Posts Tagged ‘cucumber’

Summer Salad: Spinach Power House

Do you want a hearty salad that is delicious, good for you and jam packed with nutrients? Then you’ve got to try this Raw Power House Salad! It is a party for your tastebuds and very filling. Trust us, you will be getting so much green along with all of the other colors of the rainbow. You will glow with energy and wholeness. Give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 cups of baby spinach
• 1 cup of spring salad mix
• 1 cup of cabbage slaw (sliced raw cabbage & shredded carrots)
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 cucumber
• 1 avocado
• parsley flakes
• splash of olive oil and lemon juice

Equipment:
Really nothing is needed beyond a cutting board and knife, and a bowl with spoon for mixing

Directions:
1. Place the handfuls of baby spinach into your mixing bowl. Then add the cup of spring salad mix. Blend all of the leaves together.

2. Add in one cup of cabbage slaw and mix it with the leaves.

3. Slice your red onion in half and then slice it vertically and horizontally to get nice small chunks of onion. Toss those into your salad.

4. Peel the skin of the cucumber if it is not organic. Then slice it long ways down the middle. Turn each half so that the flat side is on your cutting board. Then cut nice chunky slices and add them into the salad.

5. Take your avocado and remove it from its skin (If you’re not sure how to do this, read our article on Avocados). Slice your avocado into small chunks and toss them into your salad.

6. Slice your red bell pepper in half. For the half you are using, cut both horizontally and vertically to create small squares (similar to the size of what you might find in a chunky salsa). Add these to the salad.

7. Sprinkle in the parsley flakes

8. Add a dash of lemon juice and olive oil and mix well.

9. Serve in a plate or bowl and enjoy!

Pineapple Cucumber Gazpacho

As the warmer weather approaches we’ve been in search of fabulous raw recipes that compliment the season and also are excellent for serving guests. This recipe for Pineapple Cucumber Gazpacho is a cool treat for yourself and can also serve as an appetizer or small plate at a dinner party. The recipe is from Matthew Kenney of Pure Food & Wine and it serves 4 to 6 people.

Ingredients

• 4 cups chopped pineapple
• 4 cups peeled, chopped cucumber
• 3 tablespoons minced jalapeño
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions, mostly white part
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 cup fresh pineapple juice
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1⁄2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
• 3 tablespoons avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup finely chopped raw macadamia nuts

Equipment
Blender

Cooking Instructions
In a blender, process 3 cups each of pineapple and cucumber, 2 tablespoons jalapeño, 2 tablespoons scallion, lime juice, pineapple juice, and salt at high speed until smooth. Taste and correct seasoning (because the sweetness of pineapples varies), and add jalapeño and salt to taste.

Add the remaining pineapple and cucumber, the cilantro, and 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of avocado oil. Pulse the blender quickly a few times—the gazpacho should remain chunky. (Depending on the size of the blender jar, this may have to be done in two batches.) Stir in the macadamia nuts. Divide the gazpacho among serving bowls, drizzle with remaining avocado oil, and sprinkle with remaining jalapeño and scallions.

Rawmazing Gazpacho Soup

If you have no idea what a raw food recipe would look like or just want something easy and yummy to try, here is one to get started. It’s traditional Spanish Gazpacho, which is a wonderful cold soup full of fresh Mediterranean vegetables. You can enjoy it room temperature or chilled.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of filtered water
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 avocado, diced (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of sea salt (True sea salt benefits)

Equipment:

All you need is a blender!

Preparation:

Blend together all ingredients except parsley and avocado until smooth (about 30 seconds). Gently stir in avocado, parsley and slice of lemon.
If possible, chill for at least two hours to let the flavors mingle. Serve chilled or room temperature.

Enjoy!

This recipe was provided by Marat, who resides in Leeds, UK. Marat is the raw enthusiast behind the website RawPublic, where he features daily raw food recipes and tips for a healthier lifestyle. Marat’s favorite thing about about raw foods is eating 100% raw; he says he is full of energy and passion for life!

20 Simple Juice Recipes

Many of you have told us that you recently brought a juicer or would like to get into juicing. We would like to respond by offering some simple recipes for you to try. For starters, we found the list below from Living Foods (will provide website and additional info at the end of the article) and believe it is a great way to introduce you to the wonderful world of juice.

One of the great benefits of  juicing is that you get to experiment with different fruit and veggie combinations as you find recipes online or in books. Your taste buds may be on a roller coaster for a bit, but we promise they will settle soon and start to become excited about what you’re juicing. Maybe you aren’t ready yet to take the plunge into 100% green vegetable juice. We actually recommend  juicing gradually. You’ll be amazed with the results.

So while you’re working up to it, here are some fun simple recipes that you can try. They are easy to make, and delicious too! If you happen to try some of these recipes, report back and let us know. We will continue to post additional recipes and information about the health benefits of juicing to keep you going and trying new things. So go get juiced!

• Carrot/Apple Juice: 6 carrots, 2 apples
• Liver Mover: 2-3 carrots, 1/2 beet
• Bromeiain Special: pineapple (skin & all), unscrew top and throw away, Orange or Grapefruit, 3 oranges (peeled) or 1 grapefruit (peeled)
• Evening Regulator: 2 apples, 1 pear
• Digestive Special: handful of spinach, 6 carrots
• Holiday Cocktail: 2 apples, 1 large bunch of grapes, 1 slice lemon with peel
• Body Cleanser: 4 carrots, 1/2 cucumber, 1 beet
• Rejuvenator: handful of parsley, 3 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 cloves of garlic
• Cantaloupe Juice: cut into strips and juice (rind and all)
• The Waldorf: 1 stalk celery, 2 apples
• Sunshine Cocktail: 2 apples, 4-6 strawberries
• Energy Shake: handful of parsley, 6 carrots
• Watermelon Juice: cut into strips and juice, (rind and all)
• Potassium Broth: 1 handful of spinach, 1 handful of parsley, 2 stalks of celery, 4-6 carrots
• AAA Juice: 6 carrots, 1 apple, 2 stalks of celery, 1/2 handful of wheatgrass, 1/2 handful of parsley, 1/2 beet
• Passion Cocktail: 4 strawberries, 1 large chuck pineapple, 1 bunch black grapes
• Morning Tonic: 1 apple, 1 grapefruit (peeled)
• Digestive Cocktail: 1/4 lemon with peel, 1/2 grapefruit (peeled), 2 oranges
• Alkaline Special: 1/4 head cabbage (red or green), 3 stalks of celery

These recipes came from Living Foods. The purpose of their web site is to educate the world about the power of the living and raw vegetarian food diet. Contained within the many pages of their website, you will find many recipes, articles, resources, links, testimonials, information and support.

Raw Collard Wraps

Now this is what’s for dinner! Yummy raw collard wraps. This recipe serves 2-3 and we recommend you use all organic ingredients.

• 8 large collard leaves
• 4 medium Avocados
• 6 carrots
• 1 Red bell Pepper
• 1 cucumber
• Dulse powder (comes from a sea vegetable that has a fine distinct taste of seaweed)

-First flatten the collard leaves and cut out the spine.
-Once spine is removed overlap leaf on itself a little so you can spread the avocado.
-Spread the ripe avocado across the leaf (Half of one medium sized avocado should cover one collard leaf)
-Next, slice the carrots, cucumber and red pepper into strips
-Place the veggies on top of the avocado and leaf perpendicular to the stem at one end of the leaf.
-Sprinkle with dulse and roll it up to create the wrap.

You can either eat as a wrap or cut it into pieces and eat them as raw sushi rolls.

This recipe was provided by Will T. Roundy, also known as Gorilla Greenz. Will resides in Paso Robles, California. His favorite thing about raw foods is that when eating them consistently for an extended period of time, he sleeps great, has endless energy, and always has a sense that everything is okay. Check out his website, http://www.gorillagreenzblog.com.