Live healthy and vibrant with delicious food...P.S. ya mamma.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

RAW and COOKED Summer BBQ Kabobs

RAW Ginger Garlic Marinated Vegetable Kabobs
For the Veggie Kabobs:
Portablello Mushrooms
Red Bell Peppers
Avocado
Papaya
Radish
Zuchini
Vadalia Onion
Grape Tomatoes
For the Marinade:
½ C Tamari, Coconut Liquid Aminos or Nama Shoyu
¼ C Red Wine Vinegar
¼ C White Wine Vinegar
2 TBL Honey
1 TBL Fresh Ginger Root, minced
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
½ tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Directions:
In a medium sized bowl combine the Tamari(Coconut Aminos, or Soy Sauce), white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic and crushed red peppers and whisk until all ingredients are blended well. Set aside.
You want to marinate the vegetables overnight. So cut the portabella mushrooms, red bell peppers, vidalia onions, and Zucchini into pieces a little smaller than a golf ball. You can use the radishes and the grape tomatoes as a frame of reference on how small to cut them. You want to be able to put them on a bamboo skewer and be able to bite them off and have them fit into your mouth. Places these cut up veggies in the marinade and mix well to really coat them. Put a lid on the vegetables in the marinade and place in the fridge over night. The mushrooms are particularly absorbent and taste amazing when left to marinate all night.
When you’re ready to make and eat your kabobs, take your marinated vegetables out of the fridge. Cut up your avocado and papaya to create large chunks that will fit on your bamboo skewers. Using the grape tomatoes, radishes, avocado, papaya and the marinated vegetables, alternate placing each of them on the skewer, doubling some of them up to completely fill your skewer. You should have a beautiful and delicious looking vegetable kabob. ENJOY!!
Mexican Fiesta BBQ Grilled Veggie Kabobs
Ingredients
2 Large Organic Zucchini (1/2 inch slices)
2 Large Organic Yellow Squash (1/2 inch slices)
1 Organic Red Bell Pepper (1 inch squares)
1 Lb Organic Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
1 Organic Red Onion (1 inch squares)
2 Organic Sweet Potatoes (1 inch cubes)
1/2 Lb Organic Portobello Mushrooms
Mexican Fiesta Marinade
3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
1 T Cinnamon
1 t Cumin
1 t Coriander
1 t Freshly Minced Garlic
1 t Sea Salt
1/2 t Black Pepper
1/4 t Cayanne Pepper (optional)
Directions
Mix all of the ingredients for the Mexican Fiesta Marinade into a large bowl or large resealable bag. Place all veggies into the bowl or bag. Let marinate for at least 2 hours. Once marinated, place the veggies onto kabob skewers. I personally recommend placing all of the veggies on the same skewers in a rotational pattern, but some people like to separate each type of veggie out. Either way has its advantages and disadvantages. Once veggies are ready to go heat grill to a medium to high heat. Place kabobs on the hottest part of the grill and turn a quarter turn every two minutes. After every quarter turn, brush the top side of the kabobs with the leftover marinade. Once every side of the kabobs has been exposed to high heat for two minutes, move the kabobs to low or indirect heat for an additional 4-5 minutes until all veggies are cooked through but not mushy. 
Serve this meal with a side of seasoned Black Beans, Grilled Corn on the Cob and Grilled or Fresh Veggie Kabobs. This is a great meal for any summer cookout or BBQ and is extremely kid friendly.  

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Week 2 Menu

Monday Breakfast- Green Smoothie + 1 Apple
Monday Lunch- Salad Topped with artichoke hearts, olives & tomato

Tuesday Breakfast- Green Smoothie + Raw Bar 
Tuesday Lunch- RAW Veggie Wrap

Wednesday Breakfast- Green Smoothie + Pineapple & Blueberry Fruit Salad
Wednesday Lunch- Cucumber & Tomato Salad with Asian Dressing

Thursday Breakfast- Raw Oatmeal + Green Smoothie
Thursday Lunch- Spinach and Beet Salad

Friday Breakfast- Green Smoothie + Raw Bar
Friday Lunch- Salad Greens Topped With Red Pepper & Zucchini

Saturday Breakfast- Raw Granola
Saturday Lunch- Quinoa (Sprouted) Salad topped with Raisins and Dried Cranberries 

Sunday Breakfast- Raw Oatmeal + Green Smoothie
Sunday Lunch- Raw Pizza

Feel free to follow along on my journey as I experience my transition towards feeling and looking better!
 
-Cooked

Monday, July 4, 2011

RAW Chard Wrap vs. COOKED Zucchini and Yellow Squash Wrap

COOKED Zucchini and Yellow Squash Wrap


Ingredients
1 Large Zucchini diced
1 Large Yellow Squash diced
2 Artichoke Hearts quartered
3 Leaves Fresh Chopped Basil
1 Red Bell Pepper Roughly Chopped
1 Red Onion Roughly Chopped
Sea Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder (to taste)
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2-4 Organic Whole Wheat Wraps


Directions
In a large pan, preheat 1T olive oil. Fold in the red onion and red pepper. Once onion and pepper are beginning to soften, add in the zucchini and yellow squash. Once all veggies are cooked, but not mushy, remove a set aside. In a blender add in 1T Olive Oil, Garlic Powder, Artichoke Hearts and Basil Leaves. Blend to create a paste. Spread paste on a Whole Wheat Wrap, add veggies, salt and pepper to taste, roll and eat. For a twist, cook all of the veggies on the grill.



Papaya Chard Wraps with Tahini Almond Dipping Sauce

Ingredients: 
FOR THE CHARD WRAPS
5 Large Chard Leaves(the type of Chard doesn’t matter.)
Sweet pea or Sunflower sprouts
Papaya
Zucchini
Cucumber
Avocado
Directions:
Cut off the stems and de-vein the chard leaves splitting them in to two. Cut those in half, so that you have four large pieces per large chard leave. Cut your papaya into four inch by half inch slices and place in the center of one of the pieces of chard leaves. The zucchini and cucumber work best julienne sliced, but if you don’t have a julienne slicer you can just cut them into thin 4 inch strips. Place two or three pieces of zucchini and cucumber in the center of the chard leave with the papaya. Slice large pieces of avocado and place one each in the chard leave with the zucchini, cucumber and papaya. Top off with some sprouts and roll it up like a burrito.
Ingredients:
TAHINI ALMOND DIPPING SAUCE
1 cup raw almond butter
½ cup pine nuts
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 ½ Tablespoon honey
Directions:
Blend all ingredients together until smooth. 
Take your chard wraps and dip into your tahini almond sauce with abandon. This recipe was inspired by my friend and amazing Living Food Chef, Jubilee Jen(www.jubileejen.com) who introduced me to the amazing and delicious diversity of using chard to wrap all sorts of tasty things. 





Week 1

After a week eating Raw Breakfast and Raw Lunch, I am still going strong. I have been averaging a Green Smoothie and some Raw Oatmeal for breakfast and an ever changing salad for lunch. By varying what goes into my salad, it keeps life interesting and healthy. A few surprises that I have had have been that I am not constantly hungry. One advantage of eating raw is that I can eat until I am completely full. When eating cooked food, I am constantly thinking about the number of calories I am consuming. All week long, I have felt energized and focused. At the end of week 1, I now weigh 168 pounds. That is a 6 pound decrease from one week ago.

Looking forward to the upcoming week,

Cooked