Vivacious Variety: Vegetables and More Vegetables

Here is a delicious and substantial salad you can have as a side dish to supplement meals, or as a snack when those late night munchies hit. Vegetables balance meals to the alkaline side and contribute vitamins, minerals, fiber. You will find you can use this basic recipe with all sorts of variations.

1 large or 2 small zucchini
1 red bell pepper
4 medium or 2 large kale leaves
1 green onion
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
juice of 1/2 lime
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Chop the vegetables in to large pieces (Chopping for a food processor should take only a moment - you just want to get the pieces to a manageable size. For example, cut the zucchini into 4 pieces, the bell pepper into 4-6 pieces.)
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse about 10 times - or until the veggies are of a uniform size.  I prefer chunky chunks, though some folks like closer to salsa sized bits.

Variation suggestions: Use snap peas, snow peas, green beans, celery, save your broccoli stems - peel them and add to the melange. Add parsley, watercress, or cilantro. Use fresh herbs: thyme, basil, dill or oregano.

Having a simple basic recipe that you can change up to keep variety in your meals helps stay healthy and stimulated.

Habit Forming - Forming Habits

image by Ron Leishman: http://www.toonclipart.com/

I have always found replacing “bad” habits to be much more feasible than quitting anything. Quitting just leaves a void. Want, need, longing, fury, agitation, frustration - just to name a few - were my new companions in the void. Why not just find something I enjoy to replace the thing I enjoyed but found to be detrimental in some way.  It isn’t so much a question of will power as of energy.  Energy constantly transforms, but it doesn’t go away.  A habit is a pattern of energy.  It is constructive to work with it, creating change and transformation.

During the holidays I found myself inundated with ambivalence about all the sweets and treats I was confronted with constantly at that time of year. What should I do? I was tortured by the ice cream, chocolates, and egg nog. They made me suffer! - I want! I shouldn’t! I mustn’t! I want I want!

Ice cream was always one of my greatest addictions. Great in quality and size and challenge. Recently I have found a substitution which I find full-filling and delightful, leaving me without cravings. I make a shake. Not a milk shake! Young coconut banana shake. Delectable.

1 young coconut - water and meat
1 banana
6 pieces of ice
Blend all ingredients in a blender or vitamix

For instructions on how to open a young coconut, you can search youtube.com or google.com. If you are a beginner, just be very careful!
The consistency of the shake will vary depending on the youth of the coconut - but I find all variations to be yummy.

Good luck and please post questions!

Raw Recipes - Pad Thai with Kelp Noodles

The night before or 8 hours before you want to make your Pad Thai, soak a half cup of raw pine nuts, and 3/8 cup of raw almonds each in its own bowl of water.  If you won’t be making the recipe soon after this 8 hour soak, just put these two bowls in the refrigerator until you are ready to “cook.” (within a 24 hour period)

Sauce:
Blend 2 chipotle peppers dry in a vitamix. Remove half of this powder to a food processor.
Strain and rinse the pine nuts - add to the vitamix with 1/2 c water, lime and salt. Blend until creamy.

Topping:
Reserved chipotle powder from the vitamix
Sorrano chile - Use as little as a 1 millimeter slice or as much as you prefer. Remember, these are hot.Jjuice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp salt (or more if desired)
1 tbsp olive oil
Soaked almonds (all)
1/2 c chopped pecans
6-8 large fresh basil leaves
1/2 c cilantro
2 tbsp fresh mint

Add the soaked almonds, salt, chili, lime, olive oil, pecans to food processor and pulse quickly so that you have a chunky mixture. Add the basil, cilantro, and mint and pulse a few more times to blend, still keeping it chunky.

Put it all together:
Rinse 2 packages of kelp noodles in a bowl, then strain. Put the noodles in a clean bowl and pour in the pine nut cream sauce and mix into the noodles using your hands to get them coated well. Serve (will make 3 large or 4 medium size servings) and add a generous helping of the topping.

This is a spicy dish! I love it this way, but you can adjust the chili component to your taste, adding a little at a time.

Kelp noodles are extrememly low calorie, so the substance or substantial part of the meal is in the nuts.  Many people get fearful about nuts because they think that nuts have a lot of calories.  Raw nuts, however, have enzymes and plant fats that our bodies need, because they are not degraded by heat nor mixed with low quality oils for processing and roasting purposes.  I love Raw!  Raw foods nourish and energize.  Don’t be bamboozled into eating processed foods because of fat myths.  We need healthy plant fats for cell health, brain function, and all sorts of things.

Now let’s do a reality check on the calories:
The total calories in the large portion of this recipe (when divided into 3 servings) is about 450.  The total calories when divided into 4 servings is under 350. For calorie amounts, these would qualify as on the level with someone on a diet.  The nutritional content of a raw meal like this is far higher than a small portion of lasagna. Take that Jenny!