Maca Lemon Macaroons

 Macaroons have been made again and again in the raw food community, for good reason. they are simple, tasty and handy to have around even for those who aren't raw foodists.

I wanted to kick things up and along came a suggestion to me for lemon macaroons.

I already make a great cashew lemon cookie from Cafe Gratitude's book, so I thought heading over to macaroon territory should be fun.

I combined the tart taste of lemon with the rich flavor of coconut butter in these macaroons. Maca rounds out the flavor with a hint of butterscotch and balances the vanilla.

recipe:

3 cups coconut that is preferably organic,shredded and raw
2/3 cup raw agave
pinch sea salt
3 T lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla powder
1 T maca powder
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/8 cup coconut butter (soft)

mix well in bowl
scoop into little piles on teflex sheet for dehydrator
Dehydrate 12 hours at 105 degrees

As for my blood sugars and insulin needs with this recipe, two is my limit and the high fat content slows down the release of the blood glucose rise, so I take my insulin after I eat them rather than before. I may need to give most away when I make them because stopping at two will be a challenge!!!

I'd also say I could freeze them, which they would freeze wonderfully, but I don't like to freeze too much. I think freezing damages the cell structure of organic plant material. It's never quite the same afterward.

Enjoy these!

Hawaii

We are in Hawaii for the week.
It's one of my favorite vacation places. Especially in the cold winter months, coming here is like taking a deep breath after holding it for too long. I am spending my days with my family soaking up the sun and learning to make things like ribbon leis.

Eating raw is relatively easy here as well. I eat simply: lots of fruit, greens, and island grown tomatoes. I found these great lychees at the grocery store we walk to most mornings for breakfast.

Of course there are the local bananas which are nice. A little tart even. Unusual for me since the bananas that come in the Bay Area come from Guatemala and they are less sweet.

I like knowing I am eating foods that are grown locally- from the greens to the tomatoes, bananas and morning coffee! (Kona is 30 minutes from here)

Being on vacation I don't expect to stay 100% raw so I eat edamame and bites of some cooked foods. Tonight for dinner I ate a caesar salad-and ate roasted macadamias which felt strange but tasted great. It's times like this that I remember I am only human and need to enjoy myself and not worry so much. Perhaps it's the island taking hold of my spirit a bit and mushing my brain, but it's all good ;)

Living for a week in a warm climate reminds me to eat less focused on fats as well at home. I have been focusing so much on the dehydrated granolas and energy bars at home and forgetting to eat simple greens with fresh oranges or eating bananas for snacks instead of nuts and seeds all the time. I can already feel my digestion is moving so much smoother and even more efficiently since I have been here.

I have a raw macaroon recipe coming when I get back.A favorite customer of mine requested me to try some out,so I have research to do and I'll share it with you.

 Until then, Aloha and Mahalo.

Chocolate Pudding

 I made this for my lunch yesterday. Not the wisest choice for my blood sugars- considering I ate almost the entire recipe. Even though it's raw, I still have to watch the sweet stuff! And take the appropriate amount of insulin albeit much less than if I ate non-raw sugary processed puddings.

What I learned from trying this recipe was that small amounts are best. Keep it a dessert.

It is very rich and stays with you, so I wasn't hungry until dinner, which was nice.

I felt good knowing that I was eating healthy fats from the avocado, and I was getting benefits of raw cacao like energy, and stress-reducing magnesium. Did you know that cacao has more magnesium than any other food?
Cool study on Cacao

Something I was surprised about was that the avocado flavor was not there at all. Mostly present was the banana and chocolate dominating everything else. I think I have avoided using the avocado to make sweet recipes for fear of it tasting too mushy and slick. Not the case here. The pudding has a good texture, much like a pudding should taste and feel in the mouth.

Ingredients

1 avocado
1 ripe banana
1 frozen banana
3 T raw cacao powder
1/4 c raw coconut nectar


Blend together

top with cacao nibs or mint

Mexican Raw Veggie Bowl

 This recipe is adapted from Cafe Gratitude's book. It is called Yo Soy Mucho.

It is a multi-item recipe, which seems complicated, but once you get going, doesn't take much time. One tool I used was a Cuisinart mini-prep which greatly reduced chopping time for me.

The bowl is a layering of shredded kale, a raw veggie "rice," salsa, guacamole and a Brazil nut topping.

I started with the Brazil nut topping first:

Chop together:

a handful of Brazil nuts

a clove or two of garlic

pinch of sea salt

set aside

next I made the  guacamole

I used:

2 avocados

1 T chopped jalapeno

pinch of salt

juice of 1 lemon

handful of cilantro

mix together in a bowl using a fork

cover and set aside

 

Instead of making the salsa I bought some fresh at Whole Foods. It had the same ingredients I was looking for (tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno and garlic) and I saved a little time.

The kale I used came from Capay farms. I know them well and have used their home delivery organic boxes from time to time. They supply Whole Foods in the  SF Bay Area with kale and week to week I look forward to their different varieties that come in. This week was a red kale that looks like an heirloom variety. The leaves were almost an arugula shape with gorgeous purple tips. Instead of needing to shred it with a knife, I just tore pieces with my fingers.

 

Final prep was the veggie rice.

Ingredients:

2 parsnips
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
pinch of salt

Chop up parsnips into 1 inch pieces.
Chop together in mini prep or food processor all ingredients briefly until you get a "rice" size.

Spread on teflex sheet and dehydrate at 105 degrees 20 minutes to soften.

Assembly:

Lay a handful or two of shredded kale on the bottom of bowl or dish. Add veggie rice on top. Next add guacamole and salsa to taste and finally add the Brazil Parmesan sprinkled all over the dish.

This is something I will make again and again. The Brazil nut Parmesan is definitely a must for lots of salads.This whole dish is not only colorful and tasty, but great for my diabetes due to its very high fiber and low glycemic nature. I am getting something good for me in every bite whether it's good fats from the avocado, Selenium form the Brazil nuts or calcium from the kale.

Enjoy!

pecan flatbread

 

I came up with a new recipe. 

It's a pecan and sunflower seed based raw flatbread. It is sweet but not as sweet as granola. More of a subtle sweetness. It also has a pretty purple color to it. Something about the pecans reacting to the cinnamon I think...

I started with Golubka's Nut and Zucchini Cracker recipe and added and changed a few things.

One of the changes is I added a sweetener to the recipe that came recommended from Seth, my raw food wholesale sales guy. It's called raw evaporated coconut palm syrup. It is raw and very low glycemic. It's tree sap from coconut trees. Only 35 on the glycemic index- which is really low!

To make the flatbread you will need a food processor and a dehydrator.

Ingredients:

 2 cups raw pecans soaked at least 4 hours

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 1/2 to 2 cups raw sunflower seeds soaked at least 4 hours

1 cup ground flaxseed

2 T cinnamon

1/2 cup raw evaporated coconut palm syrup

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup purified water 

Process the nuts and seeds with the zucchini. 

Mix with remaining ingredients in a large bowl. 

Make sure all the cinnamon is incorporated- it can hide in little pockets at the bottom of the bowl.

Spread out on 2 -3 teflex sheets and dehydrate for 12 hours or overnight. break into pieces.

You can also score the breads into rectangles before placing in the dehydrator, or for fun use a cookie cutter to make cute shapes.

A Day in Pictures

confidence in the kitchen

I am really starting to have more confidence in myself and my skills in the kitchen. I am experimenting more. I am thinking of adding or taking away ingredients as I make recipes. I am losing the feeling of structure and anxiety I had when I started cooking raw. 

I admit, when I was hit with a truffle order I thought to myself- is this the BEST truffle I know? what's out there I don't know yet?

Between my cookbooks and websites and blogs, I found a good combination of ideas and ingredients that gave me a truffle I think will be a big hit.

It came from the blog Golubka which, if you haven't seen is a must read daily- this woman is truly awe inspiring. her photos alone make me want to jump right into them. She writes about raw food, and also her family, her experience and her hits and misses- very well done.

Her truffle, mixed with Cafe Gratitude's raw chocolate Ganache recipe and my own tweaks here and there brought out a truffle I can be proud of. It's here now... TRUFFLES 

I also went out in the garden today and planted lettuce in pots. I have wanted to do this for a LONG time now- I love picking my own greens for salads.

I went to my local nursery and bought 8 cell packs of lettuce. I planted those in pots I had at home. I also asked for plastic pots at the nursery for growing seedlings. I bought some soil and brought home 9 pots to re-use and transfer my sprouted basil and lettuce I have in my kitchen. Even thought it's just February and most of the country is freezing, I am enjoying 60 degree weather right now and feel like spring is already beginning. 

So check out Golubka and her beautiful blog. If you don't want to hunt and gather for Maca, Mesquite and Cacao, I'll make some truffles for ya-