Raw Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Okay, I know this looks kinda gross, but trust me, it's amazing!!

Ingredients:

6 dates

1 tbsp raw honey

1/2 avocado

Raw cocoa powder to taste

Put ingredients inside a food processor and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Raw zucchini pasta!

This is a great raw substitute for pasta. The sauce ideas are endless! First, peel a zucchini and grate it. Then add a sauce and YUM! Instant pasta dish.

This one is tomato & basil sauce.

Ingredients:
4-6 tomatoes*
1/2 cup basil
Add onion, garlic, and salt to taste

Put into food processor and blend until desired consistency.

Simple and delish!

* Some people with IC can tolerate homegrown tomatoes. Try getting some local ones from the farmers market! If you can't tolerate tomatoes at all, try the IC-safe pesto sauce below!

Another great sauce: Raw vegan hemp pesto!!

Ingredients:
1 cup walnuts
1 1/2 cups basil
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 cup hemp seed oil
4 medium cloves of garlic
Sea salt to taste

Put all ingredients in food processor & blend!

I added a few tomatoes for flavor. :D

Flackers & Guacamole

I made this recipe for a potluck and everyone loved them! I love it when I can prove to others that eating raw food doesn't mean that you won't be eating tasty treats.

Ingredients:

Flackers

• 2 cups of flax seeds
• 2 cups of water
• Sea salt
• 1 tbsp of minced herbs (optional)

What to do:

1. Cover the flax seeds with water and soak for at least 1.5 hours. You want the mixture to be gooey, but not runny and not too thick. 

2. Stir in herbs/salt if you choose. 

3. Spread the mixture about 1/8 inch thick on parchment paper in the dehydrator. 

4. Dehydrate at 110 degrees F for about 4-6 hours.

Guacamole

• 1 whole avocado
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• Sea Salt as desired

Whatcha do:

Pop everything into a food processor and whiz it up! If the mix is a little too thick, just add a little bit more olive oil to the processor to loosen the mixture.

Then I just put a tomato on top. I have always been afraid of tomatoes, thinking they are not IC friendly, but I decided to give them a try. The ICN Diet List has homegrown tomatoes on the "Try it" section. The tomatoes I used I got from the farmers market, so I know they are organic and local, which is considered to be homegrown. I know that store-bought tomatoes are more acidic than homegrown ones, I think it has something to do with the time they are picked, if they are ripe when picked or not. Either way, I tried them, and I'm glad I did, because they were delicious and not painful!

Lettuce wrap with veggies and coco-garlic sauce

Ingredients: 

• Coco-garlic veggie dip (recipe in past blog entry)
• Cabbage
• Fresh cut veggies (carrots, cucumber, celery, sprouts, red bell peppers, etc.)
• Salt

What to do...

1. Make coco-garlic veggie dip. 

2. Spread veggie dip onto 1 cabbage leaf. 

3. Chop up veggies and add to the leaf. Top with sprouts and salt if desired.

4. Roll into taco shape and enjoy!

I love the idea of lettuce wraps. It's a great alternative to the sandwich and I love how refreshing it feels to bite into a crisp wrap. Delish.

Fruit salad

Sweet and simple.
Blueberries, 1 banana, 1 apple, sprinkled with walnuts and raw honey. Delicious!

Apple Cinnamon Granola

Binding ingredients:

• 1 cored apple, chopped
• 1 ½ cups date paste (dates soaked in water for 1-2 hours, then pureed with ¼ cup of water until smooth)
• 1-2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons sea salt

Raw seeds/nuts/fruits:

• ½-1 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 ½ cups pecans
• 2 cups walnuts
•  2 cups almonds
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup chia seeds
• ½ cup flax meal
• 1 cup raisins
• ½-1 cup organic dried unsweetened coconut

These ingredients are just suggestions. You can add or subtract whatever you want, just make sure to have something sticky (ie date paste) in the binding ingredient list you use. 

What to do...

1. Grind the binding ingredients and ¼ cup of the sunflower seeds in a food processor until smooth. Place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Put the nuts and seeds into a food processor (you’ll probably need to do it in 2 batches). Chop coarsely, using a few quick pulses. Place this mixture into the large bowl with the apple/date (binding) mixture, add the dried fruit, and mix the rest by hand.
3. Spread granola on a Teflex sheet (parchment paper will work too).
4. Dehydrate at 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 hours or until the granola is crunchy.
5. Serve with fresh fruit and almond milk or coconut milk. YUM! Or just eat it on it's own.
6. Store in an airtight place and keep refrigerated for freshness.

Green Alkalizing Veggie Juice

1 head of kale, 1 head of celery, and 2 apples. YUM. Sometimes I throw in cucumber and carrots, too.

Avocado & Almond Joy Salad

Ingredients:
Handful of spinach
Chopped up carrots, cucumber, celery, almonds
1 avocado
Pinch of sea salt

What to do:
1. Throw down that spinach into a bowl!
2. Add all other veggies.
3. Sprinkle on some salt.
4. Enjoy!

This is really easy! The ingredients make it tasty to eat without the need for salad dressing (although if you do want some, you could use olive oil or another type of oil).

Soaking Nuts

When I began my raw food journey, I switched from eating roasted/salted nuts to eating raw nuts. I quickly learned that my stomach did not agree with this and I had some pretty painful moments. At first, I didn't understand why my body was acting this way! Then I learned of the technique of soaking nuts and seeds. Raw nuts and seeds are more difficult for the human body to digest, but by soaking them, we neutralize their enzyme inhibitors, increasing the absorption of vitamins and minerals, and create a more energy-packed and lively nut! Here is a good place to start learning about how to soak nuts.

Quite simply, I soak mine overnight in a large bowl with a towel on top. Then, in the morning, I will drain & rinse, then place them in the dehydrator for about 12 hours, or until they're dry. They taste different, but in a very good way! I actually prefer them to their raw or roasted versions.

Banana Nut Granola Bar

Serves 6


Ingredients:
4 bananas
1 1/4 cup pitted dates
1.5 cups soaked (& dried) almonds, roughly chopped
1.5 cups dried, shaved coconut meat
1/8 cup flax meal

What to do:
1. Blend bananas, dates, and flax meal in food processor until smooth.
2. Stir in nuts and coconut.
3. Evenly spread mixture on dehydrator tray lined with teflex sheets, wax or parchment paper. Make it into the size and shape you prefer.
4. Dehydrate at 105 degrees. After 6 hours, they become warm, chewy granola bars! You can leave them in for longer (up to 20 hours) to make them crispier is you prefer.
5. Store in fridge or freezer for up to 4 months.

YUM!

Coco-Garlic Veggie Dip

Ingredients:
1 Thai coconut (meat & water)
2 cups of soaked almonds
4 cloves of garlic
4-5 pitted dates
Small piece of ginger
A couple shakes of dill

What you do:
1. Put all ingredients inside of a food processor and blend until smooth! That's it!



Suggestions:
If you're not satisfied with the final product, play around with the ingredients until it tastes how you want it! This is the fun part of creating raw, natural meals. :)
I usually use this recipe as a veggie dip because of it's consistency, but if you use less almonds, I bet it would make a good salad dressing.

Another yummy idea - turn it into a sauce for a lettuce wrap!

IC Green Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 Thai coconut (use water & meat)
1 pear (or apple if you can tolerate it)
1 banana
3 stalks of celery
1-2 cups of spinach
1 tbsp chia seeds

Instructions:
1. Put all ingredients inside blender and blend! May need to add in some water if there is problems blending.

Suggestions:
Coconut: It's hard to always have a fresh coconut, so sometimes I use IC friendly coconut milk or coconut water from a carton. I find that a fresh coconut makes the smoothie taste the best!

Seeds: I currently use chia seeds, since I just learned of this super food's positive benefits. But I've also used flax meal and I'm sure you could get creative and add in other seeds, nuts, powders, etc.!

Healthy breakfast: This is a great, healthy way to start your day! Ever since I started drinking 1 green smoothie a day, I've experienced many positive health benefits, including extreme IC pain reduction. :)