By now I bet you’re eager to get started preparing some meals. For many, this is a whole new way of preparing food. At first, the techniques may take some getting used to – but don’t worry, it does get easier. And as you can see, the diet does include a lot of variety in terms of flavor and the kinds of recipes you can eat.
APPETIZERS
LETTUCE WRAPS
This makes for an attractive appetizer at a party, or just for the heck of it!
Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados, pitted and mashed
2 tomatoes, chopped
½ yellow onion, diced
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
Kernels from one ear of fresh corn
Juice from half a lime
6-8 romaine lettuce leaves (large)
Add the first seven ingredients to a large medium bowl. Mix until well combined. Place two tablespoons of the mixture in the center of each lettuce leaf. Roll the leaf up and present it on a platter.
HUMMUS
Hummus is a classic but most recipes call for canned chickpeas. Instead, buy dried chickpeas and soak them overnight or until they get soft.
Ingredients:
2 cups chickpeas, soaked
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup pitted black olives, diced
Instructions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until creamy. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with crackers, bread, or whole grain pita wedges.
Grain Dishes
EASY FLAX CRACKERS
This recipe is easy and satisfying but it does require the flax seeds to be soaked for several hours. This recipe also requires a dehydrator.
Ingredients:
4 cups whole flax seeds, soaked for six hours
1/3 cups Bragg’s liquid aminos
Fresh squeezed juice from 2 lemons
Instructions:
After the flax seeds have soaked add the liquid aminos and lemon juice. Mix until well combined. Spread out the mixture as thin as you can and add it to the dehydrator.
Let it dry out for five hours or so. If you can set the temperature, set it to 105 degrees.
RAW OATMEAL RECIPE
Oatmeal is the ultimate comfort food. This raw version can be sweetened
with raw honey (unless you are a vegan).
Ingredients:
2 cups oat groats that can be sprouted, soaked for 10 hours in plenty
of water
1 apple, peeled and chopped
2 dried figs, chopped
¼ cup raisins
¼ tsp vanilla
pinch of cinnamon
Instructions:
Once oats are done soaking, drain the water. The groats then need to be drained and rinsed every day for the next two day days. Once this process is complete, soak the dried fruit for an hour or so until it becomes soft.
Drain the juice out. Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend. You can garnish this with cinnamon and sweeten it with raw honey.
DRINKS AND SMOOTHIES
RAW ALMOND MILK
Almond milk is a nourishing and tasty alternative to raw almonds.
Ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds, soaked for several hours
3 cups filtered water
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Raw honey to taste
Add soaked almonds, water, vanilla, and honey to a food processor or blender. Blend until it forms into a liquid. Strain and bottle into a Mason jar and store for up to a week in the refrigerator. You may want to save the pulp.
BASIC SMOOTHIE RECIPE
This is a basic smoothie recipe that can be adapted to suit your tastes. You may want to use frozen fruit to make it thicker. Smoothies also make a great dessert.
Ingredients:
½ cup chopped banana
½ cup strawberries
1 cup raw almond milk, raw
Honey or soaked dried fruit as a sweetener
Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Pulse until smooth and creamy.
MAIN COURSES AND SIDE DISHES
The following recipes can double as both side dishes and main entrees. Besides these recipes listed also keep in mind that salads can be great served as a whole dinner or as an entrée. A small salad makes a perfect accompaniment for these dishes.
NUT PATE
This pate uses raw nuts instead of other ingredients, like liver. This gives it a distinct taste and makes it a great accompaniment for raw crackers, such as the flax crackers listed above.
1 cup blanched almonds, soaked in water for 24 hours
1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked in water for 8 hours and rinsed
1/4 cup sesame seeds, soaked 8 hours and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
3 stalks celery, chopped fine
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 teaspoons powdered kelp
2 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos or to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it is completely pulverized. Form into a pate shape and serve with raw foods diet friendly crackers
CURRIED BROWN RICE
This is an excellent choice as a side dish or even an entrée, especially with an additional protein source such as chickpeas.
1/2 cup of brown rice, soaked in water for twelve hours
½ cup chopped green beans
1 pound carrots
1/2 small beet
1 cup spinach
1 stalk celery
1 clove garlic, grated
1/2 small onion chopped finely
olive oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
Legumes, optional
Drain brown rice after the twelve hours is up. Mix green beans into rice and transfer to serving dish. Soak the onion and garlic in some olive oil for a few minutes in a separate serving dish.
Mix curry and olive oil in a small dish until it forms a paste. Juice the beet, spinach, and celery together and add to curry paste. Pour the resulting sauce over the rice and green beans. You can also add legumes to the dish to make it a complete meal.
DESSERTS
Desserts don’t need to be complicated. They can be as simple as a piece of fruit or a little more complicated. Here are some dessert ideas:
Make a thicker smoothie and serve it in pretty dessert dishes
Serve fresh or dried fruit alone as a dessert.
Soak dried fruit in fresh squeezed juice for thirty minutes. Puree in a
blender until a paste forms and serve it in a pretty serving dish.
In addition, here is a recipe for fudge that follows the requirements of the raw foods diet.
Raw Foods Fudge
2 cups cashews, soaked for six hours until soft and then drained
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup unsulphered raisins
2 heaping tablespoons of carob powder
½ cup fresh pineapple juice
½ cup distilled or filtered water
1 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup chopped walnuts
Place cashews, dates, raisins, carob powder, pineapple juice and water in a food processor and pulse until a thick paste forms. Stir in the flaxseed meal and water. The mixture will be extremely thick.
Pour mixture into a large cookie sheet and place in the freezer. Remove out of freezer after two hours and cut into squares. It can be stored immediately or placed back in the freezer until it’s time to enjoy them.