts(alfalfa, clover, sunflower greens) or romaine lettuce

Roll it, dip it, and enjoy

          

Sunflower Green Rawrap with Carrawt Ginger Dressing

Rawrap Figgy Dipping Sauce

1 cup dried figs
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cup coconut or filtered water
1 small chipolte pepper
1/4 lemon lemon squeezed
1/4 tsp rock salt

Blend and use as dip or salad dressing

 Sprout Rawrap with Figgy Dressing

Ginger Carrawt Dressing

1 cup carrot cut into pieces
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
1 lemon peeled and de-seeded
1 inch fresh ginger root
Liquid aminos to taste

Blend ingredients and use as a dip or salad dressing

Carrawt Ginger Dressing

The idea for the Rawrap was introduced by a beautiful Danish girl. It's beauty is in it's simplicity. I took it and ran with it...but not too far. The great thing about a raw dish like this is that it's so incredibly healthy and super easy to make. It is filling and you feel like you can float away after the meal. The nori seaweed wrapper is so good that you will start to crave it after a few times. Avocado is in my top two most important foods...after leafy greens of course. Sprouts are in my top five and shrooms are growing on me. lol Mushrooms are an underrated nutrient powerhouse... shiitakes are an excellent source of vitamin B-2(riboflavin), B-3(niacin), B-5, B-6 as well as potassium, zinc, and selenium. Mushrooms and sunflower greens are also plant sources of vitamin D. I take complete responsibility for the raw Figgy Dressing. I wanted something sweet with a little heat for this set of Rawraps. The flavor of the figs goes amazing with the smokey heat of the chipolte pepper. The Ginger Carrawt Dressing is something I just made up an hour ago and it is out of this world good! This is way better than any oil-spill ginger dressing at a Japanese restaurant. Both these dressings are top-notch and would fly equally as high on a salad or anything that needs a little kick. I've eaten a Rawrap every night this week and with unlimited dipping sauce possibilities this will be a staple food for a while :)
Flavor rating: 5 stars. Energy spent rating: 1 star (1=least energy 5=most energy)

Evolving Through Food

I was thinking that there is hope for mankind. Even though we are destroying our planet and constantly at war, there is an awakening taking place. I see it every day. People are beginning to change their ways and their ideas about food. This is the most important aspect of the health of our species and we are in the midst of an awakening. Those who see the truth and eat the good food will evolve, while those who continue to eat the bad food will die off. Natural selection will take it's course. It sounds harsh and clinical but it is the truth. In this food awakening I have found hope for our species survival.

If we can start here, with our  own bodies, in our own temples we can go out and spread love elsewhere. But we must start here first and then we will be mentally and spiritually fit to address the global issues that are ripping our planet and civilization to pieces.

When we are conscious of what we are putting in our bodies, we are showing ourselves love. When we eat an organic vegetarian diet, we are showing our planet love. When we make this food for friends and family, we are showing others love. This simple act of respecting ourselves can have an unlimited impact on us and those we come in contact with. Everything we put in our bodies becomes a part of us. We are what we eat.

At this point the humans are in a period of devolution. We are living shorter lives than our parents and our quality of health is the worst it's ever been. Heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are all at epidemic proportions. The good news is these are all food-related diseases. The better news is these are also food reversible diseases.

We have an opportunity to heal our planet with the good food instead of killing it with the bad food. We can choose to devolve or we can choose to evolve. The answer is: evolve and eat more plants!

From Raw to Cooked & the Zombie Kitchen

I ate cooked food for the first time in 28 days yesterday and I felt ok. Then today I made sprouted Whole Grain Pasta and I felt like I had the flu. I had cold sweats, light head, queasy stomach, and indigestion. It was rough. I now know that a proper raw food diet is the healthiest food path for me. I will continue my raw ways except for when I do my cooking classes. haha Sounds insane right? A raw food chef who cooks. Luckily I am able to come up with accurate recipes on the fly and do not require much recipe development. I love cooking and I love raw foods! So, I was thinking that it makes sense to combine these two elements into a hybrid 1/2 cooked 1/2 raw recipe series. If I make pasta sauce I will put it hot over raw zucchini. Or if I make a delicious raw Asian sauce I will put it over lightly steamed bok choy and shiitake shrooms. This way my meals will be half alive and half dead...like the Zombie Kitchen!!! This is much better than all the way cooked and a little easier for people to 'stomach' than straight raw foods. I can always end the meal with one of my 5 star raw desserts too :)

Day 28: Raw

So, after 28 days of eating 100% raw food I decided to break the streak today. I ate 2 whole wheat spinach empenadas.They were so freaking good! I felt great when I was raw and eating enough food. But the days that I didn't have copious amounts of fresh fruit, or lettuce for a salad, or kale for a green smoothie...raw food life was physically draining. Observations from my experience raw:
1. More balanced mood/calmer at all times
2. Sleep was more efficient/less hours with better rest
3. Raw culinary vision heightened
4. Ate about 1/3 the food as before
5. Spent a lot of $$$ on food
6. Frequently hungry
7. Lost 5 pounds
8. Missed cooking

Raw food makes the most sense most of the time for me...however, I will go back to where I was pre-raw to part-raw. I will make my green smoothie everyday, salad for lunch, quinoa/brown rice with nuts and beans, and fruit in between. I was on this journey with a beautiful friend of mine who made this a memorable and inspiring experience. I highly recommend doing any fast-like activities with a friend or a group for support. I will be teaching my raw food series at the store twice a month and this is a great place to meet raw foodies and health conscious friends. It is also in my job description to cook healthy food, so I am excited to reunite with my hot plate! I will continue posting raw and cooked oil-free healthy recipes on here until I am ready to write my book :)

Persimmon Pudding(raw)

I taught a raw food class yesterday and made Cream of Sweet Potato Soup, Kalocado Salad, and Persimmon Pudding. The soup is amazing, the salad is delicious, and the pudding is uniquely flavorful.

Our produce department had a some persimmons that were on there way out, so I rescued them and cut out the goodness. Persimmons are one of the sweetest fruits in the world when they are ripe. There are two main varieties; Hachiya and Fuya.

I prefer the acorn shaped Hachiya against the tomato shaped Fuya. If you eat a persimmon before it is ripe(when totally mushy) it will have an awful chalky affect and leave your mouth feeling like you just bit into a pile of powdered drywall.

The variety we had at the store was Fuya, so that's what went into the pudding. This is the first time I ever made this and I made the recipe up as I went along. Adjust spices to taste:



Persimmon Pudding.

8 ripe persimmons de-seeded and peeled
3/4 cup raisins
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp ginger

 Blend ingredients and serve chilled. Garnish with a mint leaf and ground cardamom.

I use dates to sweeten everything, so I found an opportunity to use raisins and it worked perfectly! The chia seeds are there to add the jello like consistency to this pudding. They really work!

I was going to add cinnamon and nutmeg and turn this into a Christmas style dessert, but then I realized that this flavor is played out, so I got Slum Dog Millionaire on it and turned into an Indian delight! These flavors complement the sweet complexity of the persimmon and raisins.

This is an excellent dessert to enjoy with a cup of warm almond milk or your favorite tea. Taste rating : 4 stars. Energy spent rating: 2

day 21: Raw

Wow! I ate a handful of raw cacao treats at like 12am and I feel like I just drank a pot of coffee. This is the ONLY problem with being uber detoxed. Anyway I have to be up in three hours for Mango Fest and I'm not tired at all. I always seem to pick the worst times to eat cacao at night. The great thing about being a raw oil-free vegan is I can totally function on three or four hours of sleep. It's when I hit the 2 hour zone when my body is like 'sorry not long enough' and I start forgetting where I parked my car....where did I park my car? Anyway, Day 21 and I am feeling great! I figured as opposed to taking my T.V apart again, I would just write in my blog here. Oh I forgot, I have cherries I can eat...sweet! Cherries are supposed to help calm the body. Any excuse to eat more fruit! 

peace be with you earthlings!

Chocolate Cheesecake(raw)

I made this today for my chocolate class on National Chocolate Day. It was a huge hit!

Chocolate Cheesecake filling

1.5 cups raw cashews

1 cup coconut water

1/2 cup raw cacao

15 dates

Blend ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor and serve chilled in a raw pie crust. Top with fresh fruit and cacao nibs.

Raw pie crust

1 cup raw walnuts

3 dates

Blend in a high powered blender or food processor.

Vanilla Cashew Ice Cream

2 cups raw cashews

1 whole vanilla bean

3/4 cup rolled oats

2 cups almond milk

15 dates

blend all ingredients and then add 32oz ice and blend briefly until the ice is blended

I made this ice cream for the first time today and put it on the cake. It was amazing! I came up with the cheesecake recipe three months ago. This is the easiest base for a healthy cheesecake: cashews, coconut water, and dates. Anything after this is just unnecessary. I have done a pumpkin, key lime, sweet potato, carrot, pineapple, and chocolate version of this. They are all amazing! 

Got Sprouts?

I was speaking with a friend last night about...well mangos...and I was thinking about a seed. A seed has almost an unlimited potential energy. Basically one mango seed has the potential to cover the tropical regions of earth with mangos trees. From one mango seed can grow a mango tree with a lifetime of mangos with seeds and so on.

This is true with any seed. I am still amazed that all we need is a seed, sunlight, and water and we are given fruits, veggies, and oxygen! I <3 plants! I also <3 eating seeds with my plants. Especially sprouted seeds or beans. When a seed(this includes nuts and beans) is sprouted the protein content, fiber, and all other nutrients are enhanced. Sprouts give you easily digestible protein and provide an amazing energy burst! This is because the sprout is ALIVE when we eat them! 

All that potential energy is activated and brought into the NOW! Of course if you cook it, you kill it. So S.O.S.! Save Our Sprouts! Sprouts are full of life, enzymes, nutrients, protein, and water. I usually stick to mung beans and lentils, because these taste the best. But as you can see, I have sprouted every bean in the market.

Here is a basic, simple way any body can sprout:

1. Rinse one cup of dried beans

2. Add filtered water at: 2-3 cups water to 1 cup of dried beans

3. Let soak in a large salad bowl for 6-8 hours. 

4. Rinse beans and change water every 6-8 hours

5. After 24 hours of soaking drain the water, rinse beans, and transfer to a colander and cover with a 

    wet white paper towel. 

6. Rinse beans and change paper towel every 6-8 hours 

7. After you see a little white tail growing out of the bean, usually another 24 hours, transfer the beans to 

    a bowl and keep in refrigerator. 

The reason for the seemingly obsessive rinsing is because there is a chance for bacteria to grow if you let the water stagnate or don't rinse the beans. So, clean your beans! I use a white paper towel because I prefer not having ink and dye from a stupid paper towel design running into my precious little sproutlings. 

So, the whole process takes 48 hours. This is a great way for those of us without garden space to grow our own. Any one can do this as long as you have a bowl, water, and beans. At one point three years ago I was making a 'Sproothie'. This had seaweed, a whole bunch of fresh greens, and like 2 full cups of sprouts! lol I was actually considering opening up the universe's first sproothie shack...right near tha beach! 

Good thing that never happened, because these things were disgusting! lol I loved them because, you will feel absolutely amazing after drinking one, but it is a difficult flavor to mask. It kind of tasted like freshly cut grass and top soil mixed with salt water. 

Speaking of seeds, this was right before I was seriously considering opening up a fresh raw local coconut water business. This would have been great! However,  it turns out that there aren't many coconut groves in Florida and we couldn't nail down a consistent supply. Coconuts are the largest seeds in the world. Imagine sprouting a coconut!!! Any way, GO SPROUT!

Nilla No-Milk Shake

After I made my Chococado Shake, I was asked to break loose a healthy eating milk shake line; chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. This is my delicious Nilla No-Milk Shake. The essence of the vanilla is captured in the vanilla bean, but that old school vanilla ice cream grittiness is achieved with the rolled oats. Cashews are key in making any healthy non-dairy recipe taste creamy. Using dates for sweetness is the best! Dates bring forth a new dimension to the sweet world. They add body, smoothness, and a caramel candy flavor to any recipe. Huge date fan...right here. This shake can be done raw with homemade almond milk.

Nilla No-Milk Shake


32oz unsweetened almond milk
.5 cup cashews
.5 cup oats
15 dates
1 vanilla bean
18 oz ice

Blend all ingredients and then add the ice. Taste rating: 4 stars. energy spent rating: 2

Raw: Day 14

Today I woke up at 10:00 after going out till 4:30am and getting to bed at 6am. I drank a kale smoothie at work and then ate a salad for lunch. I've only eaten fruit(plums, nectarines, mangos, and apples) since then. I have been eating less food and sleeping less than before I went raw. My food intake is at least half of what is was before, but I have maintained my ideal weight of 165. This is due to my body maximizing nutrient absorption and operating at optimal efficiency. I feel this in the quality of sleep that I am getting and my mellow mood. I am doing a healthy smoothies class this Tuesday and then a chocolate class Thursday for National Chocolate Day. I will definitely be making this recipe for one of these classes:

Chococado Shake 


Makes 64oz serves 8(adjust recipe to blender size)

1 avocado
2oz or 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
32-40oz unsweetened almond milk or homemade raw almond milk
15 dates
18-24oz ice
Blend and serve

Raw Cacao(Chocolate)

I came up with this recipe when I was working in Boca. I did a green smoothie class and right before the class came up with the prototype for this. I remembered hearing about avocados in Japanese smoothies and thought it might taste good with raw chocolate. It does. This smoothie is amazing! It really tastes like a chocolate milk shake. But according to the masses...It's way better! Not only are we avoiding the poison that comes along with dairy(ice cream), but this is actually very nutritious! Raw cacao(unprocessed chocolate bean) is the highest antioxidant and very high in magnesium and iron. Watch what David Wolfe has to say about cacao! This is a high healthy fat, calorie and nutrient dense smoothie!  Taste rating: 5 stars. Energy spent rating: 2 (if you are making almond milk-1 part almonds to 2 parts water)

The Mango Mothership

Basically I've been living off my two favorite foods; salad and fresh fruit. Yesterday I made my weekly pilgrimage to the Mango Mothership!!! My boy Cecil in Boynton Beach grows 36 varieties of the most amazing mangoes In the world! That's right...36 varieties of mangos in his back yard! lol This guy has mangoes, lychees, three varieties avocados, mamey, and other fruit trees. Definitely The Richest Man In Babylon! Not sure what I would do if I had all those mangos, but I think it would end in a diabetic coma.
Here is a glimpse of the 300+ mangos I ate in the last month:

This mango munching mayhem is culminating into the tropical fruit eaters Mecca aka 'Mango Festival' at Fairchild Gardens. This fruit eating frenzy is going down next weekend July 9 & 10 and is sure to be an amazing display of the 'Mangos of Hawaii'. I'm so freaking excited and I requested the whole weekend off :)