Sweet Treat: Rawlicious Choco Cookie Dough Bites

It's late June and summer has finally arrived.  While i'm looking forward to this July 4th weekend and all the BBQ's, decadent foods and drinks, bike rides, and socializing that's to be had, i'm equally looking forward to bringing in beach season (and my desire to feel my best in my bikini) by participating in (and leading) a 20 day cleanse starting the end of next week.  With that said....i have 7 days left to enjoy the richness of life (though i always like to keep it with a cleaner approach).  So for my last hoorah, and to inspire you how to clean up your fave cookie dough recipe, here's a great approach for a safe to eat chocolate chip cookie dough that never needs to be cooked.

Here's what you'll need:

a vitamix blender or other high powered mill (food processor or coffee mill will work - though you'd have to do the coffee mill in batches)
1 cup cashew pieces
1/2 cup gluten free raw oats (bob's red mill)
approx 3 tbsp agave nectar
approx 1 -2 tbsp water
cinnamon
vanilla
sea salt
a few handfuls of chocolate chips (or use cacao nibs for a full raw experience)


Toss the cashew pieces and oats into your vitamix blender (or other high powered mill like a food processor or coffee mill in batches).  Grind down to a fine powder/flour.  Add the agave nectar to your flour, a dash or two of cinnamon, a tbsp of water, a crank of sea salt, and about a tsp of vanilla extract.  Blend again.  If dough is stingy add a little more water to get things moving, but make sure you keep it a thick dough.  Remove your dough from the blender, set in a small mixing bowl, and stir in a few handfuls of the best choco chips you can find.  Take small spoonfuls to roll between your hands, place on a parchment lined plate and place in your fridge or freezer.  My batch yielded about 13 balls, though if i didn't eat so much dough in the process i might have 15 total.  :)

Craving Something Crunchy? Shamelessly Indulge In Kale Crisps

You know how sometimes you wander into the kitchen looking for something, but you don't know what it is? Then it hits you...i want something CRUNCHY! Inevitably, there is a bag of chips or pretzels, or even scarier a box of cookies. Not thinking too much about it we reach in and take a nibble....then another....then another.....and yet one more....next thing you know half the bag is gone and you still haven't received any nutrients so your body is wanting something MORE! Sure you can go to the store and buy kale chips or flax chips to have on hand, however a small bag puts you out nearly $7.00. In today's economy who has that kind of dough, plus who's to say you're gonna dig the flavor? Today's lesson is to make your own veggie based crisps to suit your tastes. All you need is about $2 for a bunch of kale (mine was $1.88), olive oil, nutritional yeast (which beyond a ton of B vitamins and protein, adds a cheese-like taste and 'cheetos' powder quality), and add any flavors to suit your palate. I am a sucker for the sweet and salty combination, which just so happened to work amazing with this latest kitchen creation. If you're a sweet, salty, crunchy lover too, follow the recipe exact and i promise you....you and your little ones won't be let down!

* You'll Need A Dehydrator 
(if you don't have one you can make my Baked Kale Chips recipe HERE)

Other Things You'll Need For Your Kale Crisps:

1 bunch of lacinato kale (pictured) or curly kale
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 & 1/2 Tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp spirulina
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

Feeling Chip'er:

Trim the bottom of the kale about two inches and toss or compost.
Clean and lightly pat your kale leaves dry.
Remove the thick stem from each kale leaf, leaving the leaf connected about 1-2 inches from the top if possible where the thinner stem can remain. (stems left in can become stick-like and inedible after dehydrating for extended periods)
Cut the remainder of the leaves in half or into thirds (depending how long your leaves are), leaving each section about 3 inches in length. These will be your chips (they shrink as they dehydrate). These are delicate chips, so be gentle the remainder of this process. Place your kale in the largest mixing bowl your kitchen has to offer.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil
Add 1 & 1/2 tbsp agave

GENTLY toss to coat well with your hands. Pick up leaves and rub the under-side against/between your palms lightly to coat all leaves well. Make sure not to over massage the leaves, as this will make them weaker and you'll be left with chip scraps in the end. (The curly kale tends to stand up to massaging better, as their leaves are generally wider)

Sprinkle in sea salt, spirulina, and 1/2 the nutritional yeast.

Again, GENTLY toss with hands to coat the leaves well and to evenly distribute.

Add remaining nutritional yeast, and toss one more time gently rubbing the yeast flakes into the leaves.

Pull out your handy dandy dehydrator. Set temp around 118 degrees. Lay the kale leaves out flat on the dehydrator racks trying not to overlap leaves too much. Check after an hour and a half or two, flipping leaves and rotating the trays. It will take at least four hours to reach dryness (depending on size of leaves). The smaller the kale/chip, the faster they dry, however leaving them in the dehydrator for an extended period (6-8 hours) will not do anything other than make them extra crispy and even more fahhhhh-bulous.

These chips are so freakin' good...i wouldn't be at all surprised if you double or even triple each additional batch you make. (The end product is MUCH smaller than what you start with). Store them in an airtight glass container.

Chomp Away! The good thing is, it's pretty hard to feel bad about eating too much kale and spirulina.

Rawkin' Rolls, No Bean Hummus, & Sunny Patties

A year or two back i featured Rawk N' Rolls.  These raw sammies, wrapped in big leafy greens, make a super healthy light lunch or snack.  This go around i used big collard leaves and spread on 'no bean hummus', an uber-easy recipe below great for those of us who find garbanzo beans to make us, well, how can i say this politely?... Airy.  I also crumbled in raw sunflower seed patties.  These veggie patties are made with veggies, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds and are easy to make but do require a dehydrator.  Click this link to get the tutorial on how to roll up these sammies, and read on for the 'no bean hummus' and 'sunflower seed patty recipes'.

No Bean Hummus:

This is a delicious zucchini and tahini based hummus that packs in great nutrients sans any bloat-worthy beans.

1 - 2 medium peeled zucchinis
1/2 -3/4 cup tahini
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin
juice from one to two lemons
sea salt

Blend everything in a vita-mix blender for a very creamy consistency.  You can also do in a food processor, but the texture isn't quite as creamy.  

The amount of tahini you'll need will depend on how thick your tahini is.  If you have a thinner tahini you'll need less zucchini (start with one).  If your tahini is a very thick paste, you'll be fine with two medium zucchinis.  Add garlic, cumin, sea salt, and lemon juice to taste.

Sunflower Seed Patties:

These patties turned out sweet and savory.  You'll need a dehydrator to make them or you can try drying out in the sun, or in an open oven on a very low temp.  The original recipe featured below is from Nomi Shannon in The Complete Book of Raw Food.  I made some adjustments to this recipe based on what was and wasn't in my fridge.  Mine had no celery and no parsley, but i did add a bunch of dried herbs and a small amount of stevia and honey since i like a sweet, salty combo.  I also kept the sunflower seeds whole since i had soaked them, and lessened the amount of water i added since i merely shredded the carrots rather than juicing them.  

6 Tbsps of flax seeds, ground in an electric coffee grinder
3/4 cup of water
2 cups sunflower seeds, ground in the electric coffee grinder
2 cups carrot pulp (from 4-6 carrots, juiced)
1 cup finely minced celery
3/4 cup finely miced onion
4 Tbsps finely minced red pepper
4 Tbsps finely minced parsley
1 Tbsp tamari

Make the carrot pulp by juicing the carrots.  In a blender combine the flax seed and water.  Put the mixture into a bowl and immediately rinse the blender before the mixture thickens and adheres.  

Into that bowl stir together all the ingredients, adding more water only if necessary for the burger to have consistency.

Form the mixture into patties and dehydrate for 4-8 hours at a low setting (around 115 degrees)

Go Raw Overnight

Sometimes mornings need to be on the fly, and there is little time for breakfast.  That's when overnight cereals are the perfect remedy.  This time i used Go Raw Buckwheat granola.  Their products are high quality, but since they're dehydrated sometimes the dried fruits are uber-hard (like i'm talking crack your tooth on it hard).  Being so, i soaked the granola overnight in the fridgey and came up with this fabulous porridge that takes no effort to make.  Enjoy!

you'll need to buy this....

Go Raw Overnight   :)

1 cup of Go Raw Cereal

1 cup of almond milk, i recommend to DIY

1 tsp chia seed

1/3 scoop vanilla protein powder (i use Sun Warrior Warrior Blend)

1/2 ripe banana

strawberries or any fruit you'd like to enjoy it with

bee pollen, optional

Blend the almond milk with protein powder and vanilla.  Stir this with the Go Raw cereal and chia.  Cover and store in the fridge overnight.  This will rehydrate and drink up all the liquid.  It makes two to three servings.  

Serve about 1/2 cup in a bowl with sliced strawberries, additional almond milk, and top with bee pollen.

Raw 4 Life & Honeydew Gazpacho

While i'm not a 'raw foodist' or even eat entirely raw, my diet is made up of primarily raw foods (even more so in the summer months).  I eat much produce, nuts, seeds, sprouted foods, and pile in the leafy greens like they're going out of style.  I drink smoothies, and eat raw soups, salads, and occasionally enjoy sashimi.  This all makes me feel FANTASTIC.  I've corrected the digestive distresses I suffered from all my life by eliminating dairy, gluten, soy, processed foods, and eating a high plant based, high-raw, high fiber diet.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of galavanting around Venice with some of my dearest girlfriends.  Rose Ave. (where i used to live, then a bit rough) is now a thriving little mecca filled with unique boutiques, restaurants, a yoga studio, wine bar, a huge Whole Foods, moon juice bar, and my favorite place to eat, Cafe Gratitude.  I've loved this place ever since i stepped foot in the San Fran location years back.  side note:  Ironically, i bought the cafe cookbook back then but i've still yet to ever crack it open.  hmmmm, need to get on that.  The cafe has raw and cooked plates, it's all organic, all made from scratch with lots of love, and it's all absolutely out of this world.  I was so inspired by one of the soups i had, that i tried my hand at recreating it at home.  While my version didn't match the cafe's, it's still super impressive on the palette.  I wonder if the recipe i seek is in the aforementioned cookbook buried deep in my cookbook shelf??  hmmmm....

Scroll down for my recipe:  honeydew gazpacho.

This whole week i've been eating nothing but raw food.  I feel fantastic, my skin is glowing, and i've lost any bloat i was holding onto.  I'm slowly detoxing out my celebratory summer and inviting in a still warm fall with delicious healing foods.

"I am Fulfilled" from Cafe Gratitude.  Ohh Myy Yumm.

PS - San Diegans' just got healthier with the opening of Go Raw Life Center in Liberty Station.  You may have seen some of the Go Raw products at your local health shop before.  This primarily take out cafe offers organic juices, smoothies, raw food cleanses, and all the products you'd normally see in store.  A great spot to dip into if you need a small, quick -on the go- healthy bite.  I tried their green smoothie, raw lasagna, and green salad with sweet basil dressing.  Everything was yummy.  It wasn't gourmet per se, and it's clear they don't focus on presentation, but they do a fabulous job at making healthy raw foods accessible to the public at rediculously low price points (one week cleanses for under $175 and organic green smoothies for $5 or $6).  Plus everyone in there was sweet as pie and open to answer any questions!  It's definitely a spot i'll dip into to pick up foods when i'm not feeling like prepping in the kitch.

raw lasagna from Go Raw

RECIPE Du'JOUR:  Honeydew Gazpacho

1 cup coconut water
1/4 of a small ripe avocado
1 small peeled persian cucumber, chopped
big wedge of honeydew chopped, about 1/4 of a small honeydew melon
*optionally stevia to sweeten

1 - 2 tbsp of coconut meat (dried or fresh)
1 small handful of spinach (or cilantro or mint would be great too)

Blend first four ingredients together in a Vitamix.  You may need more or less honeydew based on how sweet yours is.  Mine wasn't super sweet so i added 4 drops of liquid stevia.

Once your base is blended, toss in a small handful of spinach, a tbsp or two of either dried or fresh coconut meat, and optionally a little more avocado.  Pulse gently from the lowest setting on your vitamix just to break these into chunky bits.

Pour into a bowl and garnish.  I added coconut flakes, purple grapes, and bee pollen, but something pink like a little beet juice swirled in would look beautiful on there too!

I'm On A (sushi) Roll : Your DIY Raw Vegan Sushi Tutorial

From Miss Sushi at the San Diego's Public Market

San Diegan's if you haven't heard about our new Public Market yet in Barrio Logan, then listen up.  With plans to be San Diego's equivalent to Seattle's Pike Place and San Fran's Embarcadero, the San Diego Public Market is promising to make a less than thriving area off the Gaslamp come into full bloom.

San Diego's Public Market in Barrio Logan

Located in an old boiler building just past Petco Stadium you'll find some of your favorite farmers and vendors you'd normally seek out at the little italy and hillcrest market's plus a few newbies.  By april the market will be expanding full block with artisans, market places, air-streams, a cider mill, cheese and sausage makers, and many local chef's offerings.

lots of vendors

i heart stone fruit

the cinnamon sugared almonds are stupidly addicting, you're best not even going there.

music

Andy chose fish for breakfast.  He sampled oysters, then hit the Miss Sushi truck.  The most awesome thing i noticed about this truck is they have REAL CRAB!!!  And for those that need something sweet and decadent i saw a banana tempura which i think might have nutella and whip cream.  Last i checked that wasn't japanese food, but i know us Americans love to take cultural foods and have our way with them (as you'll see me do below :)

miss sushi has real crab!

So here's my personal story of sushi.  

I love sushi.  I love everything about going to a sushi bar:  sitting at the bar and watching the sushi chefs and their presentations, drinking sake out of mini cups that reminds me of tea parties i had in my youth, eating with two straight wooden sticks, enjoying Hamachi that melts in my mouth, getting zapped with a hit too much wasabi, and having a chunk of avocado creaminess dance across my palette.  I might say sushi is a little addiction...and i may have went through a period where i ate barely anything other than sushi.  That said, there are a few things that disappoint me about sushi.

1. Tempura - why does every good sounding roll on the menu need to be fried?

2. Fake Krab - you know this sh*t has MSG in it and a bunch of other crap that is no bueno - it's a far cry from healthy fish food.

3. White Rice.  UGH.  I don't want to fill up on rice, especially the white stuff, and especially at night.  There are a few restaurants that do rolls without, and i know sashimi is always an options, but let's be real: Rolls are fun!

4.  There are not ever enough veggie roll variations on the menu.  And surely NEVER an all raw sushi using cauliflower, jicama, or parsnip rice.  note:  this is where i come in and adjust cultural foods to suit my palette. 

So here's your DIY Raw Vegan Sushi tutorial

Step 1.  Start by making your raw rice.  You can use cauliflower, jicama, or parnsip.  I used half a head of cauliflower here and it made enough for 2 rolls.

chop the cauliflower and put into a food processor with and S blade.
Grind down until it looks like rice.  I added a tiny bit agave and a little rice vinegar

Step 2.  Place a bamboo mat on a flat surface.  Put a piece of nori on the mat lining up the end of the nori with the mat end closest to you.  Put your raw rice on about 2/3 the roll starting from the end closest to you leaving plain nori on the back end.

Step 3.  Get your fillings in there.  You don't want to over fill...you need room to roll and you don't want it so big that you can fit it in your pie hole!  I used 1 baby carrot cut long 8 times for both rolls, 2 spring onion cut in half, real kraut from the farmers market (pink because it's made with beets), a few avocado slices, and lots of sprouts...but you can get creative here and toss in anything your sweet heart desires.  If getting fish make sure it's sushi grade from a good source.

Step 4.  Get Rolling.  Fold the end closest to you over to wrap all the belongings in.  It most likley will fold to the end of your rice.  Use both hands on the mat to squeeze gently and tighten your roll.  Pull back the top enge of the mat so you can continue to roll to the end.

It should be wet enough for the end to stick it together, but if the end isn't sealing you can use a tiny dab of water on the end to seal it up.

Step 5.  Let it sit a moment.  Using a sharp clean knife.  Cut your sushi.

The wasabi powder i get you simply just mix with warm water.  You can pick up pickled ginger too if you're a pickled ginger freak, but i like to use my kraut...it's healthier :)

Step 6.  Plate and enjoy.  

Kampai!

What The Fig, That's a Load of Kraut!

Wanna get figg'd up?

In an attempt to rebalance my body after 2 weeks of travel and over-indulgences, i'm wetting my whistle with this seasons finest naturally cleansing foods and enjoying the healing benefits they offer.

A snapshot of the past week brings me to my old stomping ground - portland, oregon....a foodie's paradise.  Had i traveled alone i could have blogged about all the vegan cafes i'd hoped to visit like canteen and blooming lotus or the incredible yoga at any of the many studios i stumbled upon, however this trip was shared with my love, a sometimes carnivorous, beer drinking, gastro-pub loving M-A-N.  So while we were able to frequent a few juice trucks, get remedied with some wheatgrass, e3live, green smoothies, and raw food, most of our days were started with big breakfasts, biking cross city, chasing happy hours, and rolling with my old homies.  Nothing to complain about, but i'm happy to be home with my juicer, vitamix, food processor, and back to my old raw food clean eatin' ways.  I will throw out some real big props though to a couple places that any health nut would roll over their grave to saddle up to in case you make your way into the pacific NW.  Sips was my fave.  Not a far cry from what Beaming is up to - they offer tons of fresh juices, tonics, and raw bits.  A second fave was Kure - a little pod on a corner serving up tasty green smoothies, juices, and acai bowls.  And my third fave spot was Prasad.  It's a little raw foods haven attached to a yoga studio.  How great is that?  Do a little yoga and get yourself some healthy bites.  I am in love with this concept and have been waiting for something like this to open in san diego...hint hint all you entrepreneurs reading...i have loads of ideas for you!  Plus i found a great herb shop with kombucha on tap, where i picked up a little detox liver support tincture (you know, in case the cocktails i'd been having on vaca were having their way with my liver).

Sips on NE Alberta - awesome juices, wheatgrass, e3live, and more

yum-a-licious green smoothies

house of Prasad Raw foods

The Herb Shoppe on Hawthorne

Now that i'm back in my own kitch it's time to get the detox foods a-flowing.  I've been enjoying small plates like the fig, avocado, and sunflower sprout salad pictured above (and below) and apple pie sammies (pic below) packed with almonds, dates, and cinnamon as a sweet treat.  I'm also juicing like a pheen, sucking down green smoothies, and enjoying lots of sprouted foods and real sauerkraut.  As well, i've updated one of my favorite basic tahini salad dressings with a little fresh squeezed orange juice for a killer zip.  All recipes are below.  Give me a big thumbs up on FB if you likey my recipes and blog, and share the love with all your homies.

Fig, Avocado, Sunflower Sprout Salad

large handful sunflower sprouts
1 black mission fig
1/2 a ripe avocado
lemon
sea salt

Place the sprouts on a small plate.  Chop the avocado and add to the plate.  Top with a sliced fig.  Add a squeeze of lemon and a little coarse sea salt over the top to finish it off.

Apple Pie Sammies

1/4 cup raw almonds
4 pitted dates
a few small chunks/slices of apple
cinnamon to taste

Slice your apple to make thin rounds.  Process the above ingredients in a food processor to make a coarse dough.  Go light on adding apple - too much will make it too wet, but just enough will make it process well.  Place the mix in between to round slices of apple.  This recipe makes multiples, depending how thick you make your sammies (too thick and the innards will goo out when munching your sammie)

Sprout-Kraut Salad w/ Orange Tahini Dressing

for the salad:

a handful of alfalfa sprouts
a handful of sunflower sprouts
a handful of spinach
1/2 an avocado
sliced tomatoes
1/2 cup kraut (i used a combo of two flavors)

orange tahini dressing:

juice from two oranges
juice from two lemons
1-2 T tamari 
2 T tahini
1-2 T fresh avocado
optionally add a little onion powder

blend all the dressing ingredients in a blender.  To make it thicker add a small amount of avocado.

lightly dress the salad with a little of the dressing.  You'll have dressing left over that will store well in the fridgey.

Noodle This: Raw Zucchini Pasta

raw zucchini julienne peeled with little tomatoes, goat cheese, and sauce of zucchini, nutrition yeast, braggs,  tomatoes, onion powder, and cumin

I don't consider anything about pasta to be skinny-people food.  I don't care how many size 2 italian hotties you know that swear by it daily (eva longoria, you're one lucky B), or for that matter how many french woman you know that are trim and eat cheese and drink wine daily (shouldn't the question really be how they make it look so classy? Pretty sure i kiss class a fat bah-bye when i start to drink!).  I surely don't look as good as them when i eat pasta, cheese, or drink wine.  'Tis why I avoid pasta.  It's processed, starchy, carby and seems to do nothing for me.  Sure it tastes good, but doesn't make me feel amazing or look amazing. Honestly, I'd rather just eat the sauce, and while that might not be socially acceptable, or even possible to order out (yes please sir, i'll have the sauce...  no,  no pasta... just gimme the sauce), i've found a viable, light, and healthy solution that allows me to enjoy 'pasta' AND a healthy sauce.

Enter Raw Zucchini Pasta.

There are multiple ways to transform your zucchini squash into noodles: saladacco/spiralizers (make angel hair like noodles), spiroolis, regular old veggie peelers will give you a flat/alfredo noodle, and my favorite to use is a julienne peeler!  Julienne Peeler is like a regular veggie peeler only it has teeth so as you swipe it down your zucchini it forms long strands/noodles.  It'll take you 2 minutes (or less) to turn a zucchini into a noodle, and another 2 minutes (or less) to make your sauce and garnishes.

Use your julienne peeler to peel your organic zucchinis (skin on and washed) until you get down to seed, at which point stop.

from this....

To this.

Chop the middle/seeded part left of the zucchinis and toss into your high powered blender with any variety of mix ins to make a creamy raw pasta sauce.  I make different variations on it each time.  Here's one to try:

one chopped zucchini inner
1/8 of an avocado
2 Tbsp Nutrition Yeast
5 sprays Braggs
1/8 cup fresh basil
a few shakes of onion powder
optional small clove of garlic
1/4 cup water (or just enough to thin to a good creamy consistency)
2 Tbsp Pine Nuts.

You can make a less fattening sauce using no avocado or nuts, or a tomato sauce with sun dried tomatoes.  I make different variations on this each time.  Get creative.  Use spices like cumin, or toss in a handful of greens like spinach or arugula.

Food process a bunch of greens such as chard and basil together into little bits to stir into your pasta and dress with some goat cheese, tomatoes, and lemon or balsamic.

If you want to keep it raw, skip putting any cheese on it and toss a 1/4 cup of raw pine nuts in the food processor and process down to a parmesan like consistency - here's your raw pasta topper!

This dish ALWAYS goes over great in the summer.  Everyone loves it.  It's light, refreshing, inventive, and is a great alternative to heavy pasta dishes.

Mango Salsa and Beaming Day 4

mango salsa recipe below

I'm back to feeling AMAZING!  For those of you who are just tuning in this week i've been on a cleansing journey with Beaming Cleanse.  I did end up eating 1/2 an avocado last night (so a whole avo total yesterday) which resulted in no weight reduction from wed morn to thurs morning, but I was not hungry upon waking, have incredible energy now, and have already lost almost 4 lbs!!!  The drinks today are awesome.  The green juices have a little more spice, there is a fortified nut milk in place of my superfood smoothie, and the soup today is ROCKING!

The two main differences today are:

Radiant Nut Milk instead of Superfood Smoothie:  Homemade almond milk with alkaline water, coconut butter (healthy and uber YUMMY fats), almond butter, lecithin (as an emulsifier and lowers cholesterol), probiotics, and maca (i added cinnamon to mine)

Carrot Curry Soup:  HOLLAH!  This is the bees knees.  Carrots juiced with curry, lime, ginger, garlic, basil, mint, avocado and raw cashews

The salad tonight was greens and sprout salad, corn, cucumber, red pepper, and cashew based dressing (asian inspired...i can taste the sesame.)  YUM.

One more day to go.  While i'm looking forward to inviting more solid foods into my diet on Saturday, i'll continue to start the first half of my day with smoothies and juices and indulge on salads based with kale and cabbage.  I love that this cleanse has helped me hit my reset button, regain positive habits, and put me back on track.

Already planning one of my first post cleanse foods....ohhh it'll be sooo good.

Last week before the cleanse kicked off i made one of my fave summertime recipes, mango salsa.  This recipe is inspired by Matt Amsden's recipe in the book Rawvolution; one of the first raw cookbooks i bought and still one of my favorites.

2 mangos chopped
1 bell pepper chopped or diced
any chopped onion you like (red or green) to taste
LOTS of cilantro
1 Tbsp of stone ground mustard
1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1/2 a large jalapeno pepper diced (de-seed only if you want it less spicy)
a couple smacks of cayenne pepper to taste

IF you want to keep it cleanse approved leave the mustard out and instead add a chopped garlic clove and a squeeze of lime.

Mix it all together and serve with either tortilla chips, crudites (i love using button mushrooms), or use it as a chutney with fish, chicken, or tofu steak. It's great mixed into salads too!

LOVIN' LIMAS!!!!: Fresh, Lean, & Green Summer Salad

Here's a really simple and flavorful salad to invite to your summer table.  I've found that lima beans make a great replacement for edamame/soybeans if you are trying to keep soy out of your diet.  The dressing is simply fresh herbs with lemon and cracked black pepper....doesn't get fresher or easier than that!

Fresh, Lean, & Green Summer Salad:

Mixed greens of choice or spinach
1 bag of organic frozen lima beans (cook per directions on bag then put in an ice bath to cool)
1 ripe avocado (halved, pitted, then sliced)
a couple ripe tomatoes (segmented)
handful of cilantro (i use scissors to chop directly onto the salad)
handful of thyme (pull the leaves off the stem by running your finger down the stem in the opposite direction of which the leaves are growing)
lemon (cut in half and squeeze)
cracked black pepper (to taste)
mist of EVOO
 
Put the greens in a salad bowl and mist with EVOO.  Toss in your tomatoes, lima beans, avocado, and chop the herbs right on top of the salad.  Squeeze lemon over top making sure to cover avocado so that it doesn't brown.  Crank in a little cracked black pepper.