Tag Archives | raw apple cider vinegar

Vegan Goat Cheese

Published on in Condiment, Fermented, Keto-friendly, Nuts, Raw, Snack By |
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Do you know what makes it a lot easier to eat a vegetable-heavy, alkaline vegan diet? Cheese. Isn’t that what you are missing deep in your soul each time you enjoy a salad or an Italian style meal? You’re not alone. One of my sisters (the lactose-intolerant one…) is always sending me pictures of dishes she has made using my recipes (which I love, btw), often with the comment ‘except I added some cheese’. In fairness, she lives in a part of the world that people travel to for the cheese alone, but I do think a simple nut-based cheese recipe might be a good thing to have in our back pockets no matter what part of the world we live in.

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Dairy on a whole, whether we are lactose intolerant or not, is high on the list of things to avoid if we are fighting or preventing cancer. For starters, it is often highly processed and full of hormones and antibiotics, which can upset our own hormone balance and digestive health. It is also acid-forming, which is not good when we are striving for an alkaline, disease-free body. I don’t love to stress the negative with ‘bad foods’ and create guilt when you do indulge, because then you’re eating cheese and guilt, which is worse than just cheese. If you are going to have a bit once in a while, make sure it is really good, eat it slowly, sitting down, and enjoy every morsel.

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For the rest of the time (the majority of the time), I have new cheese for you. Faux cheese. Raw, nut-based, vegan cheese. If this sounds about as exciting to you as a toothbrush in your trick-or-treating pillowcase, be prepared for a pleasant surprise.

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Baked Beans

Published on in Freeze-able, Legumes, Main course By |
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There is something about the shorter days that make this one pot meal veeeery appealing. It’s pretty magical that you can put a pot of ingredients into the oven, looking and tasting one way, and pull it out HOURS later totally transformed. Like all of the best fall/winter food, you put it in the oven before the sun goes down, and enjoy it in the chilly, premature darkness.

Baked beans are a favourite of mine. They were always a made from scratch, once in a while, special occasion food in my family. It wasn’t until I did some traveling through the UK (and other places where British people travel) that I realized that some people ate baked beans…..every day. And often for breakfast.

Beans on toast?! A totally brilliant textural contrast, I totally get it. Although, an even better combo, especially if you’re into feeding your body blood-cleaning chlorophyll and antioxidants: beans with greens. Still texturally contrasting, but you also get the deeply cooked beans heat and flavour with the fresh, enzyme-rich, lemony-ness of the greens. Any fresh green will do, simply toss with some lemon juice.

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Sesame Kohlrabi Slaw with Miso Apricot Dressing

Published on in Nightshade-free, Salad, Salad dressing, Seeds By |
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It’s been a while since I turned my oven on. Not to seem ungrateful for all of this sunshine (and vitamin D), but it has been really hot with humidity that Vancouver doesn’t generally see. So maybe I am complaining a little bit, but chin sweat you guys! All of the time.

So I have been making recipes that require very little heating up, both for me, and the recipients of the meals. It makes it hard to complain about chin sweat when I think about how un-amazing it must feel to add a rough post chemo week into the mix with all of this heat. No ovens no cry.

This recipe requires the very bare minimum of cooking. It is mostly a raw dish in all of its enzyme-rich glory, but not just for the sake of being raw, more because the dish itself feels so right for this time of year. It is made with seasonal produce, but not necessarily the sweet and juicy stuff that you dream about during the winter months. Is anyone familiar with kohlrabi?

I think it would be sad to be a vegetable that only reminds people of the parts of vegetables that they normally discard (or save for juicing), but it is true, kohlrabi’s taste and texture are very similar to broccoli stems and cabbage cores. But don’t worry, kohlrabi doesn’t wallow in self-pity, it knows that it is unique and beautiful, with lush, edible greens growing out of each of its many strange little arms. And like all self-respecting vegetables, it also comes in purple.

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Wintery Spring Salad

Published on in Greens, Nightshade-free, Salad, Salad dressing By |
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Spring is a funny time of year for food. We start to crave fresher flavours – salads, smoothies and more raw food, even if Mother Nature is telling us not to put away our winter clothes just yet. This salad speaks well to this awkward time of year. It is fresh yet hearty and full of raw, lush winter vegetables, allowing us to curb those spring time cravings and still eat locally.

This combination of vegetables could be thinly sliced or grated to create more of a traditional coleslaw, but I like the chunkier dice and slice, which really makes for a juicier salad (I’m looking at you cabbage!). My Mom was actually the first person I saw do it this way, no kale massage, no small slices or dices, no apologies, just bold, beautiful vegetables, embracing their voluptuous fibers. You can taste the confidence. Not pictured – a sweet bartlett pear to bring out the sweetness in the vegetables, just dice it up and toss it in with the rest.

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These vegetables vary in colour and pigment, which means that we are getting a large variety of antioxidants from this salad. On top of that, we have the kale and cabbage, both being from the powerful cruciferous family, offering up their mighty I3c (Indole-3-carbinol), crushing cancer like it’s their job.

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It needs to be properly dressed to come together. This dressing is tart and rich, and it compliments this salad very well. It’s creaminess comes from avocado and soaked cashews (instead of mayo/yoghurt), and it is where the fat comes from too, no need for refined oils (we are all about whole fats whenever possible). Add as much garlic as you are comfortable with, if too much raw garlic makes you feel hung-over (anyone?), just add one small clove and some extra green onions. (more…)