Cheezy Kale Chips, Beet Salad & Tabbouleh

Pictured above is kale with the tahini dressing prior to massaging this mixture..

CHEEZY KALE CHIPS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

2 bunches of Kale washed and large stems removed~place in a bowl and sit aside

In a blender or Vita-Mix  add:

1/4 c. Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 C. Bragg's Liquid Amino's
1/2 c. filtered water
*you may need a little more water~you need to be able to pour this out of the blender,
but you don't want it runny.
3/4 c. Tahini
1 garlic clove
2 T. dried onions
1/4 t. sea salt

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

Blend until smooth, pour over kale and massage dressing into kale.

Place on Teflex sheets in dehydrator and dehydrate for 6 hr @ 115 degrees.

 

Today's green juice was an endeavor to clean out the fridge.

pictured:

swiss chard

cucumber

zucchini

kale stems

beet tops

celery

ginger

I added lemon juice and liquid stevia

This juice was extremely GREEN!!

This made one gallon of juice

Beet Salad

1 bunch of raw beets shreddeed

2 large garlic cloves

dash of ground cloves

salt

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

Mix in a large bowl and allow flavors to marinate before eating.

Did you know that  CLOVES neutralize garlic breath?

Remember clove gum?

I used to love it!

This is not garlic clove. 

Cloves are sometimes used by the dentist to pack a dry socket when in pain.

Tabbouleh

1 bunch of parsley chopped fine

1 bunch of celery cuttings chopped fine

2 small sweet onions diced

2 bell peppers dicd

4 cucumbers seeds removed and diced

2 c. soaked bulgar

4 t. spearmint

black pepper

Himalyan salt

6 T. lemon juice

6T extra virgin olive oil

Blessings to you today!

CSA Share Week #10 and what to do with Celery Cuttings, Swiss Chard and Pumpkins Seeds!

Another bountiful share from our farmer.  I neglected to add the six additional cucumbers I received...but as you can see there is barely enough room.

Pictured clockwise starting in the top left corner:

cantaloupe

swiss chard

12 ears of sweet corn

cucumbers

variety of tomatoes

2 onions

variety peppers

chives

basil

clery cuttings

parsley

Eggplant on top of herbs

salad greens in the middle

Celery cuttings are the beautiful deep green top/leaves of the celery plant.  If you didn't know any better you might think that it is parsley.

If you know me, you know that I love celery for it's many wonderful benefits, which include a good amount of Vitamin C, it has the potential to lower  blood pressure, stop tumor growth, it is diuretic with both sodium and potassium so it helps regulate fluid balance, it is anti-inflammatory, it aids in digestion it also helps in the elimination and prevention of urinary and gall bladder stones.  Follow this link for more detailed infomation on the benefits of celery juice. 

Today I made Tabbouleh with celery cuttings a a few sprigs of parsley to receive the benefits from the celery and to use up some of our CSA goodies.

You can also dehydrate or hang and dry the celery cuttings and place them in a glass jar to add to soups or you can grind them up and use as a salt substitute.

Tabbouleh

approximately 5-6 c. of celery cuttings chopped fine

handful of chives chopped fine

2 heaping t. dried mint

1/2 t. black pepper

1/2-3/4 t. cumin

6 T. lemon juice

6 T. extra virgin olive oil

2-3 med cucumbers de-seeded and chopped in small pieces

3 medium red tomatoes de-seeded and chopped in small pieces

Himalayan Salt to taste

mix together and let sit to allow flavors to blend.

I massaged my salad a bit prior to adding the tomatoes as celery cuttings are not as delicate as parsley and this helps to break them down a bit and wilt them.

This is a picture of my sons lunch that he will be taking to work tonight...alone with some tabbouleh.

If ou click on the picture to enlarge it you can see the pate in the roll up I tilted one up on the side.

Pumpkin Seed Pate Roll Ups

3 swiss chard leaves cleaned and de-stemmed~sit aside

In the food processor:

1 1/2 c. raw pumpkin seeds that have been soaked for 4 hrs/drained and rinsed

ginger to taste

3 T. dried onion

Bragg's Liquid Amino's to taste

Chinese Five Spice to taste

water to blend

I found a similar recipe on the internet some time ago but do not have the source. 

This pate always comes out delicious and it is highly nutritious. Pumpkin seeds have magnesium & zinc.  They are anti-inflammatory, improve bladder function,  help prevent kidney stones, a treatment for parasites, provide prostate protection, cancer prevention and they help treat depression.  Here are some brief details and remember to do your own research!

For the roll ups.  Lay out the chard leaves and spread the pate on one end, top with mashed avocado that has been mixed with a little lemon juice, diced sweet peppers, tomatoes or whatever you like and then roll them up!  Enjoy!!

Date Bites

 aka God's Candy

pit medjool dates and stuff with favorite raw nut!

I like pecans in mine.

Remember to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces today!

Breathe deeply

Be thankful

kind

and

Smile!

Mediterranean Eats~and a confession

Tabbouleh

1 bunch of parsley~chopped fine

1 bunch of cilantro~chopped fine

4 tomatoes~diced

4-6 stalks of celery~diced

4 green onions~chopped

2 c. soaked bulgar or for all raw use hemp seeds

1/3 c. lemon juice

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 t. cumin

1 T. plus 2 t. dried mint

black pepper to taste

Tonight we enjoyed this Tabbouleh with lemon Tahini dressing (tahini, lemon juice, Bragg's Liquid Aminos and water to thin)..I like to drizzle this dressing over my salad. On the table was garlic hummus and warm pita bread.  My husband's response to our meal tonight, "I cannot believe I am sitting here eating this...and it is Good!"....to which my youngest replied, "After 10 days of eating high raw vegan your taste buds can actually taste REAL food."  :)

My daughter took this picture of a smoothie she made this morning!!

almond milk

banana

apple

cinnamon

vanilla stevia

This was my daughter's dinner~lightly steamed veggies with edamame and garlic hummus & pita bread

Today my vegan son is working on eliminating a cold with lots of carrot juice,  fruit smoothies and some steamed veggies.

After my doctors appointment today
 I made a new acquaintance while standing in front of the freezer section of the health food dept. of our local grocer.  It is always cool to run into people that you can share about a healthy living lifestyle.

While sharing I said that I had been vegan for a few years....but I should have said vegetarian.....my children are always correcting me when I do this....I regularly eat the vinegarette at Chipotle which is not vegan, even though I am not sure what it is that is in it that is not vegan.(if you know..I am curious)..and I have had some raw milk cheese on occassion over the last few years, and some crabmeat a few times...I do not want to be misleading and felt the need to clarify....I do eat a high raw vegan diet with those previous exceptions....

My son is a strict vegan (6 yrs.) and my vegetarian daughter began her journey into veganism Jan 1, 2011 and my (omnivore) husband decided to go vegan Jan 1, along with my daughter!....so to support my family, I have decided to give up the vinegarette...the cheese is easy, besides is smells like wet cow....the only time I had it around the house was 2 maybe 3 times a year for my daughter....so now that she is vegan, it's gone!

So if you're a regular reader or a new one and are wondering...now you know

I hope that my family can be an encouragement to you and yours as you journey to better health through dietary/lifestyle changes.

We have experienced many health benefits and trust that you will to as you make positive changes in your own life.

Blessings

quick note about my broken wrist....well it is not broken anymore...I went to the surgeon today...he has released me to get therapy.... my arm atrophied while being in the cast and I need to get strength and range of motion back.  Cosmetically, my wrist has changed a bit, but it does not affect the mechanics of my potential mobility...so hopefully with some therapy I can get back to normal again.  He could do surgery with the hopes of it looking like my other wrist again...but, I am not too fond of surgical procedures/risks...so I'll just get a pretty bracelet to wear!