More Raw Recipes

     When searching for information about raw food and raw recipes there are a lot of people who have made a career out of it, adapting it as a strict lifestyle and promoting products, books and dvds. It may give the impression that to ‘go raw’ is to completely alter your life and swear off cooked food. This could not be further from the truth! You don’t have to be a nut (no pun intended) to enjoy the benefits of raw food.
     A raw food diet for a small period of time to give the body a break and get into cleansing mode is great, and a more permanent commitment to eating 75% raw while enjoying cooked foods and even animal products is fantastic. Find your own style of enjoying raw food to determine how many meals you want to be raw and how many servings of cooked, non-vegan, and non-vegetarian foods you want in your diet on a regular basis.
     My goal is to offer delicious raw recipes that are easy to incorporate into daily life. All of my recipes use only standard household appliances like a blender, a food processor, and occasionally a mandolin. There are many more things you can do with a dehydrator, juicer, and other special tools if you want to get deeper into the world of uncooked food.

And now for the good stuff…

Pesto ‘Pasta’

This dish is so satisfying and filling, it does the trick 9 times out of 10 when I’m having a hardcore pasta craving. If you have a mandolin you can make really thin spaghetti-like strips that you can twirl with your fork. I only had a knife, so I opted for a thickness and length similar to cavatelli.

INGREDIENTS
2 medium sized zucchini
¾ cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
Big bunch basil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped tomato for garnish
Lemon

METHOD
Mandolin or cut the zucchini into ‘noodles’. Combine pine nuts, garlic and basil in the food processor and process to combine. Drizzle in oil to desired consistency and season with salt and pepper. Toss the noodles with the pesto and top with chopped tomato, lemon juice and more extra virgin olive oil.


Blackberry Pie

Every now and then there’s a recipe that is perfect, needs to tweaking or altering. This recipe from Helen Hecker is so delicious, it makes one of, if not the best fruit pie I’ve ever had. It contains no dairy, no eggs, no butter, no sugar, and no flour…just nuts and fruit. I challenge anyone to make this and tell me its not one of the best pies ever. It’s also delicious with blueberries.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup walnuts and/or pecans
12 medjool dates
2 bananas
1 ½ pints fresh blackberries

                                                      METHOD
Combine the nuts and 8 dates in the food processor and process until the mixture is crumbly and holds together when pressed. Press the mixture into a pie pan or onto a plate. Without rinsing the processor combine the bananas, leftover dates and a few berries into a smooth paste and spread over the crust. Decorate the top with the rest of the berries. You could also fold in the berries to the banana mixture and reserve just a few berries for the top, but I think it looks prettier as three layers. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and devour happily.