Salty Wasabi Almonds

Wasabi soy Almonds are a wonderful snack! Everyone in my family absolutely loves them!

Wasabi is Japanese horseradish and is actually the gnarled root of a plant that is a member of the cabbage family.

Wasabi is great for digestion because it contains enzymes that digest proteins. Besides the fact that it wasabi cleanses the palate, it is also used as an antidote for fish poisoning and maybe why it is an important part of Japanese cuisine.

Wasabi is a heating food and is kapha balancing.

Wasabi Soy Almonds

4 cups almonds (soaked overnight)

1 cup Bragg’s Liquid Amino’s or Nama Shoyu

1/4 cup powdered wasabi

Soak almonds overnight. The next morning mix Bragg’s and powdered wasabi. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add wasabi soy mixture to almonds and let soak for 1 hour. Drain off excess liquid and place almonds on a dehydrator tray. Dehydrate for 24-28 hours at 115 degrees. Make sure you save some for yourself because if your family knows they are around, they are gone immediately.

These are great to throw in the kids lunches for a power packed snack! What’s your favorite snack?

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. ~Patanjali

xoxo

Michelle

Super Delicious Broccoli Salad

Wow. Its that time of year when we are getting ready for Thanksgiving and other holiday festivities in which we come together and share food!

Being that my youngest daughter and I are the only veg-heads in the family, the side dishes are our favorite part of the meal and this recipe is a great addition! Hearty and delicious!

Delicious Broccoli Salad:

1 bunch broccoli, cut into bite sized chuncks
1 handful almonds
1 cup scallions, or green onions
¾ cup raisins, currants or olives
DRESSING BLEND:
1 cup coconut milk
½ cup tahini
½ cup red onion
1 whole lemon, juiced
½ whole jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons oil, to taste
2 tablespoons vinegar, to taste
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon corriander
1 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
1 teaspoon ginger, (optional)
1 Tablespoon agave, to taste

Cut and toss body ingredients into a bowl.

Blend dressing ingredients in a blender, add to body ingredients, massage together and enjoy!

Broccoli is cooling in nature, and helps reduce eye inflammation. It is slightly diuretic in action. Broccoli reduces pitta and kapha. Broccoli contains twice the vitamin C as an orange, and almost as much calcium as whole milk-and its calcium is better absorbed by our bodies. Broccoli contains selenium, is a modest source of vitamin A and alpha-tocopherol vitamin E, and has value as an antioxidant.

(The leafy greens–not the blossoms–offer the most nutrients)

Interestingly enough, raw broccoli and broccoli sprouts offer the highest amount of support to people with stomach problems. This is because many stomach problems have been linked in research studies with overgrowth of a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, and also with excessive attachment of this bacterium to the inner stomach lining. Raw broccoli and broccoli sprouts provide special stomach support with respect to these unwanted overgrowth and over-attachment circumstances. Since half of our immune system is in our digestive tract, broccoli is a great immune system booster!

Broccoli is also concentrated in phytonutrients. In one particular phytonutrient category—glucosinolates—broccoli is simply outstanding. The isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from broccoli’s glucosinolates are the key to broccoli’s cancer-preventive benefits.

Yumm.

Noah and I also served this salad at our wedding, everyone loved it!

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season!

Pray for snow!

xoxoxox

Michelle

Sources:

WHWFoods: Broccoli

Simply Divine Chocolate Macaroons

Chocolate is so heavenly! I am constantly amazed about how much people love these decadent treats! They are simply gluten free bliss!

Ingredients for Chocolate Macaroons:

3 cups dried, unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup carob powder

3/4 cup maple syrup or agave

1/3 cup coconut butter

1 tablespoon vanilla extract or powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

To make Chocolate Macaroons:

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir well to combine.

Using a small ice cream scoop, your hands, or a big tablespoon, spoon rounds of the dough onto dehydrator screens. If using your hands, it helps to have a bowl of water to wet your hands so macaroon mix does not stick. I find it easiest just to let my macaroons sit out on the counter overnight. They end of perfect the next day! You may also choose to dehydrate at 115 degrees for about 6 hours, or until crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. you may also choose to put them in the freezer for a frozen treat or simply dehydrate in oven by turning it off and on till desired consistency is reached.

You may also use all carob or all chocolate in your recipe. I find that a little chocolate goes a long way!

Benefits of Raw Cacao:

Magnesium: This is one of the most essential minerals, yet studies say that more than 80% of the United States’ population is deficient in magnesium. In nature, the most concentrated source of magnesium is raw cacao! Other good sources of the mineral include certain nuts and any chlorophyll molecule. Magnesium supports the heart, increases brain power, relaxes muscles, increases flexibility, causes healthy bowl movements, and helps build string bones. As one of the body’s primary alkaline minerals, magnesium assists the normal functioning of several chemical enzymatic processes — facilitating more then three hundred different detoxification and elimination functions.

Chromium: This mineral helps balance blood sugar levels, and cacao has ten times the amount of chromium as whole wheat, a chromium-rich food, making it the highest food source of this mineral.

Antioxidant Power: Raw cacao beans are super-rich in antioxidant flavonols. They contain 10,000 mg (10 grams) of flavonol antioxidants (that’s a 10% concentration level!). This makes cacao possibly the best source of antioxidants, with twenty to thirty times more than red wine or green tea.

Vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, C, and E are all present in significant quantities.

Other nutrients: Fiber, iron, niacin, phosphorus, as well as hundreds of other chemicals and phytonutrients (special plant nutrients) are found in cacao.

Pure Chocolate Bliss,

Michelle

xoxo

Zucchini Rolls

This recipe is one of our family favorites, packed with delicious flavors and exciting textures. Many people tell me that they cannot eat raw food because its so cooling. It can be if you are eating it right out of the fridge! Pine nuts, basil, nutmeg and garlic are all warming foods, couple that with placing your dish in the dehydrator for a couple of hours or in the oven on a low temperature for 20 minutes, and you still have a raw dish that is warm!

This recipe might be a little labor intensive because it has many different parts and steps but its well worth the time and effort! Let me know how yours turns out!

Zucchini Rolls:

4 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into very thin slices. Its easiest to use a mandolin slicer.

Ricotta:

2 cups pine nuts or raw cashews or walnuts

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (gives ricotta a more “cheesy” flavor)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

6 tablespoons of water (or coconut water or rejuvelac)

Blend until smooth and fluffy.

Pesto:

2 cups packed basil leaves

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (soaked one hour)

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

2-3 cloves of garlic (or as much as you want to taste)

pepper to taste

Blend in blender until you reach desired

consistency.

Marinara:

1 teaspoon ginger

2 tablespoons garlic

1 teaspoon jalapeno

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes

2 green olives

1/4 cup shallots or red onion

1/3 cup basil leaves

1/3 cup red bell pepper

1/4 cup oregano leaves

1/2 cup strawberries

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup nama shoyu (or tamari for gluten sensitive people)

1 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine

blend together so that it is still slightly chunky.

To make rolls:

*Pour half of marinara into a 9 by 13 baking dish.

*Lay out zucchini place dallops of ricotta and pesto on zucchini and roll up.

*Place rolls into baking dish and pour other half of marinara on top of rolls.

*Serve at room temperature.

**If you like them slightly warm, place in dehydrator for a couple of hours before you are ready to serve. If you do not have a dehydrator you may put them in oven on low for about 20-30 minutes. Enjoy!

This delicious dish has it all in one power packed meal! I absolutely love the pesto, cheese and the marinara in this recipe!

Basil is rich in antioxidants, which help boost immunity. It’s also an antimicrobial, which fights the germs that can cause colds.

Nutmeg is a “warming spice” that can bring blood from the center of the body to the skin. This helps disperse the blood more evenly throughout the body, reducing overall pressure.

Since the 1950’s there have been more than 2,700 articles that have been published about the health benefits of garlic, this would include, digestive and respiratory problems, fatigue, bacterial infections, toothache, arthritis, and heart disease. Wow! It’s a good thing I enjoy garlic!

Lycopene, although not an essential nutrient for humans, research has shown an inverse correlation between consumption of tomatoes and cancer risk, lycopene has been considered a potential agent for the prevention of some types of cancers, particularly prostate cancer.

xoxoxxo

Michelle