My Journey to Becoming Clean, Green and Soulful.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Cooked Food, Confessions and Delicious Raw Recipes

   
Mmmmmmm!
Cooked food has re-entered my life.

There, I said it.


Whew.


Since July 4 I have had about a dozen meals that have included cooked food to some degree, including but not limited to...












This mouth-watering, moist, decadent Gluten Free Vegan Brownie hours-old by G Mokey Mobile was one of the first things I enjoyed. I literally moaned when eating it. I bought it from the Monkey while it was parked at the Durham Farmers Market.

I also got a decaf coffee.
This was my fourth cup of decaf since giving it up
this past New Years (See Resolution Accomplished).





Then there was this creamy and crunchy Garbanzo Bean and Artichoke Sandwich by Brew Bakers where we went on a family outing for breakfast last week. We actually went twice last week because they were that good.














And a fresh pumpernickle bagel with cold and tasty Better than Cream Cheese slathered inside, which I thuroughly enjoyed while driving home from Whole Foods Market.


In all honesty, as good as the cooked food has been, after eating I feel like crap...heavy, tired, too full, and fuzzy-brained. It has also affected my regularity that had gotten so under control with all the juicing I was doing.

I have still been raw, but not 100%. I don't know where my will power went these past few weeks, but I have no excuse for myself. I also know that I don't need to explain myself to anyone, but I feel the guilt internally regardless of who I share this with...I have fallen off of the wagon and need to get back on for the sake of my own health...

Just like how I had smoked some cigarettes since Adelaide was born, and then stopped doing that after a few months as well. (Gulp.) I miss smoking. I smoked for 10 years and quit once I found out I was pregnant. (Truth be told, it took me 1 week after finding out I was pregnant to actually have my last cigarette.) I do NOT judge anyone's parenting choices. Period. Any when it comes to smoking I certainly sympathize with the Mama's who simply cannot quit smoking. I get it. I really do. It was soooo difficult for me. And even after I was used to not smoking anymore, I still had the cravings. Even now I still get cravings. Once you are addicted, the desire is always within you (well, with me at  least,) and there were dozens of times I remember parking my pregnant ass in front of the convienient store and contemplated buying "just one pack, for just one cigarette, just this once..." But somehow I NEVER caved. Ever. I did have two cigarettes in one day when I was about five months along. Just that one day though. And just those two cigarettes. The internal guilt I felt was as if I was snorting crack and eating raw animal flesh!! But despite that one days episode, I managed to overpower the cravings with my own desire to be clean and in the best shape to deliver naturally (and of course all of the other reasons that we all know why one shouldn't smoke when pregnant. But today's blog isn't about smoking, nor do I want to lecture about this topic, so I won't get into that!) Lesson: Don't start if you haven't yet, and quit as soon as you can.

But back to cooked food...

It's been delicious, but has it been worth it? I don't know. Like I said, I've enjoyed about a dozen cooked items in nearly three weeks. However, I have also been UN-cooking up a storm to try and intice myself with some yummy raw meals too. I have had lots of interest from Facebook and Instagram friends for certain recipes I've been making, so without any further ado:

**Dee's Raw Zen Shake**
**Raw Cheezy Dino Kale Chips**
**Raw Summer Parfait**


ZEN: enlightenment can be attained through
meditation, self-contemplation, and intuition


Dee's Raw Zen Shake
Dee Wilcox, July 2012
INGREDIENTS:

3 frozen bananas
1 tsp chia seed
1 tsp hemp seed
1 tsp sesame seed
1 tsp cacao powder
1 tsp maca powder
My sister and I enjoying a Zen Shake together
one particularly fun and relaxing day
1 tsp sunflower lecithin
1 Tbsp homemade almond butter







DIRECTIONS:

~Remove 3 peeled frozen bananas from freezer
~Break in half and place into food processer (OR if you are lucky enough to own a Vitamix then I think you can just throw them in whole?)
~Get out the rest of the ingredients (should take a few minutes, enough time for the bananas to thaw just enough to not break the blades/burn the engine...again, if only I owned a Vitamix!)
~Add in all of the ingredients.
~Pulse until it breaks down the banana, then turn on to blend ingredients to make it thick and smooth.
~As always, taste for adjustments.
Raw Cheezy Dino Kale Chips
                          Dee Wilcox, January 2012

INGREDIENTS:

Several bunches of kale (I like Dino Kale best)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 Tbsp Lecithin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
1/2 lemon juice
1 yellow/orange/red pepper
3 garlic cloves
1 cup raw cashews




DIRECTIONS:



~Soak cashews in water for a few hours
~Drain and rinse cashews




~Put all ingredients except kale into food processor (or Vitamix)






~Blend ingredients until thick and creamy and smooth.











~Add water, 1 tbsp at a time, if needed to thin out (you don't want it too hummus-y)










~Rip kale leaves from stalk into whatever size pieces you prefer ( I like them big)




~Wash kale thoroughly! (Being organic, I often find some little insect friends enjoying the kale as much as I do...I don't like to eat these bugs, therefore I forfeit some leaves.)






~Mix cheeze sauce with the just-washed kale leaves (it's okay if they are still damp)













~Coat the leaves with the cheeze sauce, using a spatula, tongs or your hands








~Lay on dehydrator trays and put in dehydrator with space in between each






~Dehydrate for 4 hours at 105 degrees









~ENJOY the cheezy, mouth-watering, crunchy, flavorful, healthy goodness!!!


~They disappear quickly, so if you intend on sharing them, only let yourself sample ONE...very hard to do!






Raw Summertime Parfait
Dee Wilcox, July 2012
Inspired by a recipe by Angela Stokes-Monarch


INGREDIENTS:


1 1/2 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla powder
3 ripe bananas
3 ripe avocados
1/8 cup raw cacao powder
1/8 cup ground chia seeds
3 tbsp date paste (soaked dates blended into a paste)
2+ cups fresh berries (I used cherries and blueberries)
optional: coconut flakes, hemp seeds, etc...








DIRECTIONS:

~Soak cashews in bowl of water for a few hours


~Drain and rinse cashews




~Blend cashews, coconut milk and vanilla until smooth


~Put cream back into cashew bowl










~Scoop avocado and peel banana and cut into small pieces and put into food processor







(I didn't have dates to make date paste with so I used raw agave nectar this time.)














~Add date paste and cacao and chia and blend until smooth






~Layer the cream, pudding, fruit and hemp seeds as you like










The final product...
I liked the tang of the cherries against the calm coolness of the cashew cream
and the pudding was sweet and thick and yummy!


MY APOLOGIES FOR THE TERRIBLE AND CONFUSING FORMATTING TODAY.
I AM NORMALLY ANAL ABOUT PERFECTING IT BEFORE I PUBLISH A BLOG,

BUT LATELY I'VE BEEN HAVING MORE TROUBLE THAN USUAL WITH COMPUTERS,
AND ADJUSTING THE FORMATTING IS GIVING ME PROBLEMS!
SORRY!

MENTIONED: GMonkey Mobile, Durham Farmers Market, Brew Bakers, Better Than Cream Cheese, Whole Foods Market, Angela Stokes-Monarch, The Raw Food World


HAVE A SUNSHINE DAY!




"Try Not. Do. Or Do Not.
There Is No Try."
~Yoda

2 comments:

  1. Do the kale chips have to be put in a dehydrator? Can I just use a regular oven? Or is that not the same?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey HeyRenee :)

      Thanks for your interest in my "Cheeze Chipz", as we call them in my house!

      If using the oven there is 2 approaches you can take:

      1) Raw-As-Possible...Set your oven to the lowest temperature it will go and put kale in for anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours depending on how crunchy you like them. Try not to let them get brown/burnt.

      2) Cooked...Set your oven to 350 and bake for 15-30 minutes, again depending on how you prefer your chips. I recommend cooking longer when making them with the cheeze because it coats and hardens around the kale better the longer its cooked.

      Either way, when using the oven to make kale chips, especially Cheeze Chipz, check to make sure the chips aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan by shaking pan every so often or using a gloved hand to shuffle them around on the pan.

      Let me know how it goes...

      Dee :)

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