Raw "Tacos" - Ani Phyo recipe

Tonight I made a tasty dish for supper after viewing an Ani Phyo post on youtube.com - Raw "Tacos".  They were really nice to look at and eat...I didn't take a pic though...  :-(

It is made from a cashew cheeze, almond 'meat' and Romaine lettuce 'shell'.

Cheeze

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp garlic (about one medium sized clove)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup raw cashews
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon's worth)
1/4 cup water

Method:
1.  In your food processor process really well the garlic clove and salt.
2.  Add the cashews to the food processor and process.
3.  Add fresh lemon juice and water and process until creamy (maybe be slightly lumpy like Feta cheese).

Ani also added 1/4 cup of packed cilantro at the end but I didn't have any on hand so I left it out.  She said it was optional anyway.

Taco "Meat"

Ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds
1 tbsp olive oil (cold pressed is raw)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
1/8 tsp sea salt

Method:
1.  In your food processor process into small bits the almonds with oil.
2.  Add the cumin, coriander and salt and process some more.

Puttin' It All Together

Use Romaine lettuce leaves as your shells.

Put a layer of cheeze on the lettuce.  On top of that put some of the "meat".  Then top it off with some chopped fresh tomato and avocado.

Eat.

Simple. Fresh. Raw.

DAIYA CHEESE IN BRANTFORD

I have blogged about Daiya dairy-free cheese before...at that time I had not come across this product in Brantford.  Well...that has changed!  While at Zehrs' on Fairview Drive today I discovered it in the deli area!  They only had 2 packages of the mozzarella style shreds and were sold out of the cheddar style.  I don't get upset when items are sold out because that means that someone else besides me is buying it!  I love to see people buying vegan items and organic produce!  It was fun bumping elbows with an eldering lady today in the grocery store as we both vied for the best organic tomatoes!  The more we buy these items the more they will come available to us and hopefully at lower prices too!

...and that's all I have to say about that!!!

Raw Food Coach - GO RAW!

Karen Knowler
Raw Food Coach

Just this past week I have made an effort to eat mostly raw foods.  I have lost 3 1/2 pounds already!  I am looking to a raw food coach, Karen Knowler, for inspiration, recipes and menu ideas.

http://www.therawfoodcoach.com/

For some time now I've been the owner of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw.  It's a good place to start to get information about this lifestyle choice.  Obviously the internet has a myriad of resources which I am discovering daily! Raw food is about eating food that is not cooked, or at least, not cooked at a temperature of over 115 degrees.  Cooking foods reduces the nutrients in most foods. There is the occassional food that releases more of it's nutrients when warmed.

I am waiting for my Excalibur dehydrator to show up at my doorstep any day now so that I can expand my raw food choices!

Veg News magazine and more...




March/April 2011 issue

 

I think that I forgot to mention that Veg News magazine, although available on-line, can now be purchased in Brantford at Stan's Variety on King George Road!  No more trips to Chapters...it's now in town!  (bi-monthly)

http://vegnews.com/web/home.do

I am also subscribing to Purely Delicious raw food magazine.  I have only received one issue to date.  This is a quarterly publication. Nice magazine. 
http://www.123raw.com/

I have just recently sent in my subscription request for another raw food magazine from the UK - Get Fresh. 

http://www.fresh-network.com/

Vegan Shopping Made Easy

This past summer my husband and I travelled to Toronto to visit Panacea.  This store purports to be Toronto's only vegan health food and eco store.  It was a delight to not have to read any labels when purchasing items!  The service was awesome and very friendly....actually, I've not met an unfriendly vegan yet!

http://www.panaceaecoshop.com/

The store is located at 588 Bloor Street West, Toronto.  When asked, the staff graciously gave us restaurant suggestions in the area.

We went to a nearby place and had a fantastic lunch - One Love.  If given the opportunity, get them out!

854 Bathurst Street, Toronto

Another place that we like to shop, which is closer to home, is Goodness Me.  We go to the 1000 Upper Gage Avenue location in Hamilton.  Although this is not a vegan store and not even a total vegetarian store, it still provides us with some vegan and organic options for both food and household/personal products that we can't get in Brantford.

http://www.goodnessme.ca/

Think You Can't Live Without Cheese?

Many people tell me that they would love to be vegan but they just can't give up cheese.

As vegetarianism and veganism grow in popularity there will be less and less cravings and wants for animal products as people become used to not eating them.  I grew up eating animal products and the vegetarian and vegan marketplace is chock full of food items that mimic those animal products that I ate.

I am trying to make a move away from these animal product analogs, however, in the meantime as I make a transition and hopefully you do too, a Canadian fellow (Andre Kroecher) invented, what I find to be, the best vegan cheese substitute to date. Andre wanted to invent a cheese substitute for pizza.  He did it. Give it a whirl...

Initially my husband and I travelled to Toronto to obtain this dairy (animal) free cheese.  I have recently purchased it in Hamilton at Goodness Me....hopefully we will see Daiya in Brantford soon.

We like to use it for pizza, baked pasta, nachos, tacos...  Tonight we had it on our baked potatoes with Tofutti's Sour Supreme and Yves Veggie Cuisine's veggie bacon strips (which I made into bacon bits).

Sunny Cauliflower Broccoli Toss - Veganized

Sunny Cauliflower Broccoli Toss - Veganized

This is a recipe I veganized...the original is from a Pillsbury cookbook. I really like to eat this on it's own for lunch or with other stuff as a part of dinner.  The original recipe calls for way too much dressing in my opinion so I have reduced it by half.

Dressing:

Whisk together:

1/4 cup vegan mayo
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cider vinegar

Salad:

3-4 slices vegan bacon cut into small pieces and fried 'til crispy
1 head cauliflower cut into florets
1 head broccoli cut into florets
1/2 cup (or more) jumbo Thompson raisins
1/4 cup (or more) raw, hulled sunflower seeds

Mix all this stuff together and enjoy.  Keep it refrigerated.  It doesn't last long at our house...it's a favourite.

And, of course, I use organic ingredients when available.

If you find that there is not enough dressing you can always make a bit more.  I suppose it all depends on the size of the cauliflower and broccoli you're starting with!

For vegan mayo I like:
Vegenaise by Earth Island

For vegan bacon I like:
Veggie Bacon Strips by Yves Veggie Cuisine