Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It! (59 page)

This salad can be served right away or made a day ahead. It won’t keep very long in the fridge if dressed—maybe 2 days tops before it gets soggy. Prepping for a few days ahead? Keep the kale and dressing separate and dress prior to serving.

Contributed by Chad Sarno,
www.rawchef.com

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

3 cups water (preferably water used to soak sun-dried tomatoes)

3 cups tomato, chopped

½ cup parsley, chopped

⅓
cup basil, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

½ apple

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced

½ tablespoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne or minced hot chile pepper

Dash white pepper

2 cups wild rice, sprouted

1½ cups diced portobello mushrooms, marinated in 2 tablespoons nama shoyu

In Vita-Mix blend sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and 1 cup water until smooth. Add all remaining ingredients except rice and mushrooms. Blend on low to a slightly chunky consistency. Add rice and mushrooms and blend on low for 10–20 seconds. Serve warm.

1 large avocado

1 red pepper

2 cups salad greens

Handful of kale

1–2 scallions

1 teaspoon dulse

Sea salt or Bragg’s apple cider to taste

1 clove garlic, crushed

Pinch of cayenne

Fresh herbs like dill, thyme, and basil to taste

Purified water

Blend all ingredients. Use purified water to thin it out. You don’t have to follow this recipe exactly—what veggies do you love? You can also use olive oil or flax oil in place of the avocado.

Contributed by Chad Sarno,
www.rawchef.com

¼ cup dark barley miso

4 cups warm water

1½ tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons sesame oil

½ tablespoon shoyu

¼ teaspoon cayenne

1 zucchini, peeled and spiralized using spiral slicer

8–9 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced paper thin, and marinated in 1 tablespoon shoyu and 1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons green onion, finely diced

In high speed blender, liquefy the miso, warm water, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, shoyu, and cayenne. Pour soup slowly through a fine mesh strainer, being sure not to create foam. To serve, pour into bowls and top with equal parts of the remaining ingredients. Serve warm.

Contributed by Candle Café, New York, New York,
www.candlecafe.com

Lemongrass, an important ingredient in Thai cooking, adds a wonderful, refreshing flavor to soup, especially when combined with miso and ginger. Serve this delicious and revitalizing soup with a salad and grains.

8 cups water

1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed, peeled, and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 cup yellow onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons minced gingerroot

¾ cup white miso

1 cup enoki mushrooms, for garnish

1 cup thinly sliced scallions (green part only), for garnish

Bring the water and lemongrass to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes; discard the lemongrass and strain, reserving the water.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan and cook the onion and ginger until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a soup pot and add the reserved water; bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the miso.

Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with enoki mushrooms and scallions, and serve immediately.

Contributed by Angel Ramos, executive chef, Candle 79, New York, New York,
www.candle79.com

8 cucumbers, roughly chopped

4 avocados, peels and pits removed

1 jalapeño, seeds removed

½ bunch cilantro

1 sprig mint, stems removed

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons salt

1 small radish, julienned and chopped

½ red bell pepper, julienned and chopped

Sweet corn kernels cut from 1 ear

In a high-speed blender, combine the cucumbers, avocados, jalapeño, cilantro, mint leaves, lime juice, and salt. Blend on high until all ingredients have been well pureed (about 1 to 2 minutes).

Place a chinois (china cap) over a 1- or 2-quart container. Pass the puree through the chinois, working it through with a spatula if necessary. Taste and reseason if desired.

Ladle a serving of the cucumber and avocado soup into a bowl. Place the julienne of radish and red pepper, and some sweet corn kernels on top to garnish. Enjoy!

Contributed by Kristen Suzanne,
www.kristensraw.com

1 cup water

1 large zucchini, chopped

2 medium tomatoes, quartered

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 cups carrot, chopped

2 dates, pitted

1 clove garlic

2 teaspoons Himalayan crystal salt

1 tablespoon onion powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ cup flax oil or olive oil

Add ½ teaspoon coriander

Add ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Blend all of the ingredients, except for the oil, on high speed in your blender until really creamy (approximately 1 minute—I prefer this soup a tad warm and very creamy). Then, while the blender is running on low speed, add the oil. Continue blending, at a higher speed, for another minute or less. Enjoy!

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 yellow bell pepper

¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup basil

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Dried thyme to taste

Dried oregano to taste

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender till thick and smooth.

2 cups tightly packed basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ cup pine nuts

½ cup olive oil

Place all ingredients in a food processor (or blender) and blend until smooth.

4 nori seaweed sheets

2–3 cups of cooked short grain brown rice

Tahini

½ cucumber, sliced thinly into sticks

1 small carrot, sliced thinly into sticks

½ avocado, julienned

2 scallions, sliced thinly into sticks

½ cup sunflower sprouts

Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, or gluten-free nama shoyu or tamari

¼ cup grated ginger juice

Place a sheet of nori shiny-side down on a bamboo mat. Work with wet hands and keep a small bowl of water nearby to dip your fingers in. Spread a thin layer of the rice evenly over the nori, leaving about ½ inch on the top edge. Spread a very thin layer of tahini over the rice. Place 2 strips of cucumber at the end closest to you. Leave about 1 inch from the bottom. Next to it add ¼ of the carrot, avocado, and scallions. Sprinkle a few sprouts on top. Roll the nori tightly from the bottom, using the mat to help make it tight. Seal it with a few drops of water on the ½ inch of nori at the top.

Carefully slice the roll into inch-thick rounds. Use a serrated knife dipped in a tiny bit of water. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Dip in Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or gluten-free nama shoyu. Add the juice of grated ginger to the sauce to give it a kick!

You can also make raw nori rolls by using jicama, cauliflower, or turnip in place of rice. Use a food processor to chop the veggies so that they look grainy.

Buddha Bowls are fast food for the conscious eater. Use any combo of slightly steamed, sautéed, or finely chopped raw veggies on top of a gluten-free grain (millet, quinoa, brown rice, what have you). Add an avocado to up the yum factor.

Here’s an example that serves 2 hungry people.

1–2 cups of brown rice (you’ll have extra)

½ head broccoli

1 cup chickpeas

½ purple onion, diced

1 grated carrot

1 clove garlic

¼ cup ground flaxseeds

¼ cup hemp seeds

1 avocado

½ cup diced oil-cured olives

Sea salt or Bragg’s to taste (olives are salty so go easy)

1 tablespoon olive oil or flax oil (optional)

Dash of cayenne

Cook the brown rice first. Use a 2:1 ratio of water to rice in the cooking process. If you’re using raw veggies, finely chop them and toss them with the rice while it’s still hot. This cooks them a bit, but you don’t lose nutrients. Season and dress to taste.

¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds

¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

¼ cup raw flaxseeds

¼ cup raw sesame seeds or hemp seeds

1 cup ground millet or gluten-free flour

1½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 packet (or more) stevia

Pinch of cinnamon

Unsweetened hemp milk to thin batter