Raw goddess dressing

o, my husband bought a bottle of goddess dressing .. because he's not as big on my raw dressing experiments as I am. But I love goddess dressing, too! That's why I decided to try to make some at lunch today. I can't believe it actually worked!

I had no idea goddess dressing was so easy to make!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 c cold-pressed olive oil
juice of one juicy lime (or lemon, if you prefer)
about 1/4 c parsley (just break off a handful, rinse and throw into the blender)
1-2 t garlic
1-2 t onion powder (it calls for chives but I don't have any.. I bet they'd be good, though)
1-2 t nama shoyu

Blend. That's it!



This dressing smells great, looks just like the store-bought version and it's soooooo good! You know, I've never been a fan of chives but I'm actually going to buy some now. I think that's the only thing missing from this dressing to make it just like the original. But even with onion powder, it's fantastic!



All I had to do was put a lid on the plastic jar that I used to blend the dressing. Now I've got plenty for the next couple of days. Yay!

Chocolate-almond-butter apples

I don't know why but the last 2 days I have been craving chocolate like crazy. Yesterday we had the rest of our strawberries dipped in a chocolate sauce.. so today, looking for something for filling, I decided to mix the chocolate with almond butter and enjoy it with an apple. YUM!

For the sauce just mix equal amounts of raw agave and cacao powder. It probably won't mix very well, so add some olive oil to help it mix.

Now, place the chocolate sauce on your plate with some almond butter.



Slice your apples however you like.. and enjoy!

Raw avo-berry dressing

Now that my wonderful hubby got me a personal blender for my birthday I can whip up raw dressings in a flash! Here's my experiment from last night. (One of the great things about this blender is that I can make extra dressing and just put a lid on this plastic jar to have tomorrow!)

DRESSING
1/2 avocado
About 5 blackberries
Dash of agave (because my berries were super tart, not sweet at all!)
Squeeze of lemon, lime or water



Blend



Pour onto your salad! Be sure to add some fruit to your salad, too.



Yum! Oh, so creamy!

The only thing I didn't like about this dressing is that I was afraid I was going to spill it everywhere! Maybe blackberries weren't the right choice.. or maybe I'll just make sure my veggies are cut smaller next time.

Options to try: adding mint, parsley or cilantro, using raspberries instead of blackberries.

I was inspired to make this because we love raspberry vinaigrettes! Of course, I didn't add any vinegar to this recipe - so it was actually more like a creamy, fruity dressing. That's why I think adding an herb would actually be good! I wonder what it would taste like with a little apple cider vinegar next time...

Raw dessert of champions

Want something sweet and fancy, without any work? Try this! Impress your guests (or your family) with your dessert-making skills.

INGREDIENTS
your favorite fresh fruit (be sure to slice apples, oranges or other large fruit)
dates (optional but they really are delicious with this syrup!)
raw cacao powder
raw agave nectar
small bit of cold-pressed olive oil

Rinse fruit, slice as necessary. Spread on a serving plate.

In a small bowl make enough chocolate syrup for everyone. For 2 people, start with about 3 T agave nectar. Now add about 2 T cacao. You'll also need to add about 1 t olive oil to help it mix. Voila! Use more liquid to make it thinner or more cacao for a thicker dip.



If you're looking for a hearty dessert, be sure to add 1 raw almond to the inside of each date you're putting on the platter. It's yummy, healthy AND filling.

Enjoy!

Raw breakfast of champions

Raw foods don't have to be fancy! This is one of my all-time favorite breakfasts, lunches or even snacks!

Use your favorite raw nut butter - pictured is my fav, almond butter.

Now, slice your favorite organic apple.



Optional: sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg or raw sugar.

As a breakfast, it'll keep you full all day. Having it as a snack?.. it's big enough to share!

Oops pesto

I love pistachio pesto. In fact, we have it several times a week now. I try to keep all the ingredients, including fresh zucchini and definitely fresh basil, on hand at ALL times. But don't you hate it when you reach into the fridge and find your basil is all wilted or slimy? This happened to me the other day - but I was already in the process of making the pesto - so I had to think of something...

Here's what I did!

Rather than using the 1.2-2 c fresh basil that the pesto recipe calls for, I had to think of something dried to use, because I didn't have any fresh herbs at all. Ugh. I wasn't sure what to use!.. So, instead of using an herb I actually used about 1.2-1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. I know balsamic vinegar isn't raw and supposedly not-healthy either, but I absolutely love it!

I did have to add a little water to the pesto to have to blend well enough without the basil added... success!

Of course, nothing compares to basil pistachio pesto.. but in a pinch, it worked! I ate it with purple cabbage noodles (because they're spicier than green) and ended up eating the rest of the pesto with celery. I even added chopped tomato on top of the pesto. mm mmm good!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c pistachios
2-3 garlic cloves
1/4-1/2 c cold-pressed olive oil
balsamic vinegar to taste
salt



Don't forget to finish it off with your favorite salad toppings!

Berry-licious cobbler

I love berries... I love blueberries, raspberries, strawberries - and now I love kiwi-berries! We've never had them before but now that our local store is carrying them, we'll definitely keep them around. They're great!

They seem to be sweeter than kiwis and you don't have to peel them! They're like a large grape.

I wanted a cobbler the other day so I decided to use all the berries that I had: blackberries, strawberries and kiwi-berries. What a yummy dessert!

Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS
1/2-1 c berries per person
1/2 c raw pistachios
1/2 c dates

As always, put your nuts and dates in the food processor and blend until fine. In the meantime, rinse and place your berries on a serving plate or in separate bowls.

Add as much of the topping as you want!

Mint lemonade

I love squeezing fresh lemon or lime into my water. Sometimes, I'll drink a gallon a day! You know these citrus fruit have more vit-c than oranges, so drink up!

During the summer we get fresh mint at the farmer's markets. That's when I love fresh mint lemonade (or limeade!)

INGREDIENTS
Citrus (lemon or lime)
Agave nectar or raw sugar
Handful of fresh mint leaves (discard stems)

You can make it one of two ways:

1) Hand-crush your mint leaves and throw them into your lemonade, or



2) use a blender to crush your lemon/lime pulp and mint leaves. They're easier to drink and will probably make a stronger mint-ade!

Fresh and filling, fast raw wraps

I was hungry last night but didn't want to make anything fancy.. so here's what we had! (We also had some edamame first, which wasn't raw.. but it sure was good.)

For the wrap, you must have at least 1/2 avocado per person.. the hungrier you are, the more avocado you should have.

Serves 2
1-2 avocados
bell peppers, red, yellow or green (we had several small ones)
mung bean sprouts, or your favorite sprouts
2 roma or 1 large tomato
one head of butter lettuce or romaine



It's so fast and so so so yummy! And because you're using avocado, you don't really need a dressing. We didn't use any.

OR, if you want an even more filing wrap or you don't have as many veggies on hand.. make a raw pate (like the pistachio pesto I love on pasta) and have that with your veggies in the wrap. You can't go wrong!

If you need more liquid, keep a juicy lime on hand to squeeze on your slices. YUM!

Love dogs? Love kids? Volunteer to lose weight!

Can you believe??.. at least 157 children have been killed or severely injured by chained dogs in the last 4 years?

IF YOU:
a) want to create a safe environment for your children,
b) want to improve the lives of these isolated, neglected dogs,
c) want to help but don't have a lot of time or money or
d) love to walk or want to exercise more...

then we NEED YOU!



DETAILS

I'll supply the flyer information and instructions on how I go about this. All you have to do is print and pass them out in areas where you see chained or penned dogs. Yes, that's it! So, grab your walkman or a friend, and start walking.

See how easy it can be to help animals?

ABOUT US

Dogs Deserve Better, a purely volunteer organization, has been working to end the cruel treatment of chained and penned dogs nationwide. With your help, we can do it!

Would you for one second choose to live the life of a chained or penned dog? Of course not. No matter what reason is given, the bottom line is that it is NOT ok to chain a dog for life. Dogs should not have to live chained or penned as prisoners, yearning for a place in a family, craving acknowledgement, respect and love. They DESERVE BETTER and we as caretakers have the obligation to provide it for them.

For more information ON HOW YOU CAN HELP ANIMALS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, CITY AND STATE contact me at ArkansasAnimals@gmail.com or go to the website dogsdeservebetter.org to read more about this wonderful group!

Sorry that I haven't posted many new recipes lately.. I've found several that are in my regular routine (with lots and lots of sushi lately!) so I haven't really experimented much in a few weeks. And I haven't even had many salads, either! You know, I actually miss them. :)

More recipes coming soon... thanks for reading about DDB!

Soft corn tortillas

This is another great one that I adapted from gliving.com. The recipe says this serves 6 but I don't know that it does.

These corn tortillas are super easy to make! Just throw all of the ingredients in the food processor and blend until mostly smooth. Separate onto two teflex sheets. Dehydrate 4 hours at 115 degrees. Then, turn over the sheet and gently peel away from the sheet onto the mesh. Dehydrate for another 1-2 hours until completely dry on both sides but still pliable.

INGREDIENTS

3 c fresh corn kernels, freshly shaved from the cob
1 med-large red bell pepper
3/4 c golden flaxseed, finely ground
1 t lime juice
1 t ground chili powder
1 1/2 t sea salt
2 t ground cumin

The instructions tell you to cut out circles and add the edges to salads or eat as a snack.. but I just cut them into squares. Each teflex sheet made 4 square tortillas.



Thanks for the photo, Jimmy! (Whoops, I used some extra taco bell sauce on top. Everything else is raw, though!)

Serve with raw taco meat, sprouts, tomatoes, lettuce and avocado! You could even make some raw sour cream!

RAW TACO MEAT

1 c pecans
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1.5 t cumin
1 t chili powder
3/4 t coriander
2 t Nama Shoyu (or soy sauce or Bragg's)
1/2 t jalapeno (or your fav hot spice)
3 T water
optional: 1/2 t celtic sea salt

Pulse, pulse, pulse until chopped up - but not blended. (NOTE: Tyler said he'd prefer it with a few more T of water. But I think the choppy-ness of these was perfect. So try it this way, then if you don't like it add a few T of water.)

RAW SOUR CREAM

1/3 c cashew butter (I used less than if I were using my own soaked cashews)
1/8 t salt
1/2 t apple cider vinegar
juice of 1/2 small lemon
1/2 t agave
1/8 -1/4 t acidophilus powder
*water, as needed to consistency

All I had to do was add a little water to thin it out. Wow, it's fluffy and creamy! I let it sit out for an hour (or a little more while we made dinner).. voila!

"Black Cat Syndrome"

DID YOU KNOW?.. black animals are euthanized more often than any other color animal - simply because they're black? There are so many black animals and so few people who want to adopt them. Why not do a great thing and adopt a black animal today??

If you know anyone in Arkansas or even Dallas that wants to adopt, contact me!! We have five black cats, as I'm sure many groups do. Two of our cats have been in the program a while now. Check them out!

Have cats, will travel! (Application and approval required.)

Meet Ted, Marshall and Barney!









Our $40 adoption fee covers the spay or neuter and vaccinations. Interested in adopting kittens that love each other?.. just ask about our 2-for-1 specials!!! Limited time only!

Not interested in adopting? (We're not adopting, you certainly don't have to..) Then just foster!! It'll keep you busy, burn lots of calories.. and you'll save a life. Truly save a life.

Don't wait.. Contact any local rescue group. They all need foster homes. It's a short-term commitment for you but will actually mean the difference between life and death for that animals.

Don't wait. Do it!

Yummy pistachio pesto

I just love raw pesto pastas! They're easy, fast and fresh. This time I wanted to try using cabbage for noodles instead of zucchini. Success!

This is adapted from Ani Phyo's Pistachio Pesto

Serves 2
1 cup pistchios
2 cloves garlic
1.5-2 c fresh basil
juice of 1/2 - 1 lime (add only half at first, taste, then add more as needed)
1/3 - 1/2 c olive oil

Throw all your ingredients into the food processor and blend. Add liquid to make it smoother or chunkier as you prefer. YUM!

Tyler still loves his zucchini noodles.. But aren't my cabbage noodles pretty?? They're tasty, too! I like to spread my pesto all over the noodles, then chow down.



Enjoy!