Easy Raw Meals for Home Chefs l 1

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1 Easy Raw Meals for Home Chefs l 1

2 With just a little advanced raw food prep (only a few hours during the week), and a little additional time on the weekends, you ll be able to prepare interesting, but simple components for raw meals throughout the week for yourself and your family. Breakfasts can be similar each day, and lunch and dinner will vary, but can be interchangeable. You ll get into a rhythm pretty quickly and discover which recipes are your favorites. Then, you can expand on what you ve mastered, and add little flourishes of your own, depending on what is in season and available in your area. 2 Easy Raw Meals for Home Chefs l

3 It s a good idea to eat all your leftovers on the days before you go grocery shopping, so it s easier to organize your fridge and put beautiful fresh produce and groceries in! We re sticklers about using all the food we purchase, so rotating the fridge, cleaning out bins as you go along, and using up any leftovers is the key to home kitchen management. Leftover vegetables, soaked nuts, or pâtés also make a great base for crackers or crunchy snacks! It s always good to have a few snacks on hand - sweet treats or a savory snack in the afternoon will hold you over until you get home for the evening meal. Easy Raw Meals for Home Chefs l 3

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5 If you plan to dine out on Saturday and Sunday night, you may have time to try new recipes or make something creative during the day. It s a good idea to make a large recipe so that you ll have something exciting to put into wraps and rolls or add as a side dish for a main meal salad during the week. 5 Easy Raw Meals for Home Chefs l

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7 Garden Blend Soup Yield: 2 cups (1 to 2 servings) ¾ cup purified water ¼ cup orange juice or ½ orange, peeled, coarsely chopped (see note) 1½ cups kale, stemmed and chopped (about 3 ounces) ½ apple, cored and chopped (or ½ small cucumber, peeled and chopped) ¼ cup cilantro, parsley, basil leaves or fresh dill weed, packed 1 tablespoon light miso ½ tablespoon lemon juice ¼ teaspoon garlic, crushed ¼ red jalapeño pepper, with seeds or a pinch of cayenne ½ green onion, optional ½ avocado, peeled and seeded 1. Combine the water, orange juice, kale, apple, cilantro or other fresh herbs, miso, lemon juice, garlic, jalapeño and the optional green onion, and blend until smooth. 2. Add the avocado and blend again until smooth. 3. Best if served immediately, but will last up to 24 hours stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Note: The orange juice gives sweetness to the soup. For a less sweet soup, reduce or eliminate the orange juice, and replace it with additional water. Variation: You can use a variety of vegetables in garden soups, such as cucumber, zucchini, tomato, bell pepper, celery, romaine and spinach. Green Smoothie Yield: 2 servings 2 pounds peeled and chopped mango, peach, or other highwater- content fruit 4 cups packed, stemmed, and chopped kale or other dark leafy greens Filtered water as needed to thin Blend the fruit and greens in a high-powered blender, adding water as needed. Blend until smooth and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Note: For best results, serve this smoothie immediately. In a pinch, it can last up to 24 hours if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reblend it just before serving. Vary It! Change the types of fruits in this smoothie to suit your mood. Great combinations include blueberry-apricot, peach-raspberry, papaya-kiwi, and orange-pineapple. Add mint, lemongrass, or basil in addition to other dark leafy greens to give the smoothie an extra burst of flavor! Also, add green powders like Spirulina or Vitamineral Green by Healthforce Nutrtitionals. l 79

8 Wrap n Roll This dish is about wrap and roll, a variety of hand-held wraps made with different fillings. Be creative and have fun! You can use a variety of vegetables depending on what is in season and what you have in your refrigerator at any given time. Utilize spreads and dips or sliced avocado as a base in your wrap, then pile on the vegetables and condiments to create delicious, portable meals and snacks. You can create an ethnic burrito: Mexican and Thai style are popular combinations. This is a good way to use up leftover pâtés, spreads and dips and any variety of vegetables you have. Cut, grate, julienne, chop and chiffonade to your heart s desire. The possibilities are numerous and delicious. Choice of wrappers: Romaine leaves Nori seaweed sheets Collard leaves Cabbage leaves-red or green Choice of Vegetables: Alfalfa or Sunflower sprouts Avocados, thinly sliced Red bell peppers, julienne sliced Cucumber, seeded and julienne sliced Thin sliced red onion Carrots, shredded Tomato, chopped or sliced Optional Garnishes: Choice of Spreads: Miso paste Pesto Any kind of pâté Nut cheese Hummus Raw mayo, mustard or ketchup Cabbage kraut Salsa Guacamole Raw tahini, pumpkin seed butter or almond butter - Best if served immediately, but will last up to 24 hours if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Sesame seeds Dulse Pumpkin or sunflower seeds l 98

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10 First, set up your kitchen and pantry so it is easy for you to prepare raw food recipes. Clean out your pantry and fridge and get rid of foods that will sabotage your plan to prepare healthier meals. Designate an area of the kitchen to ripen fruit and avocados and move fruits to the fridge when they are ripe. Designate an area to sprout and grow greens if you plan to incorporate that into your lifestyle. Set up your kitchen counter with equipment like your blender and juicer that will be used on a daily basis. 10 Easy Raw Meals for Home Chefs l

11 Every day, as needed Check sprouts, fermenting nut cheese or yogurt, and sauerkraut Keep an eye on ripening fruit Always have ripe tomatoes, avocadoes, and bananas available. Peel and cut bananas and other fruit as it ripens, then place in a plastic zip bag and store in the freezer to have on hand for smoothies or fruit sorbet. Easy Raw Meals for Home Chefs l 1

12 Each week: Shop and organize foods for kits Make kits for juice, smoothies, and salads: Wash and prep veggies for juice and fruits for smoothies, and put prepared produce in green bags or sealed containers. Store in refrigerator. This will save a lot of time washing and prepping produce everyday. Do the same with salads for work or dinner. Chop or julienne some vegetables to use as crudités (vegetable sticks) for cheese and dips. You can also put them in your soups and salads, so prepare more than you think you need. Store them in an airtight container. (Don t cut bell peppers or cucumbers in advance, as they degrade quickly. It s better to cut those as you need them.) Make soup and store in glass jars in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Try adding a different dressing to your soup each day to add variations in flavor (I know it sounds weird, but trust me!) If you like soup more than twice a week, make soup kits so they are ready at a moments notice. Start a batch of sprouts and/or wheatgrass and greens! 2 Easy Raw Meals for Home Chefs l

13 Every week or two: Make a double batch of cheese and/or pate to have on hand for lunches and dinners. Cashew cheese can last two weeks, whereas almond cheese is good for about 5-6 days. You can also make several batches of pate and freeze it. Make enough nut milk or cream for a couple of weeks and freeze half. Freeze the nut pulp for future use. Almond milk will last about 5 days, but cashew milk (or cream) can last a couple of weeks. Sauces and condiments freeze well, so prepare double batches and freeze some so they re handy when you need them. Make two double batches of salad dressings. Refrigerate what you will use for salads and wraps and freeze the rest. Make a sweet treat like brownies or carrot kuchen and freeze it. If you don t have a sweet tooth, you can either skip this task or do it once a month. It s nice to have something sweet for friends, dinner parties, and pot lucks. Raw Food For Dummies, by Cherie Soria and Dan Ladermann Easy Raw Meals for Home Chefs l 3

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