January 31, 2010

Breakfast
Chocolate Shake
serves 1 ~ $.65 per serving

ingredients

3 ripe bananas ($.45)
2 tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder (>20)
pinch salt
10 - 12 ice cubes
1 cup water

This is my current addiction. Chocolate shakes. Like most all raw foods, it's super simple to make, too.

In a blender, puree all ingredients until smooth and icy.

calories: 362
fat: 0 gr
carbs: 93 gr
protein: 3 gr
Lunch

Tomato Soup
serves 2 ~ $1.00 per serving

ingredients

4 ripe tomatoes* ($1.50)
2 cloves garlic, pressed ($.10)
1 medium onion ($.15)
1/4 cup olive oil ($.25)
1 teaspoon basil ($.10)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Penni Shelton is a wonderful raw food inspiration. She started and continues to run Raw Food Rehab, an online raw community. The original group, of which I was a part, served as research for her brand new book, Raw Food Cleanse. As part of her "Foodie Friday" video series, Penni made a spicy tomato soup. I've been craving tomato soup all winter and that video put me over the edge ... especially when I remembered I had frozen tomatoes from the garden in my freezer. Yes, they're raw. A few things, like broccoli and corn, need to be blanched before freezing, but tomatoes and fruit and a whole list of things don't need to be blanched. So, I actually have lots of tomatoes that are suitable for raw soups ... I didn't have all of the ingredients Penni used, but it was nice tasting some real tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes are as much as $3 each right now, and I don't use them much. *So, I've just figured the cost of what we sell our tomatoes for in the summer.

In a blender, puree the tomatoes, garlic, half the onion, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes until very smooth. I used 1/4 cup oil, but 1/2 cup does make a creamier soup. Divide between bowls and garnish with chopped onion, a sprinkle of basil, and a bit more red pepper flakes.

calories: 327
fat: 54 gr
carbs: 21 gr
protein: 5 gr

Dinner
Garden Salad with Sweet Onion Dressing
serves 2 ~ $2.13 per serving

ingredients

1/2 head romaine ($.95)
1/2 bunch (or bag) spinach ($1.50)
12 radishes ($1.00)
2 medium onions ($.30)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons olive oil ($.20)
3 tablespoons agave or agave ($.30)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

The spiciness continues. There was an onion dressing I remember using a long time ago and I thought maybe I'd try to replicate it to go with this salad of greens, radishes and onions. It was perfect.

For the dressing, puree 1/2 onion, the garlic, agave, olive oil, salt, black pepper and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. It can be hard to make this in such a small batch because the blender just doesn't work on such small amounts. I get around that by using a pint sized canning jar attached to the blade part of my blender. But, you could easily double or triple the amount and it should store in the fridge for at least a few days.

The salad is just the romaine and spinach tossed with thinly slices radishes and onions and topped with the onion dressing and some more red pepper flakes.

calories: 280
fat: 15 gr
carbs: 38 gr
protein: 5 gr

Jalapeno Poppers
10 poppers ~ $.24 per popper

ingredients

5 jalapeno peppers ($.49)
1 medium onion, minced ($.15)
1 tablespoon olive oil ($.10)
crushed red pepper flakes

Basic Nut Cheez

1 cup nuts, soaked and dehydrated ($1.60)
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon agave ($.10)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup water for blending

My son was trying to entice me the other day with some jalapeno poppers. I admit they did look good, but I knew I could make a raw and dairy free version that would just as yummy. AND I had a whole bag full of jalapenos in the fridge.

I started by making a batch of nut cheez. I used soaked and dehydrated walnuts here, but I imagine that some macadamia nuts would be good as well. In a blender, puree the nuts and all other nut cheez ingredients for a few minutes, until smooth and very creamy. Wrap in cheese cloth and let drain over a colander. Set a plate on top of the cheez and weight it with something. I used a can of coffee. Let drain overnight.

Slice the jalapenos in half, remove the seeds and ribs, and very lightly toss with olive oil. Dehydrate for a few hours until slightly softened (I actually liked them both ways, dehydrated as well as just fresh). Then fill with nut cheez and garnish with minced onion and crushed red pepper flakes. Put in the dehydrator for another few hours to warm, if desired.

calories: 89
fat: 4 gr
carbs: 4 gr
protein: 3 gr

Dessert
Pasteli
makes 12 pieces ~ $.21 per piece

ingredients

1 cup sesame seeds ($.75)
1/2 cup agave ($.80)
1 lemon, juice and zest ($1.00)
pinch salt

Pasteli is a Greek dessert candy that is traditionally made of honey and sesame seeds. The candy is soft and a bit sticky. More modern pasteli is made with refined and boiled sugar, which makes it quite hard, like nut brittles. I like this version better, where I've substituted agave for the honey ... coconut nectar or other liquid sweeteners would probably work as well.

Stir ingredients together until well blended. Spread about 1/4 inch thick onto plastic dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate for 4 hours and then place the dehydrator sheets in the refrigerator until chilled, about 20 minutes. This firms up the candy for easier flipping. Flip out onto another lined dehydrator tray (it's important that it be lined, otherwise the warm mixture will sag through just a bit) and dehydrate for another several hours or overnight.

This is slightly soft when warm. Score the candy and then chill before breaking into pieces and then store in the refrigerator.

calories: 112
fat: 6 gr
carbs: 15 gr
protein: 3 gr

Total cost for the day: $4.23

total calories: 1170

total fat: 79 gr

total carb: 171 gr
total protein: 19 gr

January 24, 2010

Breakfast
Chocolate Spaghetti
1 serving ~ .$40 per serving

ingredients

1 banana ($.15)
1 tablespoon olive oil ($.10)
1 tablespoon agave ($.10)
1 teaspoon cacao or cocoa powder ($.05)

My three year old granddaughter, Alexandria, requested "chocolate spaghetti" for breakfast. Being the grandma, I had to say yes. It's probably quite a bit too sweet for regular consumption, but worked perfectly for us as a fun and fanciful treat.

For each serving, grate or slice one banana. If slicing, make long thin strips that look like noodles. I used the food processor with the grating plate. Less ripe works better in this case. A very ripe banana would be too mushy.

In a small cup, whisk together the oil, agave, and cacao or cocoa powder. Arrange the (sticky!) banana noodles on a plate and top with the chocolate sauce. Sprinkle with a few crushed walnuts.

calories: 304
fat: 14 gr
carbs: 48 gr
protein: 1 gr

Lunch
Carrot Avocado Soup
2 servings ~ $1.69 per serving

ingredients

1 avocado, chopped ($.78)
4 carrots, peeled and chopped ($.40)
2 ribs celery, chopped ($.30)
1/2 medium onion, chopped ($.10)
1 clove garlic, pressed ($.05)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil ($.40)
1 1/2 cups water for blending

1/2 medium tomato, finely chopped($1.25)
1 green onion, sliced ($.10)
1/2 teaspoon olive oil

I've been pleasantly surprised to find so many things on sale this time of year. Citrus is being priced very well, greens are marked down, and our local store even had avocados at half price. Conventionally grown tomatoes, on the other hand, are outrageously expensive in my area now ... $2.99 a pound, which is about $2.50 each. I admit, I was pretty excited about the 78 cent avocados.

This soup is more hearty than I expected ... quite robust and satisfying, and super simple to make. Coarsely chop all the ingredients to make blending easier. In a blender, add everything but the tomato and scallion and teaspoon olive oil. Puree for a few to several minutes until very smooth. In some blenders, the soup will start to warm up a bit as it processes.

Garnish with chopped tomatoes and scallions, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

For a few cents more, flax crackers would go well with this very well.

calories: 481
fat: 42 gr
carbs: 28 gr
protein: 5 gr

Dinner
Baby Greens with Clementines and "Honey" Mustard Dressing
serves 2 ~ $2.40 per serving

ingredients

1 8 oz bag baby greens ($2.99)
3 clementines, peeled and sectioned ($.75)
1/4 cup walnuts ($.25)
1/2 red onion, chopped ($.20)

2 tablespoons olive oil ($.20)
2 tablespoons agave ($.20)
2 tablespoons brown spicy mustard ($.20)

salt and pepper to taste

Lately, I just can't get enough of greens and citrus together. This is a very simple salad that gave me a much needed reminder of spring.

To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, agave, and mustard. Toss with the baby greens, clementine sections, red onion, and walnuts.

calories: 342
fat: 24 gr
carbs: 28 gr
protein: 8 gr

Dessert
Lime in the Coconut Tarts
8 tarts ~ $1.11 per serving

ingredients

6 dates ($3.00)
1/2 cup walnuts ($.50)
1/2 cup finely shredded coconut ($1.00)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons agave
pinch salt

2 avocados ($1.49)
3 bananas, dehydrated ($.45)
4 limes, juice and zest ($2.00)
4 tablespoons agave ($.40)

These are just insanely good. I really don't think there's a conventional dessert that could be any better tasting than these.

They certainly didn't last long in these parts, although theoretically they can be covered and frozen for up to a week.

Make the crusts first. In a food processor with the "S" blade, process the dates until mush. Add the coconut, coconut oil, agave, and salt and process until it begins to clump. Last, add the walnuts and process until the walnuts are fully incorporated and the mixture sticks together.

I used paper cupcake cups and a cupcake pan ... the paper lined pans seemed to make just about perfect sized tarts. Divide the crust mixture evenly into and press into the bottom and sides of eight paper lined cupcake cups. Put in the freezer for about a half hour, until firm.

For the filling, in the food processor with the "S" blade, process the avocados, bananas, lime juice and zest, and agave. It takes a minute or two, but this will become velvety smooth and the consistency of thick pudding.

A note about the dehydrated bananas ... these need to be just dehydrated enough to take some of the moisture out but not hard. I dehydrated my gently for about 6 hours and that seemed to work out well.

Spoon the filling into the tart crusts and chill well before serving.

calories: 395
fat: 24 gr
carbs: 43 gr
protein: 3 gr

Total cost for the day: $5.60

total calories: 1522

total fat: 108 gr

total carb: 147 gr
total protein: 17 gr

January 17, 2010

Breakfast
My Darling Clementines
serves 1 ~ $1.00 per serving

ingredients

4 clementines ($1.00)

Earthmother was just talking about Clementines the other day on her fab blog, "In the Raw." It's that time of year and most citrus is in season right now. I found a bag of 18 clementines for $4.48 at my local grocery. That's 25 cents each for juicy yumminess ... a real bargain.

So my breakfast today was four luscious clementines. Peel and enjoy ...

I even made a clementine candle like the one Earthmother has linked on her blog.

calories: 140
fat: 0 gr
carbs: 36 gr
protein: 4 gr
Lunch
Tabbouleh
serves 3 ~ $3.40 per serving

ingredients

2 bunches parsley, finely chopped ($1.69)
1 english cucumber, seeded and diced ($1.29)
2 large tomatoes, diced ($2.99)
1 medium onion, minced ($.25)
1/2 cup cauliflower florets, processed into rice sized pieces ($.50)
1/2 cup mint leaves, finely chopped ($1.89)
1/4 cup olive oil ($.80)
juice of 2 lemons ($1.00)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper

Tabbouleh is a traditional Lebanese parsley salad. If you like parsley, you'll like tabbouleh. Meh, I don't think I like parsley. It reminds me too much of cilantro (the two are closely related).

Bulgur wheat is usually used in Tabbouleh. I've substituted it here with cauliflower that I chopped in the food processor into rice sized pieces. Sprouted wheat could be used instead, as could sprouted quinoa. The cauliflower gives the same look, but sprouted grains would likely be more flavorful.

This is an easy dish to put together. Mix together the lemon juice, oil, and cumin and toss with the chopped, diced, and minced ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


calories: 236
fat: 19 gr
carbs: 15 gr
protein: 5 gr

Dinner
Creamy Marinated Mushroom Soup with Crackers
serves 3 ~ $2.28 per serving

ingredients

12 ounces mushrooms ($2.69)
1 medium onion ($.25)
1 tablespoon olive oil ($.20)
1 tablespoon agave ($.20)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar ($.20)

1 ripe avocado ($1.49)
1 tomato ($1.00)
1 clove garlic, pressed
3 tablespoons olive oil ($.60)
1 1/2 cup water to process
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil ($.20)

This began as a tomato soup. The tomatoes right now are so expensive and so without flavor and color that it was about impossible. So, instead, it became a marinated mushroom soup that turned out to be creamy and savory and really hit the spot on a dreary day.

I started by marinating and then dehydrating the mushrooms and chopped onions. Mix together the olive oil, agave, and balsamic vinegar. Toss with the sliced mushrooms and chopped onions and spread out on a lined dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for about 2-3 hours.

Reserve a few mushrooms and onions for topping. In a blender, puree the remaining mushrooms and onions, avocado, tomato, garlic, and olive oil, adding about 1 1/2 cup water. Add as much water as necessary to make the right consistency. I made mine pretty thick and creamy.

Top with the reserved mushrooms and onions, drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil.

calories: 374
fat: 35 gr
carbs: 23 gr
protein: 5 gr

For a few cents more ...

Bitt, from over at "A Bitt of Raw," once reminded me that crackers are a great way to add in some tasty satisfaction for just a few cents more ... so

I also made some flax and buckwheat crackers to go with the soup. These were really light and crispy, quite a lot like conventional crackers. I think it was the buckwheat that made them so light. It also makes them more difficult to turn on the dehydrator sheet, but they are quite good.

Flax Buckwheat Crackers
serves 6 ~ $.48 per serving

ingredients

1/2 cup flax meal ($.25)
1/2 cup buckwheat ($.25)
1/2 cup whole flax seeds ($.20)
2 carrots ($.20)
1 red bell pepper ($.69)
2 medium onions, finely chopped ($.50)
3 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup oil ($.80)
1 cup water

Soak the buckwheat for at least 4 hours. Rinse several times. Do not dehydrate.

In the blender, puree the red bell pepper, carrots, and onion with 1 cup water. Add the buckwheat and blend until the buckwheat is chopped up but not totally pureed. Pour in a bowl and fold in the flax meal and whole flax seeds. Stir in the oil and spices.

Spread this out thinly on lined dehydrator sheets, about 1/8 of an inch thick. Oiling the sheet can make it a bit easier to turn these over. Also, using the back of an oiled spoon will help spread the cracker batter.

Dehydrate for about an hour, or until the top is just getting dry. Flip over and peel the sheet off. I found I had to turn these fairly early or they would get too dry and stick around the edges. But that may just be the kind of dehydrator I'm using.

Score the crackers into the desired shapes. I made triangular wedges.

Continue dehydrating until crisp, about 8-10 hours. Break apart.

calories: 282
fat: 26 gr
carbs: 28 gr
protein: 9 gr

Dessert
Strawberry Pie

serves 6 ~ $1.04 per serving

ingredients

1 pound strawberries ($2.08)
3 tablespoons agave ($.60)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup walnuts, soaked and dehydrated ($1.00)
1 cup banana slices, dehydrated (about 4 raw) ($.60)
pinch salt

1/4 cup walnuts ($.25)
2 dates ($1.00)
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt

Last week, I made Kristen's delicious Banana Nut Cookie Dough Bites. I loved that she used dehydrated bananas as the dried fruit part of the recipe. I wanted to see how that could translate into a pie crust. Well, it's just awesome, as i suspected it would be. I also find bananas much more accessible. I don't always have a bag of dates on hand. And bananas are definitely less expensive.

In a food processor with an "S" blade, process the walnuts and dehydrated bananas with a pinch of salt until the mixture starts clumping together. Spread and press onto a plate for a more rustic effect, which is what I did, or use a regular pie or tart plate.

In the food processor, add about a quarter of the strawberries and process with the lemon juice and agave until well pureed. Just like chocolate needs a dash of salt, I've found that strawberries really benefit from a tiny bit of lemon.

To make the walnut cream, in a blender puree 1/4 cup walnuts, 3 dates, and enough water to process, about 2/3 cup. Puree until very smooth and creamy.

Slice the remaining strawberries and add arrange on top. Spoon on some of the walnut cream. Cut into wedges and serve.

calories: 327
fat: 16 gr
carbs: 47 gr
protein: 5 gr

Total cost for the day: $8.56

total calories: 1,359

total fat: 96 gr

total carb: 149 gr
total protein: 28 gr