So easy salad

Do you eat salads? Do you even like them? I say, if you don't like salads it's just because you don't make them right.

You read that right.. there is a right way to make salads: use random, fresh ingredients, add raw nuts on top and don't forget some spices and a light dressing. Sounds simple, right?

Here's one of our main dishes. We eat this ALL the time:



Fresh veggies: organic romaine, freshly sliced red and greed cabbage (this is important!), spinach, freshly sliced organic carrots, tomatoes and whatever else we have lying around - from snow peas to fresh green beans. And always have an avocado. YUM!

Don't forget to keep raw nuts in your fridge. We use cashews or sliced almonds almost every time:



You can use a packaged dressing but be sure to read your ingredients! Never buy foods with artificial sweeteners, partially- or hydrogenated oils or anything you don't understand. *Artificial sweeteners cause migraines. I haven't had a migraine since I gave up diet soda and anything else "diet" about 4 years ago.*

Easy (mostly) raw dressing:

Just get a tiny mixing bowl and add a few T of cold-pressed olive oil (or your fav raw oil), a dash of garlic powder, onion powder and as much balsamic vinegar as you like. I love it! Mix with a fork and pour over your salads.

You're getting healthy fats from your raw oil and raw nuts that will keep you full and healthy!

Raw apple-berry pie

We made two variations of this pie.. both are tasty. This crust is so different than I usually make. I love it!

INGREDIENTS

apple
cinnamon
strawberries or raspberries
1 c raw cashew meal (you could also use almond or your favorite nut)
1/2 c dates
dash water

DIRECTIONS

To make the raw nut meal simply blend your 1 c nuts in a coffee grinder or similar. You want it to be a fine powder.

Then, add the nut meal to the dates in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Add a little water as needed to make it mix.

I used two small cake pans but you could also make a thinner pie crust in a large pie pan. Line with wax paper for easy removal when you're done.

Slice your fruit and add a little agave nectar and cinnamon, if you like. Let them soak in a bowl while you make the crust.



Put your nut meal dough into the pie pans (that you've lined with wax paper) and layer with the fruit:



VERSION 1

Pour the fruit juice from the bowls over the pie if you want a fruity, sweet sauce. It's great!



VERSION 2

For chocolate-lovers, just make an easy chocolate sauce!

Sauce ingredients: 2 T agave nectar, 1 T olive oil and 1-2 T cacao. Mix by hand and pour over the pie.



NOTE: The crust is even better the second day! So, if you have leftover pie crust just put it into the pie pan, cover with suran wrap and place in the fridge. It'll be ready for you the next day.

Tofurky feast

If you've never tried a tofurky feast, you're seriously missing out.



Out of season, you can get them as low as $20 and they're only like $26 around the holidays. That includes the tofurky with the best stuffing you'll ever have, awesome cranberry dumplings and mushroom gravy. You add veggies to the roast, baste them while cooking and you'll have meals for days! Make mashed potatoes and salad and you seriously have a feast.

One feast can make up to 4 scrumptious meals for us.

INGREDIENTS

baste ingredients: 1/2 c orange juice, 1/4 c soy sauce, 1/4 c water
veggies to put in the roasting pan: carrots, celery, new potatoes or your favorites
new potatoes for mashed potatoes
salad ingredients

DIRECTIONS

Thaw your tofurky or use the directions to cook a frozen one (you have to cook it for 3.5 hours.) Remove the plastic wrapper on the tofurky.

Make your baste by adding 1/2 c orange juice, 1/4 c soy sauce and 1/4 c water. Make more baste if you use a large pot and need more juice. You can make a lot of yummy veggies this way! Now, place the tofurky in a slightly-tall pot or oven-safe bowl. You don't want it to be too big.. but you do want it to be tall enough to hold extra veggies and baste to cover them.

For a frozen tofurky place it in the oven at 300 for 2.5 hours. Then, turn over the tofurky and veggies in the broth. Cook an addition 45 minutes to an hour. (You can turn the temperature up near the end if you want a darker tofurky. Just keep an eye on it.)

We've never used this baste recipe before.. but it made the best tofurky ever! It was unbelievably moist.



The feast also includes 8 awesome dumplings. All you have to do is boil them for 4 minutes, then cook them in a skillet until brown on both sides.

We've had 3 meals so far and will finish it off tonight! We each get one dumpling per meal. Then, we either have the roasted veggies or mashed potatoes and salad on the side.

THIS IS SERIOUS COMFORT FOOD! So, if you haven't tried it.. you should.

Tasty water-stir-fry

There's a secret to stir fry: hot skillet and cold oil and water. Follow this rule and you'll want to make stir fry every day!

INGREDIENTS

veggies: cabbage, carrots, celery, broccoli and snow peas
soy or teriyaki sauce
dried red peppers
tofu or seitan, your choice
brown or wild rice

DIRECTIONS

Cook your rice. For two, 1 cup rice + 2 cup water. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes.

Heat up your cast-iron skillet. When it gets hot, put a T or so of oil in the skillet (olive oil or sesame works well.) Now, add 1/8 - 1/4 c water. Now, throw in your harder veggies like carrot and cabbage. Put a lid over the veggies. (NOTE: My lid doesn't even fit but it covers most of the veggies and it works well enough.) I learned this from Dr. Fuhrman's Eat To Live DVD. Now, let them cook for a few minutes. Remove the lid and stir. Put the lid back on, keep cooking.

Now, add your other veggies and red peppers. You can add a little more water if yours evaporated. Just keep the veggies in the skillet moist, steamy and hot.

Water stir fry:



Just remember, you want to make a LOT of veggies at once. They will shrink when you cook them. Seriously. We have to cook a HUGE skillet of veggies just for the two of us. A wok would hold more veggies for more people.

Meanwhile: squeeze the water out of your tofu. Then saute:



Stack your rice, veggies and tofu onto your place. Add a little soy sauce. It's SOOOOO good and so easy.

Yummy, easy leftover soup

Ingredients:

Tofu or seitan, your choice
bean sprouts
Whatever veggies you have lying around: carrots, celery, new potatoes, tomato, cabbage, etc
veggie bouillon + cayenne + your favorite spices
optional: cilantro or oregano or basil

Directions:

Slice your veggies:



Press the water out of your tofu if using it. Then, saute your tofu or seitan with olive oil, a little soy sauce and your favorite spices:



While your tofu or seitan is cooking, start a pot of water boiling. Add the bouillon and your spices. I used cayenne, to give it a kick. Add garlic if you want. Oregano or basil is great, too. Then, add your hardest veggies first: potatoes, carrots, etc. Let them cook for up to 10 minutes. Then add your other veggies that won't need as long to cook. In about five minutes, you're done!

Put sprouts in each bowl. Then, add a few cubes of sauteed tofu. Pour broth and veggies into each bowl. YUM!

Enjoy: