Raw Vegan "Everything Green" Soup

Let's be honest. Some raw food recipes are difficult. They may involve soaking, sprouting, dehydrating, fermenting, and spiralizing... all in the same recipe. But it doesn't have to be that way! In fact, even though I have written this out as a recipe, it is better to think of as a non-recipe. Instead think of the idea as an inspiration to make a soup out of all the leftover produce in your refrigerator before it goes bad. Pick a color (it doesn't have to be green) and go with it! Another tip is that for the best tasting soups try and have a small portion of fresh herbs or spices, a source of healthy fats (avocado, nuts, seeds, or good oils), and something with a lot of liquid to it. Those are the basics, and the rest are just fun experiments! Keep tasting as you go, and use your intuition. My husband said this is his favorite soup yet!

1 avocado, peeled and pitted
4 tomatillos
1/2 a bulb of fennel
3 stalks of celery
1 cup green pulp from juicing (kale, basil, celery)
1/2 cup green peas
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 lime, juiced
handful cilantro
sprinkle of dulse
1 cup sauerkraut juice
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 tablespoon hemp oil
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon spirulina
1 teaspoon blue green algae
pinch cayenne
Celtic sea salt to taste

Put everything in a blender, and blend until smooth. Serve. Garnish with additional cilantro, red pepper flakes,or flax cracker crumbs, if desired.

Raw Carrot Cake with No-Cream Cheese Frosting

Firstly, I feel that I need to apologize for this photograph. I did graduate from art school, and I know it doesn't show. But sometimes between working a full-time job for 45 hours a week, raising a 9 year-old, keeping a household in tact, running an Etsy and an Ebay shop, juicing, and preparing 3 raw meals a day, plus some non-raw stuff for my son, well I get worn out! Ideally this carrot cake would be perched on some rustic salvaged wood on vintage china with an antique lace tablecloth, but that isn't my real life. Currently my real life is eating this cake off a donated office plate that has a lot of letters on it while I answer a phone that doesn't stop ringing. Despite all appearances though, this cake is keeping me so satisfied that I am not evenly remotely interested in eating the donuts someone brought into the office. I have made raw vegan carrot cakes before, but this time I figured out the frosting, and the texture is perfect!

Carrot Cake

2 cups carrot pulp (from juicing)
1/2 cup almond pulp (from making milk)
1/2 cup raisins
4 dates, pitted
1/2 cup dried mulberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
pinch of pink Himalayan salt

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend well. Press mixture down into a small cake pan or storage container.

No-Cream Cheese Frosting

Meat from 1 young coconut
1/4 cup coconut butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sweetener (agave, coconut nectar, honey, or maple syrup)
sprinkle of cinnamon (for topping)

Put all ingredients, excluding cinnamon, in a food processor and blend until smooth. If mixture is thicker than desired, thin with a bit of coconut water. Frost your cake and place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes for frosting to harden a bit. Top with cinnamon. Slice, serve, and enjoy.

Raw Juicer Pulp Carrot Falafel

I have made raw falafel several times now, but honestly this time I nailed it. In the past I have used whole carrots, instead of pulp, which leaves a more watery mess and less appealing texture. I have been using pulp more and more often in my recipes, which really has me feeling better as a consumer.

Falafel are very versatile. They go well on lettuce or kale salads, or can be wrapped in your favorite raw wrap of collard leaf. You can even top a raw pizza with them. No dehydrator is necessary, but if you want to pop them in for a few hours that is another option. Good dressing pairings are lemon-tahini (as pictured) or a nut/seed-based taziki.

The green pulp I refer to in the ingredients can be just about any leafy green. Mine was a mixture of kale, collards, cilantro, and celery. Feel free to use dill, spinach, basil, lettuce, chard, or even your carrot tops. But don't juice Carrot Top because that would be an icky mess and the police would be involved. (Okay, sometimes I say things just to see if anyone is paying attention.)

2 1/2 cups of carrot pulp (leftover from the juicer)
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (soaked)
3/4 cup brazil nuts
1/4 cup of green pulp (leftover from juicer)
1/4 cup flax seeds
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon nutritional
Celtic sea salt to taste

Put all ingredients, except for the green pulp, in a food processor and blend into an even mixture. Add the green pulp and pulse once or twice (you want a bit of color separation and texture). Roll into ball roughly 1-inch in diameter (I find small tends to taste better). Place balls on a cloth or paper towel for at least 15 minutes to absorb excess moisture. Serve as desired.

Raw Butterscotch Pudding

I am always on the look out for easy last-minute raw vegan desserts. Being too busy to plan a dessert means you probably really DESERVE a dessert. Butterscotch pudding also kind of takes me back to childhood, and sometimes a treat for nostalgia's sake is a good way to keep you from buying some processed junk for the same reason. So here is a quick recipe. I topped mine with raw Superfood Cereal's Cacao Crunch (made from sprouted buckwheat). Cacao nibs or dried mulberries would make great toppings as well!

7 dates, pitted
1/2 cup tahini
1 cup almond or hemp milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons maca powder
2 tablespoons liquid sweetener (coconut nectar, honey, agave, or maple syrup)
pinch of pink Himalayan salt
topping* (raw cereal crumble, cacao nibs, dried mulberries, etc.)

If dates are not most, make sure to soak them. Combine all ingredients in a small food processor and blend until smooth. Add additional milk if mixture seems too thick. Top with your favorite topping and enjoy!

Top 10 Ways to Reuse Pulp

I've gotten in the habit of using my juicer once a day, usually as part of my morning routine. I might skip a day on the weekends in favor of extra sleep. I also have been making a large bottle of almond milk about once a week. In this process I have made a lot of pulp. If you are a spend thrift like me, you don't want to see your produce and nuts going right down the disposal. It is wasteful, not only of our own resources, but of the earth's as well. The only problem is figuring out what you can do with stuff that looks like, well, basically mulch.

My first few times trying to reuse juicer pulp I tried reusing EVERYTHING. It is amazingly hard to figure out a recipe for a mixture of dried carrots, beets, apples, ginger, celery, lemon, kale, turmeric, and pineapple. It is just too much. Then I started to be more savvy about how I juice and began separating my pulp from the start.

Here are a few quick tips:

- When you go to juice, juice whatever you have the most of first. That way you will have a large amount of pulp from one ingredient. Take that out of your juicer and then juice the remaining ingredients. I usually save a lot of apple pulp, as it has a ton of both savory and sweet uses.

- Think of texture. Celery and ginger are stringy. This is fine if you are making something that lends itself to texture (I actually like celery pulp in my nuggets), but it can be unfortunate if it seems out of place.

- Pay attention color. You can only use beet pulp if you want something to look red. Otherwise don't bother. Carrots and greens should be considered for their color as well.

- What goes together can stay together. Greens are greens when it comes to pulp. Spinach, cilantro, kale, and collards can all be juiced together because most often you won't separate the flavors once they are together.

- If you can't use every last bit of pulp, use the bulk. Wasting a tiny leftover bit of pulp from a piece of ginger is better than trying to force it into a pizza crust where it will ruin a whole meal. Separate your pulps and use common sense.

Zucchini Noodles with Mixed Green Pulp Pesto 

Now, for my top 10 ways to reuse pulp:

1. Pesto. Pesto is specifically for your green pulp. The good news here is that most of the work is already done after you have juiced! Throw the pulp in a food processor with some hemp or sunflower seeds, a bit of nutritional yeast and some olive oil and you are set. Spiralize some zucchini noodles and top with your mixture for a fast week night dinner.

2. Nuggets. Leftover nut and juicer pulps can mix together to make great nuggets. I recommend leaving out the greens and adding a bit of organic corn. Then you can coat each bit in nutritional yeast and flax seeds and dehydrate for an awesome snack.

3. Bread. One of hardest things about raw food is the lack of bread. Adding some flax seeds to the carrot pulp you have can be a great solution. A dehydrator is needed for this one.

4. Cakes. Nut, apple, beet, or carrot pulp all make great additions to raw vegan cakes. Mix them together with raisins, dates, or coconut flakes. Using pulp for cakes is actually easier than using fresh fruit or veggies, because you typically want the dryness.

5. Pizza Crust. Raw pizza has become a staple for most of our Friday night dinners. After collecting a week's worth of pulp, what better way to celebrate than with a dehydrated pizza crust? Pile on as many fresh veggies as it can hold!

6. Cookies. Raw vegan cookies can be made with or without a dehydrator. Get creative!

7. Wraps. Apple pulp mixes especially well with young coconut meat to make a flexible tortilla style wrap.

8. Burgers. My favorite way to reuse beet pulp is with a dehydrated burger. Make sure you add onion and spices, and top with your favorite sauce.

9. Salad topping. Just about anything you juice can be dehydrated along with some herbs and spices to make a crumbly salad topping. Mix it up with nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, or spirulina (if you want to up the health factor.)

10. Soup mix. Sometimes raw soups just seem to thin, but if you add a bit of mixed vegetable pulp to a blender full of more juicy veggies it will thicken right up! Just make sure you are combining good flavors and colors!

Raw Cream of Artichoke Soup

At the age of seven if you asked me what my favorite food was I would cheerfully reply, "ARTICHOKES!" My family usually had them steamed with a side of butter. I have a nostalgic joy remembering scraping each leaf with my teeth. It wasn't until a bit later on that I began to enjoy them marinated on pizza, in salads, or in pasta dishes. Then I started eating raw foods, and sadly they aren't found in many raw recipes.

But did I give up on this spiky vegetable friend? No! I forged onward! I have experimented with pickling artichokes and making them into artichoke squares (shhh.... saving that one for the cookbook), but the soup recipe I made today is a fast easy way to get your artichoke fix and stay raw! Artichokes are a great source of fiber, high in antioxidants, and contain a good amount of vitamin C! So eat 'em up!

2 artichokes (see preparation below)
1 lemon, juiced
2 stalks of celery
1/4 of a red onion
1/4 cup sprouted pumpkin seeds
1/2 an avocado
1/2 cup yellow squash
2 cups almond or hemp milk
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 teaspoon truffle oil
1/2 teaspoon of fennel powder
small handful of dill
 pink Himalayan salt to taste

Firstly, prepare your artichoke. This is the most difficult part, as you only want the hearts. Shorten the stem, then cut the artichokes in half lengthwise. Cut off all leaves above the choke-line. Cut out the choke. Trim the excess hard leaves from the hearts. Toss the artichoke hearts in the blender, along with all remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Serve at room temperature and garnish with extra dill.

Strawberry Rosewater Smoothie and Beet Love Juice

I start most mornings out with a smoothie and juice. At first, the thought of this was a bit daunting because it is a lot of equipment to clean. But now I have arranged my schedule in a way that takes the time for preparing and cleaning into account, and I feel really happy with the results. I am more of a juice person and John is more of a smoothie person, so I make a large juice and small smoothie for myself and vice versa. Even though co-workers may make jokes about my "moonshine" or ask what's in the pickle jar, I feel more clear-headed throughout the day.

Here are two recipes from this morning's breakfast that are perfect for Valentine's Day! Not just because they are lovely shades of red and pink, but because of their health benefits! Rosewater is believed in some cultures to treat heart palpitations. Strawberries are good for the heart too, as they fight cholesterol and regulate blood pressure. Beets were believed to be aphrodisiacs by the ancient Romans, understandably so since the contain boron which is related to the production of sex hormones. Pomegranate juice is high in antioxidants and protects against heart attacks. Grapes also protect your heart by improving the dilation of blood vessels, allowing for better blood flow. So with all these good things going on, why not show yourself some Valentine's Day love and have a drink?

Also, if you like the kitten salt and pepper shakers they are for sale at my Etsy shop for $10!

 Smoothie

3 large bananas
1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon rosewater
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lucuma powder
2 cups distilled water

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth.

Juice

1 large beet, including greens
seeds from 1 pomegranate
2 cups red grapes
1/2 an apple
1 lemon
small handful arugula
water for diluting

Juice all ingredients. Add water to dilute it to your desired strength.

Raw Chipotle Rose Carob Mousse with Raspberries

Instant gratification doesn't come easily in the raw vegan diet, especially when it comes to desserts. It seems like so many of the raw dessert recipes I come across require soaking, freezing, or dehydrating. If I have turned my focus towards the dinner, I usually haven't planned for dessert. But that doesn't mean I don't want it. Here is a 5-minute recipe with exciting flavors and good fats which is just in time for Valentine's Day.

1 avocado
2/3 cup almond or hemp milk
1/3 cup carob powder
1 teaspoon chipotle pepper
1 tablespoon rosewater
3 tablespoons liquid sweetener (maple syrup, honey, agave, or coconut nectar)
dash pink Himalayan salt
1/2 cup of fresh raspberries
sprinkling of cacao nibs

Half, pit, and peel the avocado and place in a small food processor or blender. Add milk, carob powder, chipotle pepper, rosewater, liquid sweetener, and salt. Blend into a thick mousse. Scoop into a glass and top with raspberries and cacao nibs.

DC Area Restaurant Reviews for Raw Vegans

Seeing as Valentine's Day is approaching, I thought I might go into the less frequently explored terrain for raw foodies... dining out. Let's face it, we are the oddballs of the world. Revolutionaries and outcasts usually go hand in hand. There are, however, a few options in the DC area, and as I have explored them I thought I would share my opinions.

1. Elizabeth's Gone Raw. Elizabeth's is the high-class gourmet raw vegan option that is extremely unique. Elizabeth is a cancer survivor in the catering business, who found healing in raw foods. Her dishes are decadent, many nut-based. They mimic items like lamb and caviar, and often involve truffle oil (of which I am a huge fan). The location is beautifully and elaborately designed wilt gilt-framed painting and ornate velvet settees. I had a raw dessert there which had a remarkable flavor I couldn't discern, and the waitress was kind enough to find out for me that it involved juiced sweet corn. There are only a few downfalls. One is that it is a fixed menu at $75 per person, excluding drinks. While that includes 6 courses, if you are broke like me this is an big issue. Also, the high class atmosphere seems to draw to it the Capitol Hill snooty intern crowd. Granted, that is hard to avoid in DC anywhere these days. The third issue is parking. All this aside, the interior is glamorous and the food inspiring.

2. Khepra's Raw Food and Juice Bar. Khepra's is a very different kind of raw food than Elizabeth's. For one thing, you can get a heaping carry-out container full of food for around $15. The food has a bit of Jamaica/ Caribbean/ soul food flare with dishes such as "fried" plantains, creamy collards, and jerk eggplant. The buffalo cauliflower is particularly good. You can get a sampler platter of everything, which I recommend. The food is high-impact flavor, so hopefully you like spices. I do! The downfall of Khepra's is that it isn't very glamorous for eating in. The bathroom is, sadly, a pretty gross affair, and the tables are essentially set up inside a store. But don't let this dissuade you. Pick up the food for carry-out and make your own romantic setting!

3. Everlasting Life. There are two Everlasting Life locations, one in DC and one in Capitol Heights. I have been familiar with the Capitol Heights location for roughly 8 years, so I thought I would include it on this list. The only catch? While the are fully vegan, they are limitedly raw. They do offer an array of salads though, some of which can fit in a raw diet. Most of the ingredients they use are posted, so it is easy to see which salad items may contain ingredients outside of your diet. I usually indulge on kale salad (sweet or garlic), tomato cucumber salad, parsley salad, and beet salad. The location isn't much to look at, as it is in a strip mall, but you can tell that this location is an oasis in a food desert, and an affordable one at that. The biggest downfall is it may tempt you to eat cooked food and even soy-based meat substitutes. I used to love the mock chicken, but now I love not having soy stomach pains. But if you have good restraint, or if you don't care about eating a little cooked, this place is great.

5 Raw Vegan Recipes That Don't Need Special Equipment

Before I started focusing on health with my diet, I didn't have a lot of appliances. No blender, no food processor, no spiralizer, no spice grinder, and definitely no dehydrator. I didn't had a julienne peeler or a mandolin. I had one sad chopping knife to my name. But this still isn't an excuse to pop a frozen burrito in the microwave! I've collected five of my recipes that don't need any special equipment other than a knife, a bowl, and a jar. These are great recipes for anyone interested in eating more raw foods that haven't fully immersed themselves just yet!

1. Mexican- Style Sprouted Forbidden Rice

2. Watermelon Salad (Two Ways)

3. Boardwalk "French Fries"

4. Orange-Sesame Bok Choy Salad

5. Ethiopian-Inspired Tomato Salad with Sauerkraut

Raw Vegan Cauliflower-Hemp Tabouli

In doing my Google searches, it appears the spellings tabouli, tabbouleh, and tabouleh are all acceptable. However you spell it, this delicious dish comes SO CLOSE to being raw vegan on its own, with one downfall... bulgur wheat, which is also not gluten-free. There is something so clean and refreshing about the taste of tabouli though, that I felt inspired to re-create it. There are a few different raw vegan tabouli recipes floating around the internet, but as it is a great staple and easy to make, I thought I would share my spin!

1/4 a head of cauliflower
1 cup hemp seeds
1 large tomatoes
1/2 a cucumber
very large bunch of parsley
small handful of mint
1 and 1/2 lemons, juiced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon hemp oil
pink Himalayan salt to taste

In a food processor combine the cauliflower and hemp. Pulse into small granules. Pour contents into a large bowl. Dice the tomatoes and cucumber and add to bowl. Finely chop the parsley and mint, and add to bowl. Add the remaining lemon juice, olive oil, hemp oil, and salt. Enjoy!

Loaded Raw Nachos with Sprouted Quinoa Corn Chips

This is the part of the blog where I tell you I had a magical fairytale experience with sprouting quinoa. Little birdies came and perched on my shoulder as I sang the little grains into growth. Well, this was my second experience sprouting quinoa. My first batch didn't sprout at all and then started to smell so I chucked them. I watched this batch like a hawk, rinsing and draining obsessively. They sprouted a bit, but not nearly as much as I am used to with lentils and mung beans. I used white quinoa to be more visually pleasing for the chips, but honestly I don't think I will use it again. Next time I will try sprouting red quinoa, which seems to be a bit sturdier. If you want to make this recipe without the quinoa, just double up on your corn! Though it looks like this recipe is a pain and too long, you make the chips in the morning, so getting the toppings together in the evening is a snap! And after my last salad post, we needed a little raw vegan faux junk food, right?

Chips

2 cups corn (fresh or thawed, non-GMO)
2 cups sprouted quinoa (sprouted roughly 48 hours)
3/4 cup golden flax seeds, ground to powder in spice grinder
1/4 cup red onion
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
dash of black pepper
1/4 cup water
pink Himalayan salt to taste
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

"Cheese"

1 cup hemp seeds
1/2 cup hemp or almond milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon truffle oil
1 lemon, juiced
pink Himalayan salt

Salsa

2 medium-sized tomatoes
1/4 cup onion
1/3 a jalapeno (more if you are brave!)
1 handful cilantro
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chili pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper
Celtic sea salt to taste

Guacamole

2 avocados
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup red onion
1 teaspoon coconut aminos
Pink Himalayan salt to taste

Additional

Jalapeno slices
Red baby bell pepper slices


Put all of the chip ingredients except the black sesame seeds into the food processor and blend into a thick, doughy paste. If mixture is too thick, add a bit more water. Add in the black sesame seeds and give a quick pulse. Take your mixture and spread it thinly and evenly over dehydrator sheets. The thinner the better, as long as it is thick enough to hold a bit of weight as a chip. Place in dehydrator set at 107 degrees for roughly 10 hours or until completely dry. Break into chip sized pieces.

Put all cheese ingredients in a small food processor or blender and mix until smooth.

Put all salsa ingredients in a small food processor or blender and pulse until chunky.

In a bowl, smash avocado along with all other guacamole ingredients.

Lay down your chips on a plate (warm the plate slightly in the oven beforehand, if you like) and top with all of your toppings! Enjoy!

In the Defense of Salad

I know. A salad blog post. You are so disappointed, you aren't even sure why you are reading this. I am supposed to teach you how to make a raw vegan bacon double cheeseburger, right? But here is a little anecdote that got me thinking. The other day after spiralizing some beet and cucumber noodles and topping them with a hemp dill sauce, I fed the meal to my husband. After eating it he commented, "Thanks, that was a great salad." He has done this before. My sweet and sour raw stir-fry? Salad. My sprouted lentil chili? Salad. Here I am imitating other foods to avoid admitting that when you eat a diet of predominately vegetables and fruits you are eating... salad.

But is that so bad? Why has salad gotten such a lame wrap? I tend to think that this bad reputation  is rooted in most chain restaurants, which typically offer iceberg lettuce, a sad tomato, some croutons and a chemical dressing. Often topped with meat. If you get lucky shredded carrots or a solitary cucumber slice might make an appearance. But salads can be so much more! They provide the body with a lot of the necessary hydration that can be lost in dehydrated foods, and it is an easy way to pack in the vitamins and nutrients.

Here is a list of some ideas to spice up your salad making. Not only are these delicious, but fast and often don't require the pre-visualization that a lot of other raw foods do. And honestly, I crave salads more often than I ever have craved a burger.

1. Expand upon your greens. Iceberg lettuce is fine. It especially has its place when you have a particularly heavy dressing or a very dense salad, like a taco salad. But the list can go so much further! Romaine, spring mix, spinach, arugula, kale, fresh herbs, dandelion greens, endive, red leaf, radicchio, cabbage, bok choy, watercress, and chicory are just a few other options for a great base.

2. Add mock meats and cheeses. Walnut crumble with the right amount of spices will step up your taco salad in a pinch. Hemp seeds and nutritional yeast can be used dry to make a great parmesan, or mixed with a little hemp milk to make a soft cheese.

3. Rethink your dressings. Put down the bottle and step away slowly. You do not need this. You can have delicious chemical-free dressing bursting with nutrition by simply putting a few fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds or herbs in the blender and BAM. A healthy dressing awaits! Mango ginger, spicy red pepper, lemon tahini, cilantro lime... get creative!

4. Sprinkle something. We have bought products in the past that have been called "salad boosters" or "salad enhancers". These were great products, but honestly it is so easy to make your own! They add a great texture and finishing touch to a salad that might be lacking that certain something. Find things that are small, flavorful, and up the health factor. Some items I have used in my sprinkle mixes are black sesame seeds, hemp seeds, red pepper flakes, dulse, dried herbs, spices, dried citrus rinds, spirulina, blue green algae, nutritional yeast, and salt. A little goes a long way.

5. Step outside your comfort zone. Take an ingredient you don't know very well and add it to the mix. Use fruit in a vegetable salad. Throw in some fermented veggies. Salads are only boring if you make them boring.