NEW FOODS, NEW OUTLOOK :)

New. That's the word I want to start off this post with for many reasons. First off, this whole raw, vegan, clean eating food thing is so NEW to me. I am in no way an expert, I don't follow specific rules and I don't have a specific type of eating style. I am trying to figure out what I can eat that doesn't throw my digestive system completely out of whack, foods that I actually enjoy eating. That doesn't mean that I eat only raw and vegan foods, however, everything I do eat is clean. I make sure everything is a whole food and a third grader can pronounce the ingredients in the packaging. Everything I get to learn about is so eye opening! I have never known how incredible the benefits of food can be! Secondly, all of these foods I have made are completely NEW to me. Half of the stuff I can't pronounce (muesli) or have never heard of, it's like there is a whole new world out there! Thirdly, everything I have made has been delicious and hard to believe good for me! I am developing a whole NEW outlook on the concept of food. Ok now onto what I have been experimenting with this week! First off, anyone who wants to eat raw and is intimidated by it, get the book Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet. My first three dishes came from her book and all I needed was a food processor!

First up: Homemade raw marinara sauce with zucchini pasta. Surprisingly this dish tricks your taste buds into thinking it is real pasta you are eating! I used a vegetable peeler to make thin slices of the zucchini but I can NOT wait to purchase a vegetable spiralizer! That thing actually turns the vegetables into real noodle sizes! The sauce was OMG good and I plan on using the rest of it tonight on a whole wheat veggie pizza! The only con about the dish is that you can't let the zucchini noodles sit in the pasta sauce too long because they get watery. I am not gonna post the recipe for copyright reasons but if ya see me in person, Ill be happy to share. In the meantime, here is Jennifer's video on making it herself.

http://youtu.be/eLi5657CSos

and my creation:

Second dish of the night: DESSERT!! My favorite meal of the day! I made raw strawberry chocolate torte! AHHHMAAZZIINNGG and you will never guess that the key ingredient to creaminess is avocado!! You can't even taste it and best of all there is no dairy, refined sugar, eggs, oil, or butter! The crust is made out of almonds and dates. The filling has avocado, coco powder, agave nectar, salt, and dates. My room mates and I ate out of the dish with forks, so so good and you don't have to feel guilty about it!

My third dish out of the book is "Not Tuna Pate": This is a substitute for tuna or chicken salad. You can use it on sandwiches, to dip veggie sticks in or throw it on top of a salad (my favorite way). The main ingredient is sunflower seeds, it also has celery, red onion, dill, salt, carrots, and parsley. I have eaten it for the past three days and it seriously is way better than stinky tuna salad! It is a hearty dish, perfect for a rib sticking lunch. I put mine on a bed of mixed greens topped with red pepper, cucumbers, raisins and a tablespoon of lite dressing. A pate is a spread or dip made mainly out of nuts, I had never heard of that word before this dish. Only con about this dish is you have to soak the nuts the night before you make it, I am usually to impatient for that, I wanted to make it right away! Here is Jennifer's youtube video of her making it: http://youtu.be/HK4EdmliApM

 gorgeous :)

Now for a recipe you can finally have! Whole Wheat vegan pancakes!! I can't tell you how long I have had a craving for pancakes but these hit the spot! No eggs, no butter, no dairy, no oil! BOOM! good for you pancakes?! HECK YES! These are by far the easiest things to make too! Below picture is what you need.

Whole Wheat Vegan Banana Pancakes with Chocolate Chips:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 banana mashed up (other half for garnish)
1 cup water
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup so delicious coconut milk french vanilla creamer
3 drops liquid stevia
Small handful of dairy free chocolate chips
Topped of with 2 tbsp pure maple syrup or honey

Oil a pan, pour into circles, flip and WHAM BAM best pancakes ever! I ate half last night and the other half this morning, yummy in my tummy!

All of these items can be found at Earth Fare or healthy home market! They are a bit more pricey than regular grocery stores but most of my stuff lasts forever and healthy home market always has good sales! I hope y'all get to make these yummy feel good recipes! I am going to make that whole wheat veggie pizza and I will let y'all know how that turns out. Spoiler Alert: the pizza dough has beer in it!!  HAPPY HEALTHY EATING EVERYONE!