JICAMA, BLACK BEAN, AND MANGO SALAD WITH AVOCADO LIME DRESSING

Oh this salad was yummy!  It's packed with some of my favorite ingredients, and also very filling.  It was perfect as a meal on it's own. but you can certainly you can serve it as a side dish or appetizer as well. 

So many people stir away from eating avocados because they are high in fat and calories, but it is a huge mistake!  Avocado's fat is the 'good fat', the kind that our body needs. Plus it's a very alkaline food filled with so many nutrients. Of course, that doesn't mean you should have 5 a day, but a little bit here and there is definitely good for you. So please do not shy away from them. 

I left my dressing chunky as I like to eat pieces of avocados in my food, but if you would like a creamier version, just blend it longer. All I did was a few pulses in the blender to achieve the chunky version.
It really a matter of personal preference. 

JICAMA, BLACK BEAN, AND MANGO SALAD WITH AVOCADO LIME DRESSING

Ingredients:

For the salad:

3 cups of cooked black beans (about 1 1/3 cups of dried beans. Click here to learn how to cook beans)
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 mango, pitted and skin removed, diced
1 1/2s cup of jicama, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 jalapeno, seeded and copped very small
1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
Sea salt and pepper to taste

For the chunky avocado dressing:

2 avocados, pitted and skin removed
1/3 cup of fresh squeeze lime juice
2 tablespoons of agave nectar
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Put all of the salad ingredients in a bowl.
In a blender put all of the dressing ingredients together and pulse a few timse if you would like it chunky, or blend until smooth if you prefer the dressing creamier.
Add the dressing to the salad, and mix until well combined.
Serve on it's own, or on a bed of lettuce.

Enjoy!

This will make 4 servings

SUMMER CORN SALAD WITH CHIMICHURRI DRESSING

I love corn, and can say that we are spoiled up in Quebec (where I am originally from) as we got some of the sweetest, juiciest corn over there.  It seems corn is popular with everyone these days; especially kids. 

It's too bad that companies such as Monsanto had to play with mother nature.  They came up with a GMO (genetically modified organism) version of corn that is now mainstream, and potentially harmful to our health. Studies on rats have shown GMO corn to cause tumors and multiple counts of organ damage

GMO corn also contain BT toxin, a pesticide added to the DNA of the corn.  BT is an aggressive toxin that damages cell membranes and kill insects by literally making their stomachs burst.  Even though Monsanto claims the product is safe for human consumption, we do not have the long term studies to prove it . GMO corn is actually banned in most of Europe, and in 26 countries around the world. That alone should ring some sort of alarm. I personally would rather not take a chance with it.  Since most conventional corn is GMO nowadays, I steer away, and only buy organic.

So as much as I love corn, I only can eat it when in season as it is the only time that I can find it organic.  Unless I buy frozen organic of course, but it is not quite as tasty.  So now that I got my hands on some fresh organic corn, I was very excited to use it for a recipe. This salad came out so delicious, and became one of my new favorites!

SUMMER CORN SALAD WITH CHIMICHURRI DRESSING


Ingredients:

For the salad:

• 4 corn husks
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped finely
• 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped very small (spicy, optional)
• 1 cup of spinach, chopped small
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

For the chimichurri dressing:

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bunch of Italian parsley (2 cups) 
• 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil.
2. Remove the corn from the husk. and place the corn in the saucepan. Boil for about 7 minutes until it is tender,
3. Remove the corn from the water with thongs, let it cool.
4. Once cooled, slice the corn kernels off the cobs.  Put the corn kernels along with all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
5. In a food processor, put all of the chimichurri dressing ingredients together and process until pureed.
6. Add the chimichurri dressing to the salad and blend well.

Enjoy!

This will make 4 servings

STUFFED MINI SWEET PEPPERS WITH VEGGIES AND LEMON DILL CASHEW CREAM CHEESE FILLING

My boyfriend, who is a poker player, took these to the Bellagio for lunch, and apparently many players were intrigued. He had a few of the players try some, and it was a huge hit! It's always flattering when a bunch of guys enjoy my healthy dishes. It's at that point that I know I have hit a home run.

I personally really enjoyed those mini stuffed peppers as well. You see, I have a thing for dill.  I find it's unique flavor to be so wonderful. It's definitely one of my favorite herbs. However, it doesn't work with every dish as it is so distinct in taste.  But when it does, it brings that dish to a whole new level. It was perfect for this recipe as it mingled so nicely with the creaminess of the cashew cheese and the veggies. I will definitely be making it again in the very near future!

This is another easy raw food recipe. I did use the dehydrator for this dish, but if you don't have one, you can skip that step, and it will still taste great. I just find that the dehydrator makes the texture even richer, and it also warms the stuffed mini sweet peppers up a little bit, which is a nice touch. But the recipe works just fine without it.

I can see these mini stuffed peppers being served as hors-d'oeuvres (french for small sample of food) at a party, as an appetizer to a lovely dinner, or as a main dish with a nice salad.  I guess they fall into many categories. Talk about a versatile dish. ;)

STUFFED MINI SWEET PEPPERS WITH VEGGIES AND LEMON DILL CASHEW CREAM CHEESE FILLING

Ingredients:

16 oz mini sweet peppers (about 20-25), cut in half lengthwise and seeded

1 1/2 cups of raw unsalted cashews, preferably soaked in water for 2 hours to overnight

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1/2 cup of water

2 green onions, sliced very thin

2 tablespoons of fresh dill, chopped

1 carrot, grated

1 celery stalk, chopped very small

1/4 zucchini, chopped very small (1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon flax seeds, grounded (you can use the coffee grinder to grind them)

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

To make the cashew cream cheese using a high speed blender, simply put the cashews, the lemon juice, the garlic, the nutritional yeast, and the water together, and blend until extremely smooth. 

Transfer to a bowl, and add the green onions, dill, carrot, celery, and zucchini.  

Season with sea salt and pepper, and blend well with a spoon or spatula.

Fill the mini sweet pepper halves with the cream cheese mixture.

Sprinkle a little bit of flax seeds on top of each stuffed mini pepper, and place them on a dehydrator rack, cream cheese facing up.

Dehydrate for 1 hour at 110 F.

This will make 4 servings

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ZUCCHINI ROLL-UPS WITH BASIL/ WALNUT PESTO AND TOMATO SAUCE

To me, eating raw is the freshest, tastiest, and healthiest way to enjoy food. I actually was a raw foodist a few years ago, and I felt amazing. It was just hard to be social and to eat out. Now I still try to keep it as an integral part of my diet, while incorporating cooked meals in the mix. This way I get to appreciate delicious flavors from both. 

A lot of people think raw foodists only eat raw fruits and veggies.  They could not be more wrong. The raw food chefs have found many ways to recreate cooked meals into raw goodness. It is by far the most creative style of cooking (or should I say un-cooking!). 

If you are seeking a healthy path, I highly recommend you to up your raw food intake, It could be from eating more salads, juicing, or trying some fun raw food recipes. It will make a huge impact on your health, as raw food contain the most nutrients (we unfortunately kill from 50-80% of those nutrients in the cooking process). 

I have friends that ate raw during the week and cooked food on the weekend. I love that idea! There are many other ways to do it, You could also eat raw during the day, and cooked at dinner. Or one day raw/ one day cooked! I don't really have a system, but I am pretty good at making sure that I get plenty of raw food in my body. I used to give a salad to my meal plan clients with each of their meals while offering a variety of both cooked and raw foods as their main course. I don't think they even realized that I was doing so on purpose to up their raw food intake, but they loved the food, and felt great, so that's all that mattered.

This recipe makes a great side dish or appetizer. If you want it as a main course, I would suggest serving it with a salad, to make it more of a complete meal. 

ZUCCHINI ROLL-UPS WITH BASIL/ WALNUT PESTO AND TOMATO SAUCE

Ingredients:

2 zucchinis 

For the basil walnut pesto:

1 cup of fresh basil, packed

1/2 cup of raw, unsalted walnuts

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1/4 cup of olive oil

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

For the tomato sauce:

2 Roma tomatoes, quartered

2 tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes to soften, drained

1 date, pitted and soaked in warm water for 30 minutes to soften, drained

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon of crushed red peppers

1/4 cup of water

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Using a mandoline or a vegetable peeler, cut the zucchini lengthwise to form long, thin strips.

Place your strips next to each other and season them with sea salt and pepper. Do not use the 3 first slices as they won't be wide enough.  Similarly,  the ones in the very center might be too soft because of the seeds.

In a food processor, place all of the ingredients for the pesto except the olive oil, and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped.  Add the olive oil and process until smooth.

Take a zucchini strip and spread a thin layer of the pesto mixture along the length of the zucchini.

Roll it up starting from one end to the other. The zucchini being thin, should hold together. 

Repeat the process with all the zucchini slices.

In a high speed blender, put all of the tomato sauce ingredients together and blend until very smooth. This might take a little while to achieve depending on the strength of your blender and the softness of the sun-dried tomatoes and the date.

Serve in 4 small individual plates, placing some of the sauce at the bottom and the rolled zucchini pesto pieces on top.

 This will make 4 appetizers or 2 main course.

ISRAELI QUINOA SALAD

Israeli salads are so refreshing, healthy, and best of all easy to make.

Traditionally the salad consists of red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and parsley combined together with a lemon and olive oil dressing. 

Delicious ingredients, but not very filling. To make it more of a substantial meal, I made a version with some quinoa and avocados. 

This is exactly the type of food that makes me feel energized after consumption.  Filled with raw veggies packed with nutrients, quinoa for protein, and lemon juice to detoxify, this recipe really nourishes your body. Plus it takes no time to make (less than 30 minutes).
Can we say clean eating at its best?

ISRAELI QUINOA SALAD

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa, rinsed
1/3 cup of red onions, chopped small
1 large tomato, diced
1 cucumber, diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup of parsley, chopped small
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic clove, chopped small
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a small sauce pan, combine the rinsed quinoa with two cups of water, and bring to a boil on medium high heat.
Reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover, and let it stand for 5 minutes.
Fluff with a fork, and let it cool before using.
In the mean time, in a large bowl, put together all of the other ingredients, mix, and let them marinate until the quinoa is ready.
Once the quinoa has cooled, add it to the vegetable mixture, and mix until well combined.
Bon appetit!

This will make 4 servings