Raw Food... Have You Heard About It Yet?
Mounting evidence has shown that heat destroys many of the vitamins, phytonutrients, and enzymes found in raw, living food, rendering it harder to digest, nutritionally diminished, and toxic to the body. From Hollywood stars with personal chefs, to Manhattan's Raw restaurants featured in "Sex and the City," the Raw Food movement is sweeping the country as people gradually learn of the dramatic health benefits derived by eating a vegan diet in which food is never heated above 118 °F (47.8 °C). Raw food is all about getting "the glow" — looking fantastic and living longer by preventing (and even reversing) disease, and feeling better than you've ever felt in your life.
Cherry Vanilla Hemp Shake
(Featured in Raw Vegan Hemp Recipes)
Here is my delicious Cherry Vanilla Hemp Shake. It's the perfect way to celebrate Valentine's Day by loving yourself with nutrition and health, and if you have a partner in your life, then make extra and share the love for health.
Yield 2 cups
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup organic shelled hemp seeds*
- 1 (10oz) bag frozen organic cherries (or 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted)
- 1 teaspoon raw agave nectar (or 1 pitted date)
- 1/2 vanilla bean, chopped pinch Himalayan crystal salt
Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth. Enjoy!
*I'm a huge fan of using hemp products in my Raw vegan recipes. Hemp is commonly referred to as a "superfood" because of its amazing nutritional value. Its amino acid profile dominates with the 8 essential amino acids (10 if you're eldery or a baby), making it a vegetarian source of "complete" protein! Manitoba Harvest is my absolute favorite source for hemp products. I use their hemp seeds, powder and oil to make many delicious raw vegan recipes all the time.
Prep Tip: Other than the few recommended links to get your ingredients for this recipe, you can find other ingredients on Amazon's Natural Organic Grocery.
Spinach Thyme Soup
(Featured in Raw Vegan Hemp Recipes)
Finally - Here it is!
I have been asked by so many of my customers for the soup recipe I made at the (March) Mandala Dinner event. So, here it is everyone :) Enjoy!
Yield 3-4 servings
- 3 cups spinach, packed
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 zucchini, chopped (3/4-1 cup)
- 1/3-1/2 cup Manitoba Harvest hemp oil*
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Garlic Red Pepper Miso**
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons raw agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- dash cayenne pepper
- dash Himalayan crystal salt
- pinch nutmeg
Blend everything together until creamy. For extra pizazz, serve this delicious soup garnished with sprouts.
*Manitoba Harvest is the only company I use for my hemp products. You can definitely taste the difference when compared to other brands, especially when it comes to the oil!
**This is my favorite brand of miso. It's so delicious and they offer many soy-free varieties, including the one used in this recipe. For more information, check out SouthRiverMiso.com.
Prep Tip: Other than the few recommended links to get your ingredients for this recipe, you can find other ingredients on Amazon's Natural Organic Grocery.
Raw German Chocolate Brownies
(Featured in Raw Vegan Holidays)Oh-My-Goodness, These Are Amazing!
I gave out samples of these at Whole Foods to celebrate Oktoberfest. People came back for seconds and thirds. One person even tried to buy my free samples from me.
Yield 12 brownies
Frosting:
- 3 cups raw walnuts, soaked and dehydrated
- 1 3/4 cups dried, unsweetened & shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup dark (or amber) Raw agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon Raw (virgin) coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon coconut extract
- pinch Himalayan crystal salt
Take 1 cup of the walnuts and chop them. Set them in a large bowl. Add the coconut to the chopped nuts and toss briefly to mix. Take the remaining 2 cups of walnuts and grind them in a food processor, fitted with the "S" blade, until coarsely ground. Add the agave, coconut oil, vanilla and coconut extracts, and salt to the food processor and process until creamy. Transfer the mixture from the food processor to the large bowl with chopped nuts and coconut. Stir together by hand. Set aside while you make the brownies.
Brownies:
- 1/4 cup Raw oats
- 2 1/4 cups Raw pecans, soaked and dehydrated
- 2/3 cup Raw chocolate powder
- 3 tablespoons Raw (virgin) coconut oil
- dash Himalayan crystal salt
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon coconut extract
- 13 dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup raisins
Grind the oats to a powder with a coffee grinder or blender. Transfer them to your food processor, fitted with the "S" blade. Add the pecans and process until coarsely ground. Add the chocolate powder, coconut oil, salt, vanilla and coconut extracts. Process until well incorporated. Add the dates and raisins and process until the mixture begins to stick together when pressed between your fingers. Press into an 8x8 glass-baking dish. Top the brownies with the frosting.
Prep Tip: Other than the few recommended links to get your ingredients for this recipe, you can find other ingredients on Amazon's Natural Organic Grocery.
Pecan Spice Delight Cookies
(Featured in Raw Vegan Holidays)
I'm getting so many emails from people loving these delicious cookies (Raw and non-Raw people alike, making them an ideal dish to pass around at your family holiday celebrations). If you haven't made them yet, then you're really missing out!
Yield 3 cups cookie batter
- 1 1/2 cups pecans (soaked and dehydrated if possible)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded dried coconut
- 1 tablespoon (or more!) Navitas Naturals lucuma powder*
- pinch Himalayan crystal salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 10 dates, pitted
Process all of the ingredients, except for the raisins and dates, in a food processor, fitted with the "S" blade, until coarsely ground. Add the raisins and dates and continue processing until the mixture begins to stick together when pressed between your fingers. Roll and form into desired shapes and sizes.
*If you don't have lucuma powder, don't let that stop you from making them. They'll still be delicious without it.
Prep Tip: Other than the few recommended links to get your ingredients for this recipe, you can find other ingredients on Amazon's Natural Organic Grocery.
Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce
(Featured in Raw Vegan Hemp Recipes)This is definitely a favorite recipe of mine and my entire family's. We make it ALL the time. But, it's not just my family who loves it... I've been getting email after email from people who agree... it's amazing and addictive!
Yield approximately 1 1/2 cups
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded, rough chopped (approximately 1 cup)
- 1 cup hemp seeds
- 2 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons tamari, wheat-free
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Crystal Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Serving suggestions:
~ Use this for dipping fresh organic veggies or corn chips (Raw or Baked - it's up to you!)
~ For those eating cooked vegan foods, this is an awesome sauce on top of veggie burgers
~ This also makes a delicious Raw vegan dressing on a hearty salad with romaine lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives. You could even sprinkle on some Raw vegan taco meat for a tortilla type salad.
Prep Tip: Other than the few recommended links to get your ingredients for this recipe, you can find other ingredients on Amazon's Natural Organic Grocery.
Must-Make-Kale Salad
(Featured in Raw Vegan Transition)
The name says it all. You must make it. :) It's scrumptious, juicy, a little sweet, a bit of salty, a tad zesty, hugely nutritious, fun, gorgeous, and worth it's weight in gold.
* I write 2-4 servings because, depending on your hunger, you'll either eat a sizable portion meaning you'll get 2 portions from it, or you can make 4 smaller servings. I've yet to make this thing work as 4 servings though... my husband and I usually gobble it up as 2 servings. It's that good.
Yield 2-4 servings*
- 1 large bunch curly kale
- 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons raw olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Crystal Salt
- dash black pepper
- 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
- 1 orange, peeled, segmented, and chopped
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 10-30 minutes, drained, and chopped if needed
- 5 sun-dried raw olives, pitted and chopped (or any type of olives)
- 3 tablespoons raisins
Remove the stems from the kale. You can leave the more tender parts of the stem (toward the top of each leaf) in the salad, but the harder stems toward the bottom of each leaf should be torn out. Tear apart the kale leaves (or use a knife and chop them) into bite-size pieces.
Place the torn kale into a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Take a minute and massage all of these ingredients together with your hands. Add the remaining ingredients, and gently toss to mix. Enjoy!
Prep Tip: Other than the few recommended links to get your ingredients for this recipe, you can find other ingredients on Amazon's Natural Organic Grocery.
Hearty Buckwheat Biscuits
(Featured in Raw Vegan Transition)
These biscuits are AWESOME! They're thick, crunchy-yet-densely textured, hearty, and filled with deliciously intense flavors! I love eating them plain, or topped with homemade raw sauerkraut, or alongside a serving of soup or salad. MAKE THESE! (As I'm writing this, I'm making my third batch this month... the buckwheat groats are sprouting right now.)
Yield 6 - 10 biscuits (I usually cut mine big, so I get about 6 in a batch)
- 2 cups buckwheat groats, soaked, sprouted, and packed* (soaking/sprouting directions below)
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (soak 15 - 45 minutes, reserve 1/2 cup of the soak water)
- 1 1/2 cups raw pecans
- 1 1/2 cups carrot pulp, gently packed**
- 2 cups zucchini, chopped
- 1/2 cup of the reserved sun-dried tomato soak water noted above
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast***
- 1/4 cup tamari, wheat-free****
- 1 teaspoon garlic, pressed and packed
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
Using a food processor, fitted with the "S" blade, process the pecans until coarsely ground. Add the remaining ingredients and process until pureed. Spread the mixture until it's about 1-inch high (this makes nice thick biscuits) onto a dehydrating tray fitted with a Paraflexx non-stick sheet (these sheets are for Excalibur dehydrators. If you don't have one, you can use parchment paper).
Score into squares of desired size. Dehydrate at 135 degrees F for 75 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 105 degrees F and continue dehydrating another 10 - 12 hours. Flip the biscuits onto a dehydrator tray without Paraflexx, and peel off the current Paraflexx being used. Continue dehydrating until dry (approximately 15-24 hours, or longer depending on how crunchy you want them).
*Soak 1 - 1 1/4 cups of buckwheat groats overnight (8 - 10 hours), on your counter top, in a bowl. Drain off the water the following morning and let the buckwheat sprout in a colander (over a bowl to catch draining water), gently covered with a paper towel, for 24-36 hours, rinsing about every 12 hours. If you have leftover soaked/sprouted buckwheat after you take the 2 packed cups needed for the recipe, simple put these leftovers on a dehydrator tray and dehydrate until dry. You can eat them plain, in trail mix, as a raw cereal, stirred into vegan yogurt, or top your next salad with them. They're delightful!
**This is left over after extracting the juice from carrots.
*** This is not a raw ingredient, but it adds a lovely cheesy flavor to the biscuits as well as B-vitamins.
**** I usually use the reduced sodium variety of wheat-free tamari, but it's delicious with either.
Prep Tip: Other than the few recommended links to get your ingredients for this recipe, you can find other ingredients on Amazon's Natural Organic Grocery.
Avocado Cucumber Smish-Smash
(Featured in Raw Vegan Salads & Dressings)
Here is a recipe that has been getting great feedback. It's perfect for the summer. It offers hearty yet refreshing ingredients: nutrient rich avocado and hydrating cucumber... and totally YUM! Enjoy!
Yield 1 serving
- 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced
- 1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon raw coconut vinegar*
- 1 teaspoon raw coconut aminos*
- dash onion powder
Place everything in a medium bowl and smish-smash it (I like using a potato masher for this).
Serving suggestions:
~ Keep this all Raw - Eat it by the fork for a wonderful, nutritious, and hearty salad.
~ More Raw goodness - Scoop it into large leaves of romaine lettuce and top with chopped tomato and/or bell pepper
~ Dip corn chips into it (raw or baked, it's up to you!)
~ Enjoy it as I did (pictured above: not all Raw) - I used one whole (peeled) cucumber in the recipe, and I scooped it onto toasted organic english muffins (the picture shows one serving, and by using a whole cucumber, I stretched it into two servings so I used two whole english muffins - it was my snack two different times).
* These products are available at many Whole Foods Markets. You can also read more about it on the company's website: CoconutSecrets.com
Prep Tip: Other than the few recommended links to get your ingredients for this recipe, you can find other ingredients on Amazon's Natural Organic Grocery.
Hi, I'm Kristen Suzanne, a Raw vegan chef, author and teacher with a passion for helping people succeed with the Raw vegan diet. I have been studying nutrition, fitness, and food preparation for 15 years. My passions for animals, food, health, and the environment are the driving factors behind my business' mission. I live in Arizona with my husband, daughter, and rescued dog, where we love and enjoy the constant sunshine, mountains, and palm trees.