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Tangy Mango Hemp Cilantro Dressing

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Mango hemp cilantro dressing

I was having a major craving for a crisp, romaine salad with a cilantro dressing last night. I always have lots of cilantro in the fridge and I was ready to create something new. I threw a bunch of ingredients into my mixing cup and searched the fridge for cilantro, only to find two half used bags of mostly spoiled cilantro. *Long deep sigh*

I could have easily just blended the ingredients I had and added some basil instead but that’s not what I was wanting. My body needed cilantro! My husband was so sweet to drive me to the store so I could run in and grab some. Thank you giant grocery store on the corner for having a decent size organic section with plenty of fresh cilantro bunches!

Here’s what I came up with for the dressing…

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mango
1 TBLS plus 2 tsp Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
1 small garlic clove
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 TBLS hemp seed
1 TBLS fresh lime juice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
* 1 or 2 tsp of 100% pure maple syrup (optional if you’re like me and you like a sweeter dressing)
* pinch of salt (optional)
* chopped green onion or chives for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a blender like a Vitamix, blend mango, vinegar, garlic, ginger, hemp seed, lime juice, maple syrup and salt until smooth. Add chopped cilantro and stir it into the dressing. 

Pour over your favorite greens and add green onion or chives for garnish. You can also top your salad with another tablespoon of hemp seeds.

For my salad, I used romaine lettuce, cucumber noodles, mango chunks, fresh tomatoes and a handful of thinly sliced purple cabbage. 

Enjoy!

Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Mango Sauce

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zucchini noodles avo mango sauce

Sometimes you just want something different. That was me last week at dinner time. Standing in front of the refrigerator, staring blankly at its contents, I knew I wanted a savory noodle dish of some sort but I wasn’t sure what. I had part of an incredible Reed avocado that I needed to use up and I searched the fridge for additional ingredients to throw together. This avocado mango sauce is what I came up with. 

It was super creamy and a little tangy and it hit the spot.

Ingredients:

16 oz zucchini spiralized or julienned into noodles
1/2 cup green cabbage
1/2 cup purple cabbage
1 1/4 cups red bell pepper cut into thin, 1 inch strips
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, more if you love cilantro like I do
5 medium basil leaves chopped or cut into thin strips
1/3 cup avocado
1 cup sweet, ripe mango like a kent, haden or keitt
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 TBLS fresh lime juice
*2 tsp tamari or coconut aminos (optional)

Directions:

Spiralize or Julienne zucchini into noodles and place in a large bowl. Add cabbage, bell pepper, cilantro and basil

Blend avocado, mango, celery, lime and optional tamari and pour over noodles. Gently mix noodles and sauce together

Can be garnished with fresh chives for additional flavor

Many blessings!

Sweet Lo Mein Noodles

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Lo Mein Noodles

Chinese food was always a favorite of mine before following a raw food diet, so I was super excited to find this incredible dish from The Raw Caterer, which I purchase often at my local farmers market. It’s so delicious! It’s definitely one for those who like SWEET, savory meals. I keep begging them to release a recipe book because their food is SO GOOD! Hopefully someday soon, they will. Until then, they were so kind to share the ingredients used in this recipe. However, I don’t know their exact measurements and because I’m making much smaller batches, I had to modify the ingredients a little to be able to blend it properly.

This is reminiscent of the sweet dishes you might find at PF Changs or other Asian restaurants.  

Ingredients:

16 oz. zucchini (spiralized or julienned into noodles)
1 medium red bell pepper cut into thin, 1 inch strips
1 cup green or purple cabbage thinly sliced
1 or 2 button mushrooms or your favorite mushrooms thinly sliced *see additional mushroom options below
1 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of mango or if you’re allergic to mango you could substitute celery
1 TBLS Tamari or Coconut Aminos
1 small clove of garlic
1 thin slice of jalapeño, add more if you like more heat
1 tsp of finely diced fresh ginger

* For the mushrooms, I actually prefer the flavor and texture of dried mushrooms. I like to dry shiitake mushrooms in the dehydrator and then slice them and mix them in with the noodles and sauce. They taste more mild and I like the consistency better. I also slice and then dry portobello mushrooms too. I’ll break them up and put a small handful in the dish instead of shiitake. Button mushrooms will also work great if you decide to go this route. If you like fresh mushrooms, no need to dry them, just slice and add them to the dish. You can also slice and marinate fresh mushrooms in tamari, or coconut aminos, for 20 minutes before adding them to the noodles for enhanced flavor.

Directions:

Combine zucchini noodles, cabbage, bell pepper and mushrooms in a large bowl. I sometimes like to add thinly sliced celery to this dish for added flavor.

For the sauce, using a small blender like a Nutri Bullet or Smart stick, blend raisins, mango, tamari, garlic, jalapeño and ginger until smooth or almost smooth. Pour over noodles and mix gently until all ingredients are combined well. 

Sauce will be thick but once properly mixed with zucchini noodles, it will thin out and cover noodles well. 

Hǎo wèikǒu
好胃口
That’s enjoy your meal in Chinese!

Raw Savory Vegetable “Rice”

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Vegetable rice

When you’re in the mood for something a little more dense, filling and savory, instead of reaching for cooked carbs, try a raw vegan, savory vegetable “rice” dish. This recipe can be a delicious and filling meal on its own, or paired with a salad, used as a filling to stuff peppers or tomatoes, and would even be great stuffed into lettuce leaves for a yummy wrap! This was often my go-to meal when I was really needing something other than my usual salad.

Savory Vegetable “Rice” Ingredients:

1 medium or small romanesque cauliflower or regular cauliflower (2 1/2 cups of cauliflower pieces before processed)
1 small kohlrabi peeled and cut (*optional)
1 large, ripe, red bell pepper approximately a 6 oz. sized pepper stemmed and seeded (half cut up in pieces, the other half set aside for sauce)
2 persian cucumbers or 6 oz. (or 1 small regular cucumber peeled) julienned into 1 inch noodles (zucchini can be substituted)
3 1/2 cups of cherry or vine ripened tomatoes (2 cups for sauce and 1 1/2 cups cut up for rice)
4 large stalks of celery approximately 11 oz. (6-7 oz. roughly chopped for the sauce and 3-4 oz. finely chopped for rice)
1/2 cup of fine carrot peelings
1/2 cup of pre-soaked sun dried tomatoes (soaked in warm water, preferably for an hour or more depending on thickness) a few pieces for the sauce and the rest for the rice
1 1/2 medjool dates (pitted) OR for better food combining – a 1/2 cup or so of a sweet tasting mango or apple 
15-20 medium sized sweet basil leaves (10 or so for sauce, and the left over for garnish)
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries for garnish (*optional)

Directions:

For rice
Break apart the romanesque or cauliflower and put the pieces along with the peeled & cut stem into the Vitamix or food processor
Add the peeled and cut kohlrabi and blend, or process, both until it becomes a small rice sized consistency

Pour into a large bowl
Add your cut up bell pepper pieces, cucumber (or zucchini) noodles, finely diced celery, chopped tomatoes, fine carrot peelings, and your cut up, soaked sun dried tomatoes

For sauce
In a blender like the Vitamix, blend 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, 1/2 of your red bell pepper, 3 stalks of celery roughly chopped, 1 1/2 pitted medjool dates OR ( you can substitute the dates with a sub-acid fruit like 1/2 cup of mango or sweet apple like a Fuji.)

Blend until all ingredients are mixed well but not too smooth

Add chopped basil to the sauce and stir, or pulse in basil leaves. Be careful not to blend basil because it can become bitter and the basil flavor can get lost in the sauce.

Pour sauce over rice and mix together

Garnish with fresh sweet basil and optional blueberries

You can also add fresh organic corn, chives, cilantro and a pinch of cumin for a Mexican style rice dish!

Raw Savory Vegetable “Rice” Recipe Video