RAW Living and Learning

RAW VEGAN SPRING ROLLS By Elizabeth www.rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com Yesterday was another fun day of creating raw, vegan recipes. I was determined to make an alternative to rice paper wrappers when making spring rolls. The texture of this raw, red cabbage is amazing! I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. It is a simple two step recipe to tenderize the red cabbage all the while preserving the essential enzymes and nutrients that raw cabbage possesses. The many health benefits of raw cabbage motivates me to always try and eat it uncooked. But sometimes I prefer it soft vs crunchy, and here is the perfect way to enjoy it.  The first step was to cut out the tough core at the bottom of the cabbage. I then cut about a third of one side off so I could more easily separate the cabbage leaves. Next I placed 7 cabbage leaves in a square glass dish and filled it with water. I then placed this dish in the very bottom of my Excalibur dehydrator.  On the t...

Lately I've been blessed with fresh, green, Florida coconuts from my neighbor's trees. We enjoy drinking the coconut water and also using the coconut meat in our raw, vegan recipes. Several days ago, on Instagram, I posted a smoothie that I made for the children utilizing both the coconut water and the fresh coconut meat. I decided to top it with some homemade, dairy free whipped topping just to surprise them and to make it extra decadent.  In order to make the whipped topping, you must plan ahead because the coconut milk you use must be chilled completely so that you can take the heavy cream off of the separated liquid below it. To do this all you need in one can of full fat coconut milk. Open the can and pour the contents into a glass jar. Refrigerate until it separates and the thick cream is floating on the top. I like to let mine chill over night. Remove the thickened coconut cream and put into a bowl. Then using an immersion blender, whip the cream with 1 tsp of pure c...

Just a quick blog post to share a scrumptious raw vegan breakfast recipe with you. I made this beautiful smoothie bowl in less than five minutes! Everyone has time to make super healthy recipes that properly nourish growing children and full grown adults as well!! With just a few fresh and frozen ingredients, a high speed blender (or food processor), and a touch of creativity, you'll have a crowd pleasing breakfast on the table in no time.  If you'd like to follow me on Instagram to see all of my raw vegan recipes, you can follow me @lowfatrawvegan  Here is my super simple recipe: Disassembled Breakfast Smoothie By rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com 3 large frozen bananas 1 fresh, ripe banana 1 cup fresh orange juice 1 cup frozen blueberries 1 cup frozen raspberries  I blended the above ingredients on "ice cream mode" in my Blendtec blender until thick and creamy. Garnish with sliced fresh bananas, chia seeds, black sesame seeds and fresh raspberries. Or use your creat...

Florida organic strawberries have arrived at the markets and I am thrilled!!! It's a bonus that they just happened to be on sale the day I discovered them stocked at our local grocery store. Each year we patiently wait for berry season because everyone in this house loves them. And this batch was nothing short of spectacular and definitely worth the wait--deep red, juicy, and sweet!!! I knew I had to make them the centerpiece of my salad.  I really love combining organic baby spinach and organic celery with strawberries. That was base to this wonderful salad. Garnished with sweet onion slices and a Creamy Citrus Dressing and you have one amazingly delicious salad.  Let's talk about the creamy dressing I made. It couldn't be easier--3 simple ingredients. Hulled hemp seeds lend the irresistible creaminess, deglet dates add a touch of sweetness, and fresh orange juice adds the citrus notes.  CREAMY CITRUS DRESSING By Elzabeth @rawlivingandlearning 1/2 cup fresh orange juice ...

Decided, spur of the moment, to make a Sweet n Sour Dipping Sauce with the one remaining organic nectarine in the house. I thought the children and I could have Raw Vegan Nori Rolls for lunch today. Here is my very basic recipe for this very delicious sauce. This also could be thinned a bit more with water and used as a yummy salad dressing.  Sweet n Sour Dipping Sauce By Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning 1 organic nectarine, remove pit 3 Medjool dates, remove pits 1 cup of diced organic celery 4 teaspoons of raw apple cider vinegar 1/3 cup water In my Blendtec blender I added all of the ingredients and pushed "dips, dressings, and batters" mode. It blended it to creamy perfection!!!! Chill for 30 minutes. Enjoy! I'll be posting our Nori rolls later on Instagram so be sure and check those out @ lowfatrawvegan +JMJ+Today I am grateful for my living foods lifestyle and the fact that my children like all of my recipes--now that's something to be very grateful for!!! 

The other day I came across an article, by Thomas Stearns Lee, NMD, which contained recipes for seed cheese and seed yogurt. His recipes call for Rejuvelac and sunflower seeds, but as usual I improvised and used things I had on hand and created the same end result!  I decided to make the savory Seed Yogurt to be used as a base in my salad dressings or sauces. It was incredibly easy and delicious.  ▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️ Pumpkin Seed Yogurt By Elizabeth @rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (or raw sunflower seeds) 1/3 cup raw sesame seeds 8 ounces of filtered water 2 vegan probiotic capsules Pinch of Real Salt 1 tsp fresh lemon juice Soak the seeds for 6 hours. Rinse seeds after the soaking time and allow to sprout for 6-8 hours. Fill a high speed blender with 8 ounces of filtered water. Add the sprouted seeds and blend until creamy smooth. Stir in the salt and lemon juice. Finally, add the powder from 2 vegan probiotic capsules and gently stir until fully...

I was given an incredible gift from Sunset Grown this past Saturday. On my doorstep was a large box filled with these gems!!!!!     They sent me this beautiful package just because I tell the truth about them on Instagram and share with my viewers how much I love and enjoy their phenomenal produce. If you are not familiar with this company and the procedures they use to grow their amazing produce, visit their web site to read all about them.   When I was unpacking the box and saw the gorgeous sweet peppers I just knew I had to make some Raw Stuffed Peppers. I used my Pumpkin Seed Pate recipe as my filling and served them on a bed of my homegrown sunflower greens. They were nothing short of spectacular.         For the pate recipe you will need to do a little bit of advanced prep work. The raw pumpkin seeds and sundried tomatoes need to be soaked for two hours. Cover them with water and allow to soak for t...

The other night I experimented with making a Vegan Sour Cream using just 3 ingredients and I am very happy to say that it was delicious! It does take a small amount of pre-planning as you will need to soak the "raw" cashews for a minimum of 2 hours; to ensure easy blending and an ultra creamy result, and it will need to chill for a minimum of 4 hours. This makes a great base to many other recipes. For instance, I used just 2 Tablespoons of this in a recipe that I created for a low fat vegan Ranch Salad Dressing (let me know if you'd like that recipe). You also could sweeten it slightly with some organic coconut sugar and use it as a fruit dip. I'm sure it would work well as a "raw" frosting on a raw cake if you blended it with some fluffy date paste. For my date paste recipe click HERE . The possibilities are many, I'm sure. 3 Ingredient Vegan Sour Cream (oil free, salt free) 1 cup of "raw" cashews, soaked in water for 2 hours, the...

One of my little guys requested an Apple Pie Smoothie the other day so that is exactly what I made him! We all have been enjoying my Pumpkin Pie Smoothie recipe and he thought, since I could make up a recipe for that, surely I could make up one for Apple Pie. It was a success!! He was very happy and satisfied. You can use any apple you like for this recipe; he chose Golden Delicious, so that is what I used. Apple Pie Smoothie by Elizabeth @rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com 4 frozen ripe bananas 1 ripe banana Juice of 1/2 a lemon 2 Golden Delicious, organic apples 4 Medjool dates, remove pits 2 Tbsp raw Hemp Hearts 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice 1/4 tsp Allspice Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Garnish smoothies with dried mulberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy! +JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the kindness shown to me yesterday.