Hello! My name is Milka.
I like to think of myself as the Goddess of Fruit and Veg, and an Occasional Nut!
For me, one of the most important things is to have fun preparing the food, and sharing the joy with those who you are feeding. My blog's name was inspired by my daughter's love of rainbows, and serves as a daily reminder of the important things in life, like vegan rainbows and well-fed unicorns.
Caramelized Brussels sprouts with corn, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
So you hate Brussels sprouts, do you? And you really think that there is no way you will ever change your mind on that account?
Well, I have a recipe for you to try. First of all, you will have to find some fresh Brussels sprouts – I don’t think frozen will work. But, on the other hand, although I do think that fresh corn works best, you can cut yourself some slack and use frozen corn kernels or whole corn kernels from a can.
The recipe is super simple – so there’s not much to add really. I made this recipe with adding some dried cranberries and it is delicious! But, I made it without cranberries and it works just as well. This can be a yummy side dish to add to your Thanksgiving and/or Holiday (Christmas) feast, and in that case cranberries (especially for those of you in North America) are a must!
Note: using a cast iron pan is recommended but not required. I like using a cast iron pan for a recipe like this because it does help things caramelize nicely. And it also allows you to pop the pan under a broiler if you like your top to get extra crunchy, which can be a nice touch especially if you have guests that you are trying to impress. But you can achieve similar level or caramelization in almost any other type of a pan. CAUTION: you should not attempt placing just any pan under the broiler as most of them are not oven safe!!!
Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Corn, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Corn
What you’ll need:
1-1.5 lbs (400-600 g) Brussels sprouts, cleaned and quartered
1 yellow onion, diced
2 ears of corn, just the kernels (frozen or canned corn is OK, but fresh is the best)
1/2 cup sliced dried cranberries (optional)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
What you’ll do:
Place a heavy cast iron pan over the medium high heat. Add the oil and onion. Let the onion brown for 5-8 minutes.
Add the Brussels sprouts and let them brown for another 5 minutes or so.
Add the corn, sliced dried cranberries if using, add salt to taste, mix well and cook for another 10 minutes, with occasional stirring.
Perhaps you can’t get enough of Avocado Toast, or perhaps you are just fed up with all the hype! Perhaps you view it as a generational thing, given how much grief millennials have been getting about it.
I happen to think Avocado Toast is delicious, especially when topped with some tomatoes and basil (see here for some great variation on this theme). but avocados don’t come cheap. They are one of the pricier produce out there, and it seems that they are not the best choice environmentally speaking either.
So, to offer an alternative to the Avocado Toast craze, I offer you Banana Toast! Cheaper than chips and easy to make. Plus, unlike Avocado Toast that may not work with things like chocolate chips, Banana Toast is friends with chocolate, cinnamon, raisins, craisins, coconut flakes, different protein powders (if you like to mix them in with the banana) and all that good stuff!
All you need is a good piece of bread – I love sprouted kinds – and a fork to mush that banana. Spread the love and accessorize!
Banana Toast, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Banana Toast
1 SERVING
What you’ll need:
1 banana
2 pieces of bread (whole grain and/or sprouted recommended)
Optional: any topping of your choosing (raisins, craisins, chocolate chips, cinnamon, coconut flakes, brown sugar,…)
What you’ll do:
Toast the bread.
While bread is toasting, mash the banana with the fork until well mashed.
Spread the mashed banana over the toast, and top with any topping of your choice and enjoy!
A slow cooker, also known as Crock Pot (which is a brand name I think), may seem like one of those kitchen gadgets that you’ll get, use once and forget. Although I use my slow cooker once a month or so, it is absolutely wonderful to have around. There have been many instances when my weekends were busier than my work days (and I do all my cooking on weekends) and slow cooker came to the rescue. I would set the thing up in the morning before I got out the door, and the dinner would be ready by the time I came back in the evening, warm and delicious!
For example, the recipe I am sharing here was the one I made for a dinner party – and everyone walked away with their bellies and taste buds completely happy!!! That’s another reason to get a slow cooker – it can really help with all those dinner parties and pot lucks. The crock pot serves not only to cook food but can hold food warm for hours.
My favorite thing to make in a crock post are sort of stews – hearty dishes with a handful of ingredients that are full of flavors and warmth. This jackfruit stew is a good example (and I also used jackfruit to make a “chicken” tikka masala in a slow cooker as well as BBQ pulled pork), as is this tofu-mango-chickpea curry.
The inspiration for this hodgepodge – which technically means “confused mixture” – was all the great vegetables that were in my weekly CSA share (CSA stands for Community-Supported Agriculture and is a program in the area where I live that supports local farmers and give local folks like me access to farm fresh produce). The recipe uses corn (kernels only), kale, potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion. All these ingredients work together well, and I don’t recommend that you make some sweeping swaps. Things that would likely work are using peas instead of corn, using rutabaga or turnip instead of potatoes, and chard, collard greens or spinach instead of kale.
However, there really is no substitute for the mirepoix – carrots, onions and celery. This makes the base of the dish and I can’t think of the ways to sub these – my apologies for those of you with onion allergies! Usually, mirepoix ingredients are sautéd; however, the slow cooker does not have this function. So, I recommend either sautéing diced carrots, celery and onion in a pan over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes, or mixing the diced vegetables with some oil and putting them in a microwave oven for about 5 minutes. This will help brown and soften them, and will help with flavors!
In addition to veggies, what makes this an amazing feast are the spices, curry powder and bay leaves, and coconut milk, which gives this stew its creaminess. Serve over rice or couscous, and perhaps with some coarse salt (which is what I topped mine with). Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Hodgepodge
What you’ll need:
1-1.5 lbs (500-800 g) white potatoes
4 ears of corn, just the kernels (or 4 cups frozen corn kernels, defrosted, or about 2 cans (15 oz; 400 g) of whole kernel corn)
1 bunch (6 cups) kale (or chard or collard greens), just sliced leaves, stems removed
4 large carrots, peeled and diced
6 talks celery, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can (13.66 fl oz; 400 mL) coconut milk
4-5 bay leaves
1 tablespoon vegetable (or olive, or canola) oil
OPTIONAL: Rice to serve
What you’ll do:
Wash, peel and chop the potatoes into 1 to 1 1/2 in (2.5 – 3.5 cm) cubes. Place in the crock pot that has been lined with a liner, if using.
If starting from fresh corn, wash the ears, and using a sharp knife go down each ear and get just the kernels. If using frozen corn, it’s best to leave it on the kitchen counter overnight to defrost, but you can start from frozen as well. If using canned whole kernel corn, drain and rinse before using. Place over the potatoes.
Wash, drain and de-vein the kale to remove all the tough stems. Chop the leaves into rough shreds. Place over the corn.
Peel and dice the onions and carrots, and dice the celery. Place onions, carrots and celery into a microwave safe dish, mix with 1 tablespoon of oil, and place in a microwave for 5-6 minutes on high power. You can also sauté on the stove top. Pour over the potatoes, corn and kale.
Place a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the curry powder and dry toast for 1-2 minutes, then pour over the veggies in the crock pot.
Pour the coconut milk, vegetable stock and tomato paste into a measuring cup or a mixing bowl large enough to hold everything. Mix together to combine. Don’t worry if there are chunks and clumps, but do give it a good mix. Pour over the vegetables in the crock pot.
Give everything a good mix, tuck the bay leaves throughout the stew, cover with the lid and turn the crock pot on high heat for 6-8 hours.
Serve over rice, or couscous, and sprinkle with salt (Note: this recipe does not use added salt, but you can add as little or as much salt as you like!).
Homemade Nut and Seed Granola, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
There are so many granolas out there. And there are ready made ones that you can get from the store. So, why should you ever bother making granola at home?
Well, I bet it is sometimes hard to find the perfect granola – some may be too sweet, some may include things you don’t like, some may have flavoring agents (spices) that you can’t stand or that overpower your palate. So, what I am getting at here is that knowing how to make granola comes in handy – you can use the same technique and just switch ingredients in and out as you please.
For example, I am not a huge lover of dried fruit in my granola so I made this batch with nuts and seeds. If you are allergic, you can make granola entirely out of nuts and still get a great snack/breakfast item.
Also: you are in complete control of the sugar levels. In many cases, store bought granola mixes are just to sweet. Making your own allows you to dial sugar up or down – recommend using a syrup: agave or maple or even stevia or molasses. You do need something sticky that will serve as a glue to bind all the ingredients together. Here, I used agave syrup, and 1/3 of a cup, although it does not sound like much, is plenty.
Now, when it comes to preparation, you will need a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (or two). The first step is getting the granola spread out as much as possible. It is nice to have clusters, so don’t break every cluster apart, but you do want to make sure that you are leaving plenty of space between clusters so that they get a chance to brown and crisp up on all sides. If you discover that a single baking sheet can’t hold the entire amount you get using the measures below, use two sheets. The main trick here is to start low and slow, and “dehydrate” the granola at 200 F (which is just about 100 C) for an hour or two.
However, in order to get the final, toasted crunchiness you do need to increase the heat to 425 F (220 C) or higher. This second step takes only 5-10 minutes, and you do need to stay put and check how things are going every minute or two. It’s important to keep stirring the granola, move pieces around, and flip them over. This will prevent the burning, yet let the toasty flavors develop.
You can keep the granola in the air tight container for a week, and it will keep. You can bring it along to hikes, or have on hand as a quick snack. You can certainly enjoy it for breakfast. Putting a bit of yogurt (preferably unsweetened because granola does contain added sugar) in a small jar, and topping it with fresh fruit or a fruit compote, and some granola is all you need to get going in the morning. Closed with a tight lid, these jars can go right into your bag and come along as you rush out of house. They can also be a great mid-afternoon pick-me-up.
I admit that I sometimes go a bit crazy and add granola into my oatmeal – it is indulgent but once in a while I think it’s OK. Enjoy!
Homemade Nut and Seed Granola, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Homemade Nut and Seed Granola
What you’ll need:
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup buckwheat
1/3 cup flax seed
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/3 cup sunflower seed
1/3 cup pumpkin seed
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup hemp seeds (hulled)
1/3 cup agave syrup (maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of your choice)
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
1/2 cup plain plant-based yogurt
1/2 cup fresh fruit (like blackberries pictured above)
What you’ll do:
Preheat the oven to 200 – 210 F (about 100 C).
Place the almonds into the food processor and process 4-5 times, until roughly chopped.
Add the next 6 ingredients (all except hemp seeds and agave syrup) and process for another 4-5 times. You want everything to be chopped finely but not turned into a meal or flour.
Pour everything into a large mixing bowl, add hemp seed and the syrup and mix well to combine. Make sure that the syrup covers everything evenly.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the granola evenly in a single layer of well separated clusters. Place into the oven on low heat for an hour.
After an hour at low heat, increase the heat to 425 F (220 C) and toast the granola for another 5-8 minutes. Make sure you check on your granola every minute and mix each time to allow every nook and cranny to get toasted. CAUTION: you do need to baby sit this part because your granola will easily burn!!!
Once nicely toasted, take the granola out and let it cool completely before using. You can use it as a dry snack, or with some milk for breakfast. My favorite is topping a bit of yogurt with a homemade berry syrup and granola – yummy!
Basic Falafels with Pan-Toasted Chickpeas, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Falafels are the kind of food I struggled with. I love them when I get them in restaurants (etc.), but I hated every single batch I ever made at home. They would taste weird, either with a strange metallic taste or uncooked garlic flavor, and I could never get them to be cooked through and nicely crunchy.
One reason for this that I am very much aware of is that most restaurants deep fry their falafels. That’s fair enough for them, but I’m not a deep frying sort of person. So, I started experimenting to see what can be done to recreate the great falafel taste without too much extra oil. (I did tried baking and broiling, and oil free but could not get those to work – so oil is in!)
My first issue was with chickpeas. Although you can use canned or chickpea flour, for authentic flavor you do need to start with raw chickpeas. And that was a part of my problem – no matter what I did, there was always something a bit unappetizing with the flavor. One explanation for why deep fried falafels don’t suffer from this shortcoming is that deep frying actually cooks everything through to a high temperature while most of other methods leave things a bit underdone.
So I came up with a solution that made a huge difference. After soaking the dry chickpeas for about a day, rinsing them and changing the water once half way through, I rinse them, dry them in a kitchen towel and then pan-toast them. What I do is place a large non-stick pan over high heat, make it quite hot, then add the chickpeas and let them toast so that they are browned but not burned. You can also try roasting but that may take longer. Pan-toasting takes about 5 minutes, and at the end you have chickpeas that are lightly cooked, enriched with flavor, and with most of that metallic tang removed. One problem solved!
Second problem is garlic. Again, I would end up with falafels with raw garlic flavor, probably for the same reason – without deep frying the inside does not have time to cook through. So, I decided to dial down the amount and use just a bit of garlic powder instead of raw garlic.
The rest is all about mixing everything together and adding a binder, in this case some flax “egg” – that’s flax meal that has been soaked in hot water for a while. I also recommend letting the falafel mixture rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before frying.
And now we come to frying – there’s just no other way to make these come out awesome. So, use some oil, real oil not a cooking spray – in my case using just enough oil to cover the bottom of a pan was enough – and let the “fried” falafels rest on some paper towel to soak the excess grease.
Eat these falafels while they are fresh and crunchy. Leftovers will be fine but there’s nothing better than a fresh batch.
Enjoy!
Basic Falafels with Pan-Toasted Chickpeas
What you’ll need:
1 lbs chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours, drained, rinsed oat dried and pan toasted
1/4 cup flax meal
3/4 cup hot water
1 cup parsley flat leaf
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Oil for frying
What you’ll do:
Soak dry chickpeas in 8-10 cups of water (they need to be fully submerged with about an inch (2.5 cm) of water above the chickpea layer. I recommend soaking for 12 hours, changing the water, then soaking for another 12 hours for a total of 1 day. I also suggest you do this at room temperature on your kitchen counter.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas and shake of excess water.
Bring a large non-stick pan over high heat. Once the bottom of the pan is hot, pour in the chickpeas and let them toast until they get dry and fairly browned. This will take about 5-8 minutes and you will need to stay next to the pan to mix the chickpeas frequently and prevent burning.
Pour the toasted chickpeas into the food processor, and let them cool for 15-20 minutes.
While chickpeas are cooling, make the flax egg by soaking the flax meal in 3/4 cup hot water. Mix really well to fully combine flax meal and hot water and leave for 15 minutes. The mixture will become dense and gel-like.
Add parsley, lemon juice and the spices to chickpeas and process until the mixture is well combined and smooth.
Add the flax egg and process for another minute or so.
Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes, until chickpeas are completely cool and the mix has had time to settle and combine.
Bring your favorite frying pan (or a cast iron pan) over medium high heat. Add enough oil to cover the bottom well. Using your hands, form falafels and fry them in the hot oil. These will take 3-5 minutes per side, with the second side usually taking a bit less time to brown. Don’t over-crowd the pan as you do need some space to maneuver the falafels, so be ready to fry them in batches, adding extra oil as needed.
Let the fried falafels rest on some paper towels, which will help absorb any excess oil.
Vegan Olivier Salad with Toasted Sesame Seeds, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Salads come in many different shapes and forms. Some are light and simple, some are complex and filling. Many don’t even have any greens in them, although most do have vegetables, unless they are a fruit salad. It’s this last requirement for vegetables that makes this next dish technically a salad. Olivier Salad, also known as Russian Salad (Ruska Salata) in the parts of the world I grew up in, is the type of a salad you get to enjoy when you don’t have much access to fresh vegetables but have plenty of frozen, pickled or frozen vegetables on hand. And plenty of potatoes, of course.
Growing up, we used to make large bowls of this salad for every special occasion, and serve it as an appetizer. The traditional recipe uses boiled potatoes, carrots, and peas, as well as boiled ham and even eggs, and pickles – all finely diced and mixed with mayo and a bit of mustard. Serve this concoction with fresh bread, and you don’t need much more!
I’ve spruced up this recipe into an amazing vegan feast below by omitting the ham and eggs and using vegan mayo. My secret ingredients? Toasted sesame seeds and fresh dill!
I served this new take on the old favorite at a party recently and people of Russian, Brazilian and US origin all went crazy for it. I suppose deep down we all find messy flavors of mushy vegetables smeared in mayonnaise with hints of pickle juice comforting and lovable!
I hope you give it a try. Looking for one last insider tip? Try it with some corn bread – you will go bananas, I guarantee it!!!
Vegan Olivier “Russian” Salad with Toasted Sesame Seeds
What you’ll need:
2 15 oz (425g) cans peas and diced carrots (or 1 15 oz (425g) can each of sweet peas and diced carrots); you can also boil your own 1 1/2 cup finely diced carrots and the same amount of peas
3 14 oz (400g) cans whole white potatoes, or peel and boil two large potatoes until done
6-8 large kosher dill pickles (not sweet pickles – those will not work here!)
1 cup mayo (vegan)
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 cup toasted sesame seeds (toasted in a toaster oven or on the stove top – if using a stove top method please watch out and use a lid as seeds will start to “jump” out of the pan as they get heated
1 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
What you’ll do:
Chop all the vegetables that need chopping (carrots, potatoes and pickles) finely. Place in a large mixing bowl, add mayo, mustard, toasted sesame seeds, and chopped dill. Mix together until combined and leave in the fridge for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
Serve with crackers, bread, corn bread or enjoy as is!
Breakfast Tacos with Tex-Mex Scrambled Tofu, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Quite frankly, I go back and forth on breakfast. Sometimes I am 100% behind the notion that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And sometimes I get into skipping meals until lunch or later.
At the moment, I am eating mostly raw, and mostly fruit until dinner time (around 5PM) and then have a cooked meal during the work week. But on the weekend, I still enjoy a spot of brunch.
These breakfast tacos are an example of great brunch (weekend breakfast) recipe, when you have a bit more time to put something awesome on your plate. Actually, these tacos could work as lunch or dinner as well – they are rich, with tofu, beans, and corn, and they can be customized with a range of toppings like salsa, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole. Actually, chopped tomatoes, cilantro and a squeeze of lime would work just as well!
Note that if you are looking for something that will taste like an egg, this is not it. Thus scramble is yummy but it is not meant to be egg-like. It stands on its own! For a more egg-like scramble you can try Just Egg – it’s good but it’s not cheap – or my recipe for a vegan scramble.
And to make your brunch a real feast, you can add a side of waffles or pancakes – here I have couple of different recipes such as snickerdoodle pancakes (gluten-free and full of cinnamon) and sweet potato pancakes (gluten-free)!!!
Enjoy!
Breakfast Tacos with Tex-Mex Scrambled Tofu, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Breakfast Tacos with Tex-Mex Scrambled Tofu
What you’ll need:
14 oz (400 g) extra firm tofu, drained and crumbled
4-6 scallions, finely chopped, white and green pieces
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 cup corn kernels (frozen but fully thawed, fresh or canned)
1 15.5 oz (440 g) can, pinto beans (or black beans)
Cooking spray or 1 tablespoon olive oil
8-10 corn tortillas or 4 large burrito wraps, for serving
Drain the block of tofu and place it into a colander to continue draining while you prepare the scallions.
Place a large skillet over the medium high hear, add cooking spray or oil, and add the scallions. Sauté scallions for 3-5 minutes.
While scallions are browning, move the block of tofu into a larger mixing bowl and, using a fork, crumble the tofu into smaller pieces about the size of scrabbled milk pieces.
Add the tofu to scallions. Mix well, add the spices (chili powder and cumin), and scramble everything together.
Add the corn and the beans. If you are using frozen corn and you don’t have time to thaw it, add the corn first, mix well, sauté for 5 minutes then add the beans and sauté for another 3-5 minutes. I do recommend that you thaw your corn first, as it will save you some cooking time.
Warm tortillas in a microwave for 30 seconds, then top with the scramble and any other toppings you enjoy. I like chopped cilantro and finely diced tomatoes!
Red Lentil Pasta with No-Cook Spinach Sauce, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Sometimes you may find yourself in a need of a really, really quick meal. In those cases pasta is always your friend, and no-cook pasta sauces make things even quicker. I know, you can always reach for a jar – and I don’t have anything against jars and pasta sauces. But, pesto and similar type of sauces, or perhaps I should them dressings?, come together in a snap and can help you get out of the tomato-based pasta sauces rut.
Traditionally, pesto is made with basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese. It can be well balanced, but it is often too oily, and the cheese, for those who eat dairy, and olive oil can often overpower the delicate basil flavor.
I prescribe to a very broad definition of what pesto is. To me it usually means a sauce (spread, dressing) made with some green leafy vegetables and/or herbs and nuts – and that’s it! Any combination that gets you there counts as a sort of pesto in my book. You can think of combining green things like basil, spinach, arugula, parsley, mint, kale, on one hand, with pine nuts, almonds, pistachios or seeds of different kind (like pumpkin, sesame or sunflower) on the other hand, and you will end up with a flavorful “pesto”. My examples here include Pumpkin Seed and Parsley Pesto and Kale Pesto with Cashews.
Given that most seeds and nuts have plenty of fat in them, I usually don’t add any additional oil, although drop or two of good quality olive oil can certain enhance the flavors. The recipe below does not use any oil, and I don’t think you will miss it!
Pomegranate molasses is perhaps the only unusual ingredient included in the recipe for this snapy pasta dish. If you’ve never tasted this molasses prepare yourself for something tangy and tart, while at the same time sweet. I like to use it in my pasta sauces as it works as a sort of mix between a bit of balsamic vinegar and a bit of sugar, which some pasta sauces may need. If you don’t have pomegranate molasses on hand (I got mine for a very reasonable price at my local Indian store and I bet Middle Eastern stores would carry it), you can always use some balsamic vinegar. Or, if you are really adventurous, you can mix some balsamic vinegar with some regular molasses or maple syrup in equal parts, and use that instead. You only need a tiny bit to drizzle over the pasta just before serving!
Final note: the recipe below lists red lentil pasta as a ingredient. I like this variety because it has a deeper and nuttier flavor. But: you can of course use any pasta you have on hand. In my view, tubular (think macaroni) or short flat (think bow tie pasta) types of pasta work better with pestos than long ones (think spaghetti) – but this I leave up to you and your pantry!
Red Lentil Pasta with No-Cook Spinach Sauce
What you’ll need:
1 box (12 oz, 340 g) red lentil pasta macaroni
1 lbs (450 g) baby spinach (or chopped frozen spinach that has been fully thawed)
Optional: more molasses (balsamic vinegar) for drizzling on each serving
What you’ll do:
Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the box.
While pasta is cooking, place the rest of the ingredients into a food processor equipped with an S-blade and process until smooth.
When pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water to cool just slightly, then toss with the rich, cream sauce. Serve immediately, or store in the fridge overnight to serve the next day – this dish is definitely a make-ahead friendly!
Serve room temperature and drizzle some pomegranate molasses (or balsamic vinegar) right before serving.
Raw Zucchini Pasta with No-Cook Tomato Sauce, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Confession time: raw food is not really my thing. And I don’t mean salads or smoothies or just munching on fruit or veggie sticks or nuts. That doesn’t count and those I love. And I love different types of quick and easy breakfast ideas, like energy balls or muffins that you can just whip together.
What I mean here is taking something that you feel like should be cooked, for example a soup or maybe a stir-fry and making it raw, or as you may have learned from the recent cookbook review I wrote on “Raw Vegan”, without using temperatures above 150F.
And yet: couple of things I tried actually changed my mind on perhaps not all types of raw food recipes, but definitely on a handful of them. One of the raw foods I like is this quick and super easy and super raw take on spaghetti and marinara sauce.
For spaghetti I use spiralized zucchini noodles aka zoodles. I’ve been using zoodles for some time know and they are fantastic. Even when you do cook them they are done in no time and make a simple pasta-like dish, or stir-fry, or even as that classic – spaghetti and meatballs! They taste great in a salad, with no cooking required, too. So, I suppose it was a no-brainer that they would work with a no-cook tomato sauce.
Speaking of which, the no-cook sauce did need some development to make into something that does not taste like you are just chugging down some canned tomatoes. Adding canned beans (I suppose this may disqualify the recipe from being technically “raw food” but it’s as raw as this one will get) to boost the protein, flavor and creaminess, and adding nutritional yeast really made the flavors pop!
Try this sauce with other things as well, and you will not feel like you are missing anything. For this specific pasta dish, topping everything with some chopped olives (I recommend Kalamata here as they are a bit edgy) will make a great dish even better. Enjoy!
Raw Zucchini Pasta with No-Cook Tomato Marinara Sauce
What you’ll need:
4 large zucchini, spiralized
FOR SAUCE
1 28 oz (800 g) can crushed tomatoes
1 15.5 oz (440 g) can white canelini beans
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon umami spice mix or 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
FOR SERVING
kalamata olives, sliced, for serving
What you’ll do:
Place all the sauce ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth, which should take about a minute.
Pour the sauce over the spiralized zucchini and toss well to combine.
Serve immediately topped with sliced olives and enjoy!!!
Berry Bliss Breakfast Balls, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Never skip your breakfast – at least that’s what everyone keeps telling you! But: breakfast can be hard to fit in, and quite honestly sometimes I just need to get going. For those mornings when you want to be out the door as quickly as you can, it’s good to have something to grab on your way out. And these delicious breakfast balls pack all you need!
These breakfast treats are definitely make ahead – you will not be able to just whip them together if you are in a real hurry. That said, they are not that hard to make. All you need is a food processor and nothing more. The recipe below lists frozen berry mix, but you could use fresh berries or your choice. In that case, you may need to scale up the amount of dry ingredients to keep everything well glued together.
When working with frozen berries in this recipe, it is important to let them thaw completely, and drain the excess liquid out. You don’t need to squeeze them dry but I recommend using a strainer or a slotted spoon to get just the berries. For defrosting, you could use the microwave or you can leave the berries in your fridge for a day or so and they should be ready to go.
To make these breakfast calls sweeter, I recommend that you use same dried medjool dates. These are ultra-sweet dates that can be used instead of sugar. If you don’t have them on hand, you could go with raisins, or skip altogether, depending on how sweet is your fruit.
What makes these balls real breakfast items is the combination of ground hemp seeds, wheat germ, almond meal, and coconut flour. All these add the body to these and will keep you full and going for hours.
The final touch here is just a pinch of ground cardamom in the almond meal that I recommend that you roll your balls in after you form them. You can, of course, customize the spice (cinnamon, nutmeg or even clover come to mind as things that would work), but cardamom just adds something a bit unusual that you may enjoy. If you are looking for additional make-ahead or raw breakfast ideas, here are two versions of muffins for you – a baked one (gluten-free carrot cake muffin), and a raw one. Enjoy!
Berry Bliss Breakfast Balls
What you’ll need (4-6 servings):
2 cups frozen berry mix, defrosted and access liquid decanted
6 medjool dates, pits removed
1/2 cup hulled hemp seed hearts
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 + 1/4 cup almond meal, divided
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
What you’ll do:
Defrost the berry mix in the microwave or overnight in the fridge, then decant the access liquid and reserve for a smoothie or something else.
Place the defrosted berries, dates, and the rest of the ingredients except 1/4 cup almond meal and cardamom, into a food processor and process for 3-5 minutes, until the mix is smooth and combined.
Using a quarter cup measure or an ice cream scoop, scoop out part of the mix, roll it into a ball using your hands, and eat as is, or roll it into the 1/4 cup almond meal mixed with 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom powder. Enjoy for breakfast, or as a dessert. You can also drizzle some melter chocolate for real dessert flavor. The balls keep well for 2-3 days in the fridge, in an air tight container. They are raw, so best to consume them as quickly as you can!
Raw Energy Oatmeal Raisin Muffins, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Few Sundays ago, I shared with you my impressions of a new cookbook on the vegan block – “Modern Raw: Healthy Raw Vegan Meals for a Balanced Life” by Rachel Carr. I’ve been wanting to cut down on cooking for some time, and especially during the summer, so this cookbook came to me in just the right moment. You can read more about my views and check out a recipe kindly provided by the publisher here.
Needless to say, inspired by the raw vegan strategy Rachel outlined, I jumped at the opportunity to start making my own raw experiments. I started with a breakfast item, and a pasta recipe, mostly because many people trying to follow plant-based eating find breakfast to be the most challenging meal, and because I couldn’t imagine that you can have pasta without cooking!
The muffins below are great – sweet without any added sugar, and ready without baking. If you told me that this is possible, I would have rejected your suggestion. Now, of course, I know better, and these muffins – although not having a texture of any muffin you ever tried before – are packed with good-for-you energy and will carry you through your morning.
They are made of carrots, apples, raisins and rolled oats – four ingredients only! And need a bit of help from cinnamon and nutmeg! You need a food processor to make them, since there’s lot of grating and I don’t recommend you undertake this process by hand. And there is also a bit of waiting for these muffins to firm up and come together, so it’s best to make them an evening ahead and them enjoy them for breakfast the next day!
Raw Energy Oatmeal Raisin Muffins, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Raw Energy Oatmeal Raisin Muffins
What you’ll need:
2 apples, cored (Granny Smith, MacIntosh, Pink Lady work best)
3 extra-large carrots, peeled
1 cup raisins
2 cups rolled oats, divided
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
12 walnut halves, optional
What you’ll do:
Using a fine shredding attachment on your food processor or hand-held grater, grate the apples and carrots. Transfer them into a large mixing bowl.
Change the food processor’s attachment to S-blade, then combine 1 cup of rolled oats and raisins. Pulse until finely ground.
Combine with the grated carrots and apples, add the rest of the ingredients (all except walnut halves), and mix well using your hands to help the juices release and combine. Don’t worry if the mix feels wet – oats will absorb some of the excess moisture later. Depending on the exact variety of apples you use, you may end up with a bit too wet of a dough. In that case add 1/4 – 1/2 cup more oats.
Line the muffin pan with the same baking liners you would use for your muffins or cupcakes. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the mix into each muffin holder. Pack in the dough by pressing with your fingers. Top each muffin with a walnut half, or top with rolled oats, or couple of raisin. You can also skip the topping or mix-and-match.
Leave the muffins in the fridge for couple of hours to form up. Before serving take them out and let them come to room temperature – this will take 15 minutes or so. The muffins should slide out of the wrappers with easy and hold well together. If they don’t, you may want to add a bit more ground rolled oats into your dough next time. However, if they do, you will have a delicious, no-bake muffin on your hands – a great way to start your day. Enjoy!
Easy Mediterranean Pasta Salad, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Looking for a great pasta salad recipe? Look no further – this is a pasta salad that even your picky eaters will adore. Just don’t tell them what’s in it, especially if you know that they’ll refuse to eat anything with avocados or chickpeas or cucumbers or olives…
A good choice of pasta will make all the difference to a pasta salad. The best kinds of pastas for salads are short and stout, with lots of nooks and crannies, twists and turns for the dressing to get into. And when it comes to nooks and crannies in the pasta world nothing comes close to radiatori – those little pastas that look like accordions or radiators. You should also cook your pasta al dente (firm to bite) or it will be too mushy, and you should toss the freshly cooked and drained pasta with some olive oil to prevent it from sticking.
While the pasta is cooking you can chop all the vegetables: baby tomatoes, English cucumber, and Kalamata olives. Slice them and dice them any way you prefer. As you can tell from the picture, I usually just split baby tomatoes in half, slice the olives, and dice the cucumber without peeling it. You can adjust and customize, depending how rustic you like your salad to be.
One note on olives. If you can’t get Kalamata olives, you can replace them with any type of olive you can find. I recommend darker ones because they tend to have a stronger, and a bit more bitter, flavor which works well in a salad like this, but green ones will work too.
The very last thing that you will do once the cooked pasta is mixed with diced vegetables, chopped parsley and cooked (or canned) chickpeas, is to mix some dressing. In this case, the dressing is rich, smooth and green – it’s pretty much avocado blended with lots of lemon juice and some mustard.
Toss everything and you are done. This salad is great fresh, but I do recommend that you chill it for an hour or so before serving. Looking for more great pasta ideas? Check this simpler pasta salad, or a real fall (autumn) treat – Radish Salad with Apples, Carrots and Toasted Walnuts. Enjoy!
Easy Mediterranean Pasta Salad
What you’ll need:
1 lbs (454 g) radiattore pasta
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (to prevent pasta from sticking)
1 pint (1 1/2 to 2cups) cherry tomatoes, chopped in half of quarters, depending on size
1 large English cucumber, diced
1-2 cups Kalamata olives, sliced
1 15.5oz (439g) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and pat dried
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
DRESSING
1 avocado
1 lemon, juice only
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
What you’ll do:
Cook the pasta in salted water using the instructions on the box and subtracting a minute or so. You want the pasta to be al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta, then place into a large mixing bowl and toss with olive oil.
While pasta is cooking, chop the tomatoes, cucumber and olives. Add to cooked pasta together with the chickpeas and parsley. If you are using canned chickpeas make sure they are drained, rinsed and dried to avoid adding access water/liquid into your salad.
In a blender, combine lemon juice, avocado and mustard. Blend until silky and smooth.
Pour the dressing over the salad, toss to combine and coat, and chill for an hour or so before serving. Enjoy!
Eat the Vegan Rainbow 