RAW ONION BHAJIS

Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

Indian food holds a very special place in my heart, as I spent a lot of time in India when I first became vegetarian many years ago. I was lucky to stay at a wonderful place with one of the best restaurants in town. The waiters and cooks took onto serving me an assortment (usually 3) of dishes every night, often not on the menu, so that I could discover a variety of Indian meals. And I took great pleasure at savouring what I had been served, eating with my fingers. Every dinner was a feast, really.

On a few nights, I was invited by my colleagues for dinner at their homes. Don’t even get me started on home-cooked Indian food … out of this world …

I have travelled a fair deal in India since then, but other than a few exceptions (I can give names …), most of the food I have had isn’t a patch on the delights I enjoyed as a newly-turned-vegetarian. I will be forever immensely grateful for that time, as I had the opportunity to taste pretty exceptionally good Indian food.

Which brings us to this Indian staple. Onion bhajis can be good. When the batter is light and delicate and they are fried in super hot and clean oil, then put on paper towels to drain a little of the oil and finally eaten still hot. But they are not exactly healthy. These raw onion bhajis are a great alternative.

Serves 8 :

4 large red onions

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked 4 to 8 hours

1 large carrot or red bell pepper

1 date, soaked at least 1 hour

2 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked at least 1 hour

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp tamari or liquid aminos

1 clove garlic

1 small red chilli (optional)

1 tbsp garam masala or curry powder

about 1/2 cup water or enough to blend

Prepare your onions : slice them as thin as you can (using a mandolin, if you have one).

Prepare the onion bhaji batter. Drain and rinse the sunflower seeds, date and sun-dried tomatoes. Blend all ingredients (except the onions …) together until smooth. Pour on the onion slices and mix thoroughly, using your 2 hands. You want the onion slices to be evenly coated in batter.

Arrange onto 2 dehydrator trays lined with a non stick sheet and dehydrate for 12 hours at 42C. Flip, remove the non stick sheet and dehydrate for another 6 to 12 hours, until dry but still chewy. Will keep in a glass food saver in the fridge for a little under a week.

Serve chunks of dehydrated onion bhaji on a bed of salad dressed with a simple oil and lemon juice or vinegar dressing, or in a salad leaf, with a raw seed sauce and some alfalfa sprouts.

Enjoy.

Do you like Indian food ? What is your favourite cuisine ?

Stay Well and Happy,

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it : © 2013 RAW FOOD ETC : Eat more RAW FOOD to look and feel great. FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/ 

PURPLE KALE CHIPS

Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

It is well known that we should eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables. Switching to a raw food diet makes this really easy : raw food basically comprises of raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds and sea vegetables. By eating a high raw diet, one will be eating way over the 5 servings, without even trying to.

What might be a bit less widely known is that ideally we should eat a raInbow diet.

This is a very simple way of looking at it and why it makes perfect sense : it is phytonutrients that give fruits and vegetables their colours. Each phytonutrient will give a certain colour, and will have specific beneficial effects on health. So eating a wide variety of colours (phytonutrients) ensures a wide spectrum of nutrients is covered.

Blue, indigo and violet seem to be the most difficult to cover. They are as important as the other colours, though, as they contain precious Resveratrol and Anthocyanin, which support heart and brain health and provide excellent antioxidant protection. Think blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries, black grapes, plums, beetroots and eggplants.

And purple kale chips.

Serves 4 :

400g red or purple kale

1 cup or 150g cashew nuts or brazil nuts, soaked 4 to 8 hours

2 red bell peppers

1 small red onion

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon, freshly squeezed

1 tsp sweet white miso

2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes *(not raw)

2 tbsp purple corn extract

Prepare your kale by discarding the hard stems and tearing it into not too small pieces and put it in your largest mixing bowl.

Chop the onions and bell peppers roughly. Blend the nuts. bell peppers, onion, olive oil, lemon juice, sweet miso, nutritional yeast and purple corn together until smooth. Pour the dressing over the kale and mix thoroughly using your 2 hands, to ensure the kale is evenly coated.

Spread your seasoned kale onto 2 dehydrator trays lined with non stick sheets and dehydrate at 42°C for about 12 hours or until crispy. Check halfway and then every few hours, trying not to eat it all. The time needed to dehydrate the kale chips until crispy varies, as it depends on the temperature and humidity levels around.

Enjoy.

Are you the happy owner of a dehydrator ? If not, check out Excalibur, a big favourite amongst raw foodies everywhere : http://amzn.to/Tmc2VQ

Have you tried my other kale chips recipes ? Balsamic vinegar and paprika kale chips, tamari kale chips, Lebanese Zaatar kale chips, or salt and vinegar kale chips, hemp sauce kale chips, just to name a few …

What is your favourite kale chips recipe ?

Do you have any tips to make sure you eat a rainbow diet ?

Stay Well and Happy,

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2013 RAW FOOD ETC : Eat more RAW FOOD to look and feel great. FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/ 

CREAMY RED KALE CHIPS

Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

Kale chips made with thick creamy dressing are certainly more appealing as it gets colder. These ones are red all the way : the kale is red and the sauce has red onion, red bell peppers and red chili flakes. They taste deliciously sweet and slightly hot.

Serves 4 :

400g red kale

1 cup brazil nuts, soaked 4 to 8 hours

2 red bell peppers

1 small red onion

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon, freshly squeezed

1 tsp sweet white miso

 

2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes *(not raw)

Prepare your kale by discarding the hard stems and tearing it into not too small pieces and put it in your largest mixing bowl.

Remove the seeds from the bell peppers and chop them roughly. Also chop the onions roughly. Blend the bell peppers, onion, olive oil, lemon juice, sweet miso and nutritional yeast together. You will have quite a thick dressing, and you will need to stop your blender to scrape the sides or use your tamper, if you have a high speed blender.

Pour the dressing over the kale and mix thoroughly using your 2 hands, to ensure the kale is evenly coated.

Spread your seasoned kale onto 2 dehydrator trays lined with non stick sheets and dehydrate at 42°C for about 12 hours or until crispy. Check halfway and then every few hours, trying not to eat it all. The time needed to dehydrate the kale chips until crispy varies, as it depends on the temperature and humidity levels around.

Enjoy

Have you tried my other kale chips recipes ? Balsamic vinegar and paprika kale chips, tamari kale chips, Lebanese Zaatar kale chips, or salt and vinegar kale chips, hemp sauce kale chips, just to name a few …

What is your favourite kale chips recipe ?

Stay Well and Happy,

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/

NAUGHTY CRUNCHY HEMP KALE CHIPS

Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

Everyone should eat kale chips ! You certainly do not need to be a raw foodist or a vegan to enjoy kale chips. You get all the salty and crunchy naughtiness of eating crisps but with the health benefits. Eat kale chips everyday and that’s one of your “5 a day” taken care of.

And if you don’t have hemp seeds on hand, how about balsamic vinegar and paprika kale chips, tamari kale chips, Lebanese Zaatar kale chips, or salt and vinegar kale chips, just to name a few ?

Serves 4 :

400g Kale (I used green kale, works with any variety)

1/2 cup hulled hemps seeds

4 small tomatoes

1 small head celery

2  tbsp garlic infused olive oil (or 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 clove garlic)

2 limes, juiced

1/4 tsp Himalayan pink crystal salt or sea salt

Prepare your kale by discarding the hard stems and tearing it into pieces and put it in your largest mixing bowl.

Chop the tomatoes and celery into pieces that your blender can handle and blend everything apart from the kale together. You will have quite a thick dressing.

Pour the dressing over the kale and mix thoroughly using your 2 hands, to ensure the kale is evenly coated.

Spread your seasoned kale onto 2 or 3 dehydrator trays lined with non stick sheets and dehydrate at 42°C for about 12 hours or until crispy. Check halfway and then every few hours, trying not to eat it all. The time needed to dehydrate the kale chips until crispy varies, as it depends on the temperature and humidity levels around.

Enjoy

Stay Well and Happy,

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/

RAW PORTOBELLO ‘STEAK’

 Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

This is a raw food dinner fit for the omnivores we all are.

Serves 4 (makes 9 burgers) :

250g (9) Portobello mushrooms (caps only, you can preserve the stems to make a mushroom pâté)

4 tbsp garlic infused olive oil

or

4 tbsp olive oil and 2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbsp brown rice vinegar

2 tbsp umeboshi plum seasoning

1 tbsp rice mirin or mikawa mirin

1 tsp dark miso (I used mugi – barley miso)

Clean the mushroom caps with a paper cloth ; they don’t need to be washed.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the garlic infused olive oil (or olive oil plus crushed garlic), the brown rice vinegar, umeboshi, mirin and miso. Add the mushroom caps to the marinate and gently toss them, ensuring they are evenly coated. Allow to marinate for and hour or so, and either eat right away or pop into the dehydrator for 4 – 6 hours.

The trick for a warm autumn / winter night dinner is to prepare them by midday, pop them in the dehydrator and eat them warm straight out of the dehydrator.

Great served with a side of your choice (I like wakame ‘pasta’ in tomato sauce) and a simple salad of snow pea or sunflower shoots and alfalfa sprouts.

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/ 

RAW CARAMELISED ONIONS

Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

Raw onions in their natural state are not exactly very palatable. But caramelised raw onions … seem to be a whole different food altogether : they virtually loose their sharp taste, and you can make them moist and crunchy (like deliciously soft cooked on the outside, still raw inside) or dehydrate them longer to make them drier and crunchier.

I love munching on them as such, they are great on a raw food pizza, to jazz up a salad or served as a side dish.

Serves 2 to 4 :

2 large red onions, sliced thin using a mandolin

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp tamari

about 5 dates

just enough water to blend

Blend the dates with the olive oil, tamari and water until smooth. Thoroughly mix with the sliced onions in a large mixing bowl.

Dehydrate for a few hours for moist caramelised onions, or up to 12 hours for drier caramelised onions.

Will keep very well in an airtight container ; the drier they are, the longer they will keep.

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/

ACTIVATED LEMON SEEDS

 Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

This is another shockingly easy recipe. I take sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds and soak them overnight to start the sprouting and maximise the nutrition in them.

Did you know that sprouts contain all the nutrition needed by a baby plant to grow into a mature plant ?

I then marinate my seeds in a mixture of tamari and lemon juice and finally dehydrate them to get them crunchy.

Snack on a small handful or swap your regular croutons for these little babies and add them to your soups / salads for added goodness !

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1 or 2 tbsp tamari

1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed

In separate bowls, soak the sunflower and pumpkin seeds for at least 4 hours or overnight.

The next morning, rinse and drain your seeds. Put them in a mixing bowl together with the tamari and the lemon juice and mix well. Allow to marinate for a couple of hours, then put the seeds on a non stick dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for about 12 hours  at 42°C.

*Alternatively, you may choose to sprout your seeds for 1 day.

Will keep in an airtight glass jar for months.

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/ 

RAW DEHYDRATED FIG CANDY

 Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

All you need is 3 simple ingredients to make this raw fig candy is super easy to make and great to nibble on as a snack with tea, added in a salad or on top of canapes to make them look all sexy and fancy.

4 fresh figs, sliced thin, but not too thin

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp yacon syrup or gave syrup (optional, but does the magic for a proper caramelised candy)

Allow everything to marinate in a bowl for a couple of hours or overnight. When the fig slices have nicely soaked the marinade, put them on a non stick dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for about 8 hours (less for a less dry candy) at 42°C.

Will keep in the fridge up to a few weeks, the drier the longer.

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/ 

RAW DEHYDRATED BALSAMIC VINEGAR AND 2 PAPRIKAS KALE CHIPS

Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

This is yet another simple kale chips recipe, one of my personal favourites. The marriage of the 2 sorts of paprika powder gives a depth to the flavour.

Serves 4 :

400g Kale (I used green kale, works with any variety)

2  tbsp Olive oil

1 tbsp  balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp Hugarian paprika

1 tbsp smoked hot paprika

Prepare your kale by discarding the hard stems and tearing it into pieces. Smaller pieces will dehydrate faster, but they will be crumblier and create more mess while eating. Bigger pieces will take longer to dehydrate, but they are nicer and easier to bite in, and they will not create so much mess. So you want to find the right balance for you.

Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and the 2 paprikas. Mix thoroughly to ensure the kale is evenly coated.

Spread your seasoned kale onto 2 dehydrator trays lined with non stick sheets and dehydrate at 42°C for about 12 hours or until crispy. Check halfway and then every few hours, trying not to eat it all. The time needed to dehydrate the kale chips until crispy varies, as it depends on the temperature and humidity levels around.

Enjoy

Stay Well and Happy,

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/

RAW DEHYDRATED GOMASIO BROCCOLI CRISPS

Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

Broccoli is another nutritional hero. Just like kale, it is part of the cruciferous vegetables family and has antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits. If you are not too keen on straight raw broccoli, then you are in for a treat with raw dehydrated broccoli chips. They are just as easy to make as kale chips – they take longer to dehydrate, though.

Use a cashew and nutritional yeast dressing for cheesy raw dehydrated broccoli chips, or if you prefer simple, go for these gomasio loaded ones :

For 2 :

2 heads Broccoli

2 tbsp olive oil or sesame oil

about 4 tbsp gomasio*

Prepare the broccoli by washing it, draining it and cutting it into small florets. Reserve the stalks for green juice, for example.

*Store bought gomasio is not raw – make your’s by quickly grinding 2 tbsp sesame seeds in a coffee grinder or similar device. Add 1 tsp crystal salt or sea salt.

Add the gomasio to the broccoli and mix thoroughly, making sure that the gomasio is as spread as possible.

Spread the broccoli florets onto a dehydrator tray lined with a non stick sheet. Dehydrate at 42°C for about 24 hours or until crispy. Check halfway and then every few hours, trying not to eat it all. The time needed to dehydrate the broccoli chips until crispy varies, as it depends on the temperature and humidity levels around.

Enjoy

Keep Smiling,

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/

RAW VEGAN ‘FRIED BACON’

 Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

Raw aubergines / eggplants are not very palatable, and they are among the few vegetables I would stay away from when I went raw. But that was until I came across raw vegan ‘fried bacon’ made by dehydrating marinated thin eggplant slices. I still only eat them once in a blue moon, but I think it is uber-cool to make raw vegan ‘fried bacon’ (:-)

1 large aubergine

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp tamari

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

Cut the aubergine lengthwise into quarters and then make super thin slices using a mandolin. Add all the other ingredients and mix thoroughly with your hands. Lay out ‘bacon’ slices on a dehydrator tray lined with a non stick sheet and dehydrate for about 12 hours, until dry.

These raw vegan ‘fried bacon’ slices are great to munch on for tea, to add to a salad or to eat with a salad leaf wrapped around …

Will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/ 

RAW DEHYDRATED ZAATAR KALE CHIPS

Dear One,

If you are reading me for the first time, welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by. If you have been here before, thank you for visiting again.

This is another recipe to fuel the kale chips addiction, and perhaps take you on a journey to Paris or even Lebanon, for the original thing.

Za’atar is a mixture of thyme, sumac, sesame seeds and salt, often served in conjunction with olive oil for dipping warm bread in. It can also be sprinkled on cheese, yoghurt, salads or savory breads ad cakes.

Years ago, when I still lived in Paris, there was a Lebanese take-away food stall on rue Rambuteau, just round the corner from Centre Georges Pompidou (ask for details if you are so lucky to be in Paris), that I would visit all the time. The place is called Man’ouché, the name for a Lebanese flat-bread simply topped with a mixture of olive oil and za’atar. They served a whole range of these Lebanese pizzas with various toppings, but I couldn’t get enough of the plain za’atar one.

As in many things, wisdom has come with the years, and I have now found that kale chips are a support of choice to deliver the beautifully tangy flavour of za’atar, without the cooked white wheat flat bread.

Za’atar mixed with olive oil is also delicious spread on raw breads / crackers, for instant za’atar bliss.

Serves 4 :

400g Kale (I used green kale, works with any variety)

2  tbsp Olive oil

1 lemon, freshly squeezed

4 tbsp Za’atar

Prepare your kale by discarding the hard stems and tearing it into not too small pieces. Smaller pieces will dehydrate faster, but they will be crumblier and create more mess while eating. Bigger pieces might take longer to dehydrate, but they are nicer and easier to bite in, and they will not create so much mess. So you want to find a balance here.

Add the olive oil, lemon juice and za’atar to the kale and mix with your 2 hands, ensuring all the kale is evenly coated.

Evenly spread your seasoned kale onto 2 dehydrator trays lined with non stick sheets and dehydrate at 42°C for about 12 hours or until crispy. Check halfway and then every few hours, trying not to eat it all. The time needed to dehydrate the kale until crispy varies, as it depends on the temperature and humidity levels around.

Enjoy

Stay Well and Happy,

Would you like to use this article on your blog, website or in your newsletter ? You are welcome to do so, as long as you include the following text with it :

© 2012 RAW FOOD ETC Want to look good and feel great by including more RAW FOOD into your diet ? Get FREE healthy raw food recipes, articles and tips from https://rawfoodetc.wordpress.com/