A tasty snack alternative – Kale Chips
Posted: February 22, 2010 Filed under: Recipes 4 Comments »I came up with some really pun-tastic titles for this post – most of which involved the word “Chipper” – but after yesterday, I thought I would spare you and go the obvious route. You’re welcome.
Over the weekend I was discussing my snacking habits with my nutritionist, explaining that in the afternoons I need something with crunch, like crackers or potato chips. Gena suggested I try Kale Chips and I literally got off the phone to her and made them. They are AMAZING. I never imagined something so healthy could be better so much better than the food I was craving. And seriously, chips made from Kale? I’m not even ashamed I didn’t think of it, because it doesn’t seem like a good idea. Until you try them.
Side note – If you haven’t already, visit my nutritionist Gena’s blog, Choosing Raw. I can honestly say I wouldn’t be so far down the path to healing if I hadn’t discovered it, and her. If my posts can be half as good as her’s, I’m doing a stellar job.
I went off the recipe that Gena sent me, discovering a fab new blog in the process, but the basic premise is wash your kale and break it into bite size chunks, while discarding the stalk.
Dry, put on a baking dish lined with baking paper – which, uh, I was lacking – sprinkle with salt and bake at about 190 for around 15 minutes, til they’re crunchy.
These are crunchy, a little crumbly, tasty, salty and make a perfect substitute when you’re after some crunch. Plus you know they’re filled with un-fried, unprocessed Kale goodness. A definite winner! I can see these will be featuring in my diet a LOT from now on.
If you have healthy snack substitutes you like more than the original, let me know! I’m always on the look out.
Smoothie moves.
Posted: February 21, 2010 Filed under: Recipes, Treats, Uncategorized | Tags: Smoothies 4 Comments »Original post title right? No? You should see the ones I spared you from.
Many raw foodists imbibe a lot of blended foods and juices, some even going as far as subsisting on liquids alone. I’m not, and will probably never be one of those people, although I am partial to my morning green juice, and I indulge in the occasional green smoothie (I’m talking at least 50% greens). Lately I’ve also been going bananas (I know, I’m on fire!) for Fruit smoothies. I’ve been using them specifically for afternoon snacks at work, to nullify my 3pm sugar cravings in a heathier, easier to digest way. I love how smoothies are such a great way to sneak nutrition into a sweet-tooth-fix.
This week I’ve been riffing on a Banana and Berry theme, with a few extras thrown in. You can use whatever flavours you’d like, all you need is fruit, your “extras” and water or nut milk to liquify the mixture.
Aside from the goodness of the berry, banana and hazelnut milk base – hello potassium, protein and antioxidants, this week’s smoothies also had:
Pumpkin Seeds (protein, iron (there’s around 25 grams per ¼ cup) zinc, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and potassium and essential polyunsaturated fatty acids.)
Chia seeds (Omega 3, iron, protein, B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, boron, and copper)
Raw cacao powder (antioxidants, anti inflammatory properties, sulphur, magnesium, sulphur, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, and manganese; plus some of the B Vitamins.)
LSA (Omega 3, protein, Vitamin E, Folate, Thiamine, Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B-6, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Zinc and Selenium and Antioxidants)
Ground Hemp Seeds (Omega 3, 6, 9, protein, amino acids)
Obviously I haven’t listed every vitamin/mineral/health giving property provided in each of the ingredients, but you get the idea…
I know you all know how to make a smoothie, but….throw it all in the blender, and blitz until smooth. It’s even better if your fruit if frozen, because it makes the smoothie a bit icy and frappe like.
Next week I might go for a coconut theme. If you have any suggestions or favourites, let me know.
Always be prepared
Posted: February 14, 2010 Filed under: Raw Reasoning 7 Comments »As I’ve transitioned to being Raw Vegan, I’ve spent a lot of time channeling my inner girl scout and adopting a new mantra: always be prepared. Being prepared is the cornerstone of maintaining a high raw, or any healthy, lifestyle.
Of course I’m not prepared for every meal. And in those cases, I head to Revive, or, you know, spend a Friday night in front of the TV eating sunflower sprouts straight from the bag and 4 Larabars…which is still about a thousand percent better than what I used to eat on Friday nights, but I digress.
Being prepared is a commitment, sure, but it’s doesn’t need to be daunting. A couple of the main practices I’ve adopted involve about an hour and hour and a half on a Sunday afternoon and several plastic bags!
Every Sunday, I buy my juicing ingredients for the week, as well as lunch and dinner ingredients for at least three days. Then I get to work chopping, prepping and sorting for the days ahead.
Last weekend, for example, I washed and sorted my juice ingredients into individual bags, so all I have to do every weekday morning is grab a bag from the fridge and get juicing… Then I do the same with my salad ingredients, washing, chopping and grating, before putting 3 days worth in individual bags, and make a big jar of dressing, all of which I tote to work with a few Lara bars.
I also cooked a big bowl of quinoa and roasted enough Kumara for 3 days of dinner, along with other veges to have raw or steamed alongside, and made another big jar of dressing.
Mmm, Quinoa with organic marinara sauce
Roasted Kumara, or sweet potato, for my non-Kiwi readers.
I love pottering in the kitchen and creating, but since my work can get pretty manic and involve some long hours, taking some time for food prep on the weekend makes my life so much less stressful! But I still get to indulge my love for cooking, and un cooking, by making the rest of my weeks lunches and dinners on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, as well as going crazy on the weekends!
Welcome to GettingRaw.com
Posted: February 14, 2010 Filed under: About Leave a comment »Hey Guys,
A quick, awesome update. As of now, I’m the proud owner of GettingRaw.com, so the blog redirects straight from that address, will be easier to find, and easier to, ahem, direct your friends to!
Secondly, as a happy consequence of the domain name change, my email is now kate@gettingraw.com, and I would love to hear questions, comments, etc. Maybe tell me about your blog? Love letters are strongly encouraged too.
Kate
Raw Overhaul: Tacos
Posted: February 13, 2010 Filed under: Raw Overhaul, Recipes 2 Comments »Okay, full disclosure, this dish is nothing like tacos in flavour or really texture. And my goal in playing around with Raw Overhauls is not to try and re-create the dish exactly, but to show people how fun, easy and tasty adding Raw Food to their diets can be. By linking it to food they already know, it tends to sound less daunting.
Raw Tacos have two elements. First, the taco “shell”, which is a sturdy green leaf, and the filling, which can be a mix of whatever you’d like.
Here I used cherry tomatoes, corn, olives, celery and kale mixed with tahini, tomato paste, olive oil and himalayan sea salt. Mix all your filling ingredients, and fill the “shells” and eat. The shells I used were nutrient free iceberg lettuce, but my favourite is baby cos. That’s Romaine for the American’s that asked!
This is one of the simplest raw vegan meals I’ve made so far and it’s truly satisfying to boot!
