Avocados...Perfect for Meatless Monday

I love avocado! I enjoy eating them raw with a splash of lemon juice for a quick snack.  A grilled avocado is elegant in its simplicity – simply brush with lime juice and place on the grill to infuse the earthy fruit with savory smoke. The grill marks make for a delightful presentation and you can really up the ante in serving the salsa smack dab in the middle, replacing the pit.  Remember to use organic when possible.

 

Grilled Avocado with Salsa

Serves 12
For the salsa:

• 1 15 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
  ¼ cup diced onion
  3 cloves garlic
  ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
  4 sprigs cilantro
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• or
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 jalapeño*, stemmed and seeded

For the grilled avocados:

• 3 avocados, halved
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• salt, to taste
• low-fat sour cream, for garnish*
• or
• low-fat Greek yogurt, for garnish*

*optional 
 

To make the salsa:
Combine the tomatoes, diced onion, garlic, pepper, salt, cilantro, vinegar or lime juice and jalapeño, if using. Pulse in a food processor or blender until the salsa is chopped and blended to preference.

To complete the grilled avocados with salsa:
Preheat a grill to medium-high heat.
Remove the pit of each avocado by cutting into the pit with a large sharp knife and turning the knife counter-clockwise. Once the knife is properly wedged into the avocado pit, it should be easy to remove the pit from the flesh of the avocado, as you twist and remove the knife.
Whisk together the lime juice and olive oil in a small bowl. Brush each avocado half with the lime juice marinade.
Place each prepared avocado half, flesh side down, over the hot grill. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until grill marks appear and the avocado is warm, but not overly mushy.
Remove the avocado halves from the grill and fill the hole, left by the pits, with salsa. You will have salsa left over after all the holes are filled. Reserve the leftover salsa in the fridge for a future snack or entrée topping.
Squeeze the wedge of lime over the avocado halves and sprinkle lightly with salt. Top the salsa with a dollop sour cream or Greek yogurt, if using.
Consume with a fork or use baked pita chips as your utensil.

Spicy Cucumber-Avocado Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 firm-ripe California avocado
• 1 3/4 English cucumbers (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 (8-ounce) container plain low-fat yogurt (1 cup)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh jalapeño chile with seeds
• 1 cup small ice cubes

  Garnish: diced avocado and chopped chives

 

Preparation

Peel and pit avocado. Blend all ingredients in a blender until very smooth, about 1 minute.

Healthy Homemade Snacks

Today I spent the day baking healthy snacks with my sister.  I purchased all organic ingredients and tried out a few new recipes.  I love Larabars but they can get quite expensive so I tried to make my own, they actually turned out pretty good.  When I was in San Francisco last month a bought roasted kale, it was a yummy and healthy snack packed with nutrients and very easy to make.

Homemade Energy Bars

Homemade energy bars are simple and easy to make with just a couple of natural ingredients. Most pre-packaged snack bars, granola bars and power bars are full of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, soy, dairy, glycerin and other refined ingredients. By making your own bars, you can also adjust the nutrition and flavor. For example, you can choose between raw and roasted nuts. Raw nuts retain their digestive enzymes and wholesome, earthy taste while lightly roasted nuts have an enhanced nutty flavor that some people prefer. You can also adapt the ingredients in these bars to create your own delicious flavors of fruit, nut and spices. Buy organic when possible.

Chocolate Coconut Energy Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup dates, pitted, whole

½ cup raw almonds

¼ cup raw walnuts

2 Tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

2 Tablespoons raw cacao powder

Directions:

1. Put the dates into a food processor and blend into a coarse, chunky paste.
2. Add the nuts and blend until coarse – you should still see nut pieces.
3. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the shredded coconut and cacao powder.
4. Take a handful of the mix and press it very tightly in your palm, squeeze it together in a ball until it sticks, then begin to form it into a 2 inch roll.
5. Press the roll onto a baking sheet and form into a bar. Lightly dropping it onto the sheet and turning will help to form a flat surface on each side of the bar. Press the ends gently with the palms of your hands.
6. If you choose, roll the bar in coconut to keep them from sticking together when stacked. Or simply cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to pop into a lunch box, purse or back pack!

Makes 6 bars

• You can use the basic ratio of 1 cup of unsweetened dried fruit (dates, raisins, apricots, cherries, etc.) to ¾ cup of nuts or seeds (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds) to create your own flavor base.
• When using fresh fruit, like kiwis and bananas, increase the ratio of nuts to dried fruit making it 1 cup to 1 cup. These bars are stickier, so put them in a “warm” oven for 1 hour to dry them.

Roasted Kale Chips

Kale is one of the healthiest foods around. It's full of vitamins A, C and K, and it is a great source of manganese, calcium and iron. It also has no cholesterol and offers a nice serving of fiber and protein.
The problem is kale is much tougher than other leafy greens, like swiss chard, collard greens and spinach. Hence, it isn't as versatile for cooking. It doesn't work as well in salads or sauces, for example, as spinach or swiss chard.
That's probably also why most recipes for kale are for soups or stir fries. This recipe breaks that mold. The kale comes out of the oven crispy and salty, giving it an almost fried-like texture. The result is a great way to get kids (and grown-ups alike) to eat this uber-nutritious vegetable.

• 4 cups firmly-packed kale
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. good-quality sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and trim the kale: Peel off the tough stems by folding the kale leaves in half like a book and stripping the stems off. Toss with extra virgin olive oil. Roast for five minutes. Turn kale over. Roast another 7 to 10 minutes until kale turns brown and becomes paper thin and brittle. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.

Meatless Monday

Inspired by Cafe Gratitude in Healdsburg Sonoma County, where the food is all raw and they support local farmers, sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly products.  I am taking a few recipes from my Raw Food Real World cookbook and what better time to try these recipes then today...Meatless Monday!

Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup with Lime

3 cups carrot juice
1 small, ripe avocado
1/3 cup coconut meat
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Few sprigs of cilantro for garnish (optional)

1) In a Vita-Mix or high-speed blender, puree all the ingredients until completely smooth.  Taste for seasoning.

2) Divide among serving bowls. Serve immediately, or gently warm the soup in a saucepan over very low heat.

Red Beet Ravioli

For the filling:

3 cups cashew nuts, soaked 1.5-2 hours
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/4 - 2 teaspoons salt
2 green onions, white part and 1 inch of green part, minced
3 Tbsp minced tarragon
2 Tbsp minced parsley

In a food processor, blend the nuts, lemon juice and zest, yeast, and salt until smooth. Transfer the filling to a medium bowl and fold in the onions, tarragon, and parsley. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lemon juice, if needed. The filling should have the consistency of ricotta cheese. Store it covered in the refrigerator if not using right away; it tastes best if you bring it back to room temperature before assembling and serving.

For the pepper puree:

3 yellow bell peppers, cored and cleaned
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 green onions, white part only
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cold-pressed olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts, soaked 30 minutes to 1 hour
1 pinch ground or fresh turmeric

In a Vita-Mix or high-speed blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth. If the sauce is too liquid, add an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of soaked pine nuts. Place in a squeeze bottle or other cover container and refrigerate if not using right away.

For the assembly:

1 large bunch red beets (2 inches diameter or more)
2 to 3 Tbsp macadamia oil, other nut oil, or extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 Tbsp lemon juice
Coarse sea salt
1 handful chopped pistachios
1 tsp pistachio, other nut oil, or extra-virgin olive oil
1 small handful fresh tarragon leaves, torn or left whole
Freshly ground black pepper
Microgreens for garnish

Step 1
Using a mandolin, slice the beets very thin (about 1/16 inch or less). Make stacks and cut into 2-inch squares. The size doesn’t matter much, as long as they are all roughly the same. You should have at least fifty slices. In a medium bowl, add the beet slices, macadamia oil, lemon juice, and a generous pinch of sea salt. Toss to coat: there should be enough oil and lemon juice to coat all of the slices, but not so much that they are dripping liquid.

Step 2
Arrange half the beet slices flat on serving plates. Place a generous dollop of the filling on each slice. Sauce the plates with the pepper puree, using either a squeeze bottle or just spooning it over the beets and filling (this way some of the sauce will be inside each ravioli). Top each ravioli with a beet slice, pressing down gently.

Step 3
In a small bowl, toss the chopped pistachios with the oil and a pinch of sea salt. Sprinkle each ravioli with the pistachios and top with the tarragon. Grind a bit of black pepper over the plates and garnish with microgreens.