Posts Tagged ‘avocado’

Simple Raw Food Recipes

June 20th, 2010

The concept of eating a specialized diet like the raw food diet might send some people to the conclusion that you have far too much time on your hands. After all, when you eat whatever you want, you have the choice to make a complex and complicated meal if you have the time and energy to spare, but if you are in a rush, you can always grab a bite to eat as you zip from here to there. Simplicity is always an option when your selection is endless; but when you are “limited” to a raw diet eating plan, you will forever be pre-planning your meals, and working your fingers to the bone to keep yourself properly fed, right?

As is the case with a lot of things, the raw diet can look a lot more complicated from the outside than it actually is in real life. Sure, you can spend a few hours whipping up complicated and intricate meals for your raw eating plan, but if you are pressed for time, there are plenty of simple raw food recipe ideas out there.

With summertime now upon us, there is no better time to experiment with some of these simple, tasty and cool recipes, leaving you with more time to spend with family out on the back deck, while still enjoying some great meals that will satiate that fickle summer hunger.

A great example of a raw food recipe that sounds very complex but is actually quite simple is a summertime favorite, cold watermelon soup. This delicate dish is great for summer evenings, and will wow your guests without overwhelming you in the kitchen.

To make, simply combine a cup of watermelon flesh per diner in a blender with half a cup on sliced fresh mango, two tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice, two teaspoons of freshly chopped mint, half a teaspoon of freshly ground ginger and a pinch of ground cardamom. Blend until smooth, and chill for an hour prior to serving. Garnish with a fresh mint leaf, and prepare to answer questions about the prep time for longer than it took to actually make the dish itself!

Another great summertime dish is guacamole, but most store bought varieties include tons of dried and dead spices, preservative chemicals and added flavors and colors. When done right, a raw guacamole does not need any help for color or taste, and makes a great dip for fresh veggie plates.

All you need are two or three large ripe avocados, three medium sized cherry tomatoes, a lime and a handful of fresh cilantro. Chop the cilantro, juice the lime, coarsely chop the tomatoes, mash the avocados with a fork, and combine all of the ingredients together. Pop the dish, covered, into the fridge for an hour if you can, but be warned: this guacamole is so good, it is almost impossible to keep out of it for a full hour. The longer you can wait to dig in, the better the flavors will be able to meld together, but don’t fret if people want to dig in immediately.

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Plant Based Food Recipes

June 17th, 2010

Within the raw food discipline, there are many different paths to better eating. While you might initially equate a raw food regimen with a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, there are plenty of ways to keep eating different types of meats while staying true to a raw diet.

However, these practices tend to be the minority while getting more than their fair share of the attention. In the mad rush to show outsiders that a raw food diet is not as alien and strange as they might think it is, many raw foodies will go overboard with the meat recipes, adding cold smoked salmon to just about every dish in the hopes of appealing to those who might be frightened of a raw, meatless diet.

But truth be told, there are many more delicious food choices within a raw food diet, and a majority of them involve no meat at all. These plant based food recipes rely only on what can be grown and eaten raw, and as simple as that might sound, it can offer amazingly complex flavors and textures. And no, eating plant based recipes does not mean that all you are eating are salads.

A great example of an exciting raw plant based meal is a take on vegetarian sushi. To begin the meal, you might like to start with a light beverage that can be enjoyed with the meal. Rather than opting for traditional sake, you might consider lightly carbonated mint-infusion water. While the bottled stuff at the store can be quite pricey, you can make your own at home using fresh mint, ice water and an inexpensive home seltzer kit.

Traditional Japanese sushi is made with vinegar and rice, but the raw plant varieties are more of a sashimi style of presentation. Here, there is no rice, but just thinly sliced pieces of fish – or in this case, vegetables. You can create a very delicate and intricate plate of plant sashimi by thinly slicing fruits and veggies such as avocado and eggplant. Instead of using traditional soy sauce, you can use the raw variety found in many alternative grocery and health food stores, and of course, you can add some thinly sliced ginger to the plate for flavor. If you love the sinus-clearing kick of wasabi, you can make your own by grinding up fresh wasabi root. Try to avoid the premade pastes, many of which are not wasabi at all, but a mixture of horseradish, mustard, flavors and coloring agents.

For dessert with this fancy meal, you can create your own green tea iced dessert. While mass marketed green teas have already been dried and heated, you can find raw green tea leaves online or in some specialty grocery stores. Another option is to use matcha, which is a finely ground green tea powder made from sun-dried tea leaves. Either way, you can mix your green tea with frozen bananas in a food processor to create a fine but creamy dessert that will match the elegance of your main dish.

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Bananacavo Energy Smoothie

March 24th, 2010

Let’s say you’re an athlete. You’re not a professional by any means, but you get out there a few times a week and really build up a sweat. Maybe you run, maybe you play a team sport, or maybe you just hit the weights and give your muscles a good thrashing.

Regardless, you come home happy but tired. You’ve left it all out on the court or the path or the gym floor, and you have no energy left. You know you should eat something, but man, it’s tempting to just flop down in the chair and relax. Who wants to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen preparing a tasty snack at that point?

So, maybe you reach for one of those chocolate bars that tosses a bit of protein into the mix and calls itself an “energy bar”. Sure, you get some fuel for your system, and it’s easy, but is it really what you want to put into your body? What if I told you there was a simple and easy snack that would take less than three minutes to prepare, but would give you an amazing amount of energy, help repair those overworked muscles, and taste great to boot?

That, my friends, is the beauty of the Bananacavo Energy Smoothie. Not only does it have a great name, it has a taste to match, and benefits beyond your expectations.

First of all, let’s go through the ingredients…

First, you have bananas. If you have seen a marathon or even run in one, you know that pretty much the only solid food they hand out at the water stations are bananas. Not only are they nice and mushy (so very easy to eat), but they are full of all sorts of things that a hard-working runner needs – right now. There is a ton of potassium in bananas, and potassium goes straight to your poor muscles, helping to break down the pockets of lactic acid that build up in your overworked muscles.

That lactic acid is what brings the pain, so bananas are like aspirin for your legs on a long run, and you’ll be thankful for it later. But on top of that, bananas contain natural sugars that help to fuel your body right now, rather than later. The mushy texture means that those sugars are digested quicker, and are available to your body faster. All good things, when you’re working that hard.

The other main ingredient in this smoothie is avocado. This fleshy green fruit might not be your first choice to pair with bananas, but the fats contained within are truly beneficial to the hard working body. These healthy fats are essential to maintaining proper health, and besides, they taste great.

To make the Bananacado Energy Smoothie, combine a whole, peeled banana with a half of the flesh of an average sized avocado in a blender. To complete the mix, add in a cup of cold water, the juice of half of an orange, a pinch of salt and a handful of previously soaked and softened almonds. Blend until smooth, and consume immediately.

I guarantee you, you’ve never tasted anything like this before, and once you go Bananacado, you’ll never go back.

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