Linda's Fire Roasted, Honey Balsamic Tomato Sauce - Serve On Pasta With Chopped Kalamata Olives

Serve this sauce over your favorite pasta and garnish with kalamata olives and chopped parsley

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One Final Recipe from the Visit
I've been featuring recipes that my children prepared during their visit. The first one was my daughter-in law's Garlic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing and the second was my son's slow cooked Red Bell Pepper Sauce which I love to serve on vegan apple sage sausages. Today I'm going to share my daughter Linda's Fire Roasted, Honey Balsamic Tomato Sauce. 
She made it for me last year when I visited her in Minneapolis. I came home and tried to duplicate it and didn't quite do it justice. So during her recent visit, I took much better notes so that I could share it with you. For those of you who avoid honey, you may try making it with agave but I think the honey is key in this recipe as it pairs up so well with balsamic vinegar.


About Servings
I always struggle when I list how many servings a dish makes. Where a pasta or veggie recipe might be just a side dish for a meat eater, a pasta or veggie dish is going to be the main attraction for a vegetarian. So the vegetarian serving needs to be bigger. I get really annoyed at recipes that say they serve 4 only to find that they barely serve 2. So when I list a serving, it's usually a real serving!
When you look at the back of a box of pasta, it calls 2 ounces a serving. That would mean that 1 pound of pasta serves 8 people. If I ever served 8 family members only 1 pound of pasta, they would expect several more courses to follow! (Our family definitely does not fear the carb). So for this dish, I'm compromising and saying that 1 pound of pasta serves 6 even though I know the standard is 8 and in reality, 4 hungry people could polish off a pound of pasta without breaking a sweat! In any case, this is enough sauce to serve with a pound of pasta and the number of servings you get out of that is entirely up to you. Just enjoy!

My daughter, Linda, preparing the ingredients

After cooking the onions and garlic, push them to the edge.
Add balsamic vinegar and cook it down a bit

Then add honey 

Cook honey briefly until it bubbles and cooks down a little

Then add herbs and stir everything together

Add fire roasted tomatoes, stir, cover and cook

Linda's Fire Roasted, Honey Balsamic Tomato Sauce
[Enough for 1 pound of pasta, 6 servings]
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, chopped 
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon raw, local honey
2 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
28 ounce can Muir Glen fire roasted crushed tomatoes
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 pound of cooked whole grain pasta
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
18 or more kalamata olives, chopped


Heat oil to medium low heat in a Dutch oven or sauce pan and sauté onions for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. 
Push onions and garlic to the edges making a whole in the center of the pan.
Drop balsamic vinegar into the center of the pan and cook it down for about a minute. Don't let it get too dry.
Add honey over the reduced balsamic vinegar. Let it cook down about a minute until it bubbles and reduces slightly.
Add basil, oregano and black pepper and stir everything together.
Add crushed tomatoes and salt to taste. Add a few tablespoons of water to the can and swirl around to get the rest of the sauce. Add to pan.
Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes.
If sauce seems too thin, remove the cover during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
While the sauce is simmering, prepare pasta according to directions.
Spoon sauce over pasta and top with chopped kalamata olives and fresh parsley.
Serve immediately.


Per serving (sauce only): 94.8 calories, 2.3 g fat, 0.3 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0.3 g protein, 16.2 g carbohydrates and 0.5 g dietary fiber.


Per serving (sauce, pasta and olives): 371 calories, 5.2 g fat, 0.3 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 9.7 g protein, 71.4 g carbohydrates and 8.5 g dietary fiber.

Raw Vegan Avospacho Soup - A Refreshing Dish For A Hot 4th Of July Weekend!

Beat the heat with this raw Avospacho soup!

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It's Too Hot to Cook!
I'm going to take a break from posting the recipes from our party so I can share a nice, cool, raw soup with you. After an unusually cold spring here in northern California, we are now having a very hot 4th of July weekend. I see that there are record breaking high temperatures all across the country too! I don't know about you but as soon as it warms up, I start making cold smoothies or fruit salads every day for breakfast and raw soups and salads during the day. Who wants to heat up the kitchen? 
So when it hit 97 degrees yesterday, I made this avospacho soup. I had a soup similar to this in a local restaurant once and I've been dying to recreate a raw version of it ever since.
You can dice up almost any of your favorite raw veggies for the soup. I just happened to have some nice fresh corn, an English cucumber, a red bell pepper and of course, California avocados on hand. But you can also chop up a young zucchini, yellow summer squash, green onions, fresh tomatoes or tomatillos, radishes, celery, etc. 

Dice up your favorite raw veggies for the this avospacho soup!

Raw Vegan Avospacho Soup
[makes 4 servings]
For the blended soup base
Pulp from one avocado
1 cup frozen peas
2 cup celery, coarsely chopped
2 cups filtered water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh jalapeno, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
For the diced ingredients
1 1/2 avocados, diced
Kernels from 1 ear of fresh corn
1 cup English cucumber, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup red onions, diced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped


Add the "blended soup ingredients" to a VitaMix or other high speed blender and process until smooth.
Evenly divide the chopped ingredients among 4 soup bowls.
Pour 1/4th of the blended ingredients into each bowl and stir.
Top with additional freshly ground black pepper if desired and serve.


Per serving: 213.4 calories, 13.6 g fat, 1.9 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5.2 g protein, 22.4 g carbohydrates and 9.3 g dietary fiber.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Vaughn's Red Pepper Sauce With Vegan Sausages - Serve On A Bun For A Great 4th Of July Entrée. Also Great On Pasta!

This slow cooked red bell pepper sauce is great with sausages or served on top of a plate of rigatoni pasta.

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More Recipes from the Visit
I've been featuring my family's recipes from their recent visit. The other day I shared my daughter-in-law Karina's Garlic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.  Today I'm going to share my son Vaughn's red bell pepper sauce.
During our recent annual family gathering, we had a mix of vegetarians, pescatarians and meat eaters so the menu is often eclectic. The appetizers and salads were all vegan as was the German Chocolate cake for dessert.  For the main course, I made a 20 pound lasagna with lots of grilled veggies (like eggplant, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, etc.) and my son made two pots of red bell pepper sauce: one for the vegan Field Roast Apple Sage sausages and one for the Willie Bird turkey sausages. Unlike me who likes all meals to be completed in 1 hour or less, Vaughn loves to make rich, slow cooked sauces, Julia Child style, which can take hours. But the results are worth the time and effort! This one certainly was.
Don't be fooled by the short list of ingredients and absence of any herbs. The slow cooking, wine and just salt and pepper give this dish a rich and complex flavor.

I didn't get a picture of Vaughn making the featured recipe but he is no stranger to the kitchen. Here he is  making his famous enchiladas!

Field Roast makes my favorite vegan "grain" sausage.

For your 4th of July party, serve smoked apple sage Field Roast sausages on a whole wheat bun topped with this red bell pepper sauce!

Red Bell Pepper Sauce with Vegan Apple Sage Sausages
[serves 6]
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Earth Balance vegan buttery spread
2 large onions (or 3 medium), thinly sliced
4 large red bell peppers (or 6 medium), thinly sliced
One 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
6 Field Roast apple sage vegan sausages


Add olive oil and Earth Balance to a large saucepan or Dutch oven and heat on a low temperature until buttery spread is melted. (Don't be tempted to use just oil or margarine alone - the combination gives the sauce a wonderful French, buttery consistency).
Add onions and sauté for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. 
Add red bell peppers and sauté another 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in salt and pepper.
Add diced tomatoes and wine. Bring to a low boil, stir and lower heat to a low simmer.
Cover and cook for 1 1/2  to 4 hours, stirring every half hour and adding water if it gets too dry. (I cooked it for 2 hours and it was wonderful). 
Add vegan sausages in the last 15 minutes. (DO NOT do this for turkey sausages which would need to first be seared and then cooked in the sauce for the last hour).
If, at the end of cooking, the sauce is too watery, remove the cover and cook until it reaches the right consistency.
Serve the sauce and sausages on a bun or over pasta.


Per serving (one sausage and 1/6 pepper sauce): 353.8 calories, 23.2 g fat, 2.0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 28.5 g protein, 25.8 g carbohydrates and 6.5 g dietary fiber.


Per serving (sauce only): 113.8 calories, 4.2 g fat, 1.0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 2.5 g protein, 14.8 g carbohydrates and 3.5 g dietary fiber.

Karina's Garlic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing - Kid Friendly, Gluten Free And Delicious!

My daughter-in-law, Karina, cutting lettuce for our salad.
Thanks Karina for sharing your wonderful recipe with me and the Foods For Long Life followers!

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Recipes from the Visit
My kids and grandkids were here for the past week for our annual get together. Most parents feel overwhelmed when there are that many mouths to feed but luckily, all my kids are amazing cooks! During the week I not only got to cook them my favorite recipes but they cooked some wonderful dishes for me too! So this week, I'll be featuring their recipes.


How she get Kids to Love Salad
My daughter-in-law, Karina, is a fabulous gardener. Much of the food she feeds her family comes from her raised bed garden. Living in Portland, Oregon, she's able to successfully grow many types of lettuce both at home and at her children's school where she is active in their vegetable garden program. My grandchildren (ages 5 and 8), and apparently all the kids at school, love her salad and beg for more! (You would not believe how these little guys attack a bowl of salad!) I attribute this to her wonderful salad dressing. I have often asked her how she makes it and, like many cooks, she responded, "I add a little of this and a little of that.....". This time I wouldn't let her off the hook! I took a pad and pen and had her instruct me how to make it. She didn't know the exact measurements at first so it took a while to measure, taste, and adjust, but eventually we got a recipe for me to share with you! Here it is:

.

Infused with crushed garlic, this dressing uses 2 types of vinegar.

My grandchildren adore soy sauce, but in this dressing they all prefer the taste of Bragg liquid aminos which is similar to soy sauce. Although it's gluten free, it does have more sodium than Ohsawa Nama Shoyu raw soy sauce (960 mg vs. 720 mg per tablespoon).

Karina's Salad Dressing
[makes 1 cup or 16 tablespoons]
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Bragg liquid aminos 
1 teaspoon raw honey *
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
* For vegans who avoid honey, substitute your favorite sweetener (agave, raw sugar, etc.).


It's important to really smash the garlic (I use the side of a big knife and my fist) and then finely mince it. This will allow its flavor to infuse into the dressing.
Combine all ingredients in a small jar with a lid. Tighten the lid and shake vigorously for one entire minute.
Let sit for at least an hour. In fact, the longer it sits, the better. It will last in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Toss desired amount with salad greens and serve.


Per tablespoon: 64.8 calories, 7.0 g fat, 1.0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0.1 g protein, 1.3 g carbohydrates and 0 g dietary fiber. 

A Review Of Gracias Madre, A Vegan Restaurant In San Francisco

Gracias Madre serves organic, vegan, non-GMO Mexican Cuisine in the Mission District of San Francisco

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Healthy Vegan can also mean Tasty!
The very sound of "healthy vegan" would make most people run the other way, but the same team that brought us yummy raw food at Cafe Gratitude, now offers a selection of very delicious vegan Mexican cuisine at their restaurant, Gracias Madre. 
The two words I would use to describe their food are "Flavorful" and "Hearty". Most of the dishes we tried had a spicy and intensely flavorful sauce that really made the dish. "Hearty" also means filling so be careful not to order too much. Make sure you leave some room for their beautiful desserts!


The Menu
Most vegans have a difficult time going to a traditional Mexican restaurant. Once you take away the meat and the cheese, there's not much left to eat! But this menu is a vegan's dream come true! You can check out their entire menu and see that they have quite a nice selection of items. Here are some of the things we tried:
Guacamole con Tortillas
We started the meal by sharing an order of guacamole. It tasted a lot like ours with cilantro, lime and onion, and was served with 4 warm handmade tortillas.  
Quesadillas de Camote
My absolute favorite thing on the menu was undoubtedly the quesadilla! A tortilla was filled with sweet potato and caramelized onions and covered with a wonderful nacho cheese sauce and pumpkin seed salsa. Nice spice to it and just delicious! Unfortunately I ate the entire dish before I decided to review the restaurant so I didn't get a picture of it. But take my word for it, it was amazing!
Empanada
This homemade pastry shell was filled with poblano chiles, onions and mushrooms, served on mole and topped with cashew cream. It had a nice consistency and the mole had just the right heat.

Empanada on a bed of mole

Enchiladas con Mole
Although the ingredients for this dish were wonderful (mushrooms, a spicy and flavorful mole sauce, etc.), the manner in which they served it was not. All the ingredients were pilled up on top of several thick tortillas which made it very difficult to eat. I would have preferred that they rolled them up the way enchiladas are usually served. Actually, by the time I got to this dish, I was a little tired of eating tortillas. Next time I will ask them to put the mushrooms and delicious mole sauce on top of brown rice. I think that would be great! This dish came with greens and black beans.

Enchiladas con Mole

My husband and nephew had nopales, a dish that featured cactus. I believe this is a seasonal dish. They both said "it was very enjoyable but not memorable".

Papas al Horno
My daughter ordered this dish. It was a big, generous pile of roasted potatoes topped with a cashew nacho cheese. Although I thought this dish was quite good (the potatoes were perfectly roasted in garlic and oil and the cashew cheese had a lovely, spicy flavor), it was a better dish to share than to have as a main course. How many potatoes can you eat?

Papas al Horno - roasted potatoes with cashew nacho cheese

A Few Sides
We also order a side of greens which were the same as what was served with the enchiladas. They were perfectly cooked and the crunch of the pumpkin seeds added a delightful dimension. But the best side was a baked cauliflower dish that had a crispy topping. Unfortunately the picture I took of that dish came out a bit fuzzy but I think that was one of the best dishes we ordered!

A side of greens topped with toasted pumpkin seeds

I'll Be Back!
All in all, I loved the restaurant and will definitely return to Gracias Madre! Next time I'll come for dinner instead of lunch and try one of their margaritas and definitely leave some room for dessert! If you're in San Francisco, you should definitely give it a try!

Foods That Can Harm Your Dog

Our sweet husky-lab, Zoe, who passed five years ago

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What is Nutritious for Us, could be Deadly for our Dog
This morning I read an article by Chris Bjorklund, a well known consumer advocate, that named some foods that could be deadly for dogs. I was quite surprised by several of them, so I wanted to blog this right away to warn my dog-loving followers. Her information is from Dr. Kristina Hansson who is a veterinarian at Northbay Animal Hospital. I also added some conditions and symptoms from other web-related research.


Foods to Avoid Feeding your Dog
It's been said that dark chocolate has powerful antioxidants, nuts are good for our heart, garlic and onions have antibacterial and antiviral properties and red grapes contain the plant chemical, resveratrol, which some say may even extend our lives! But although we may be tempted to share these healthful foods with our furry family, they could do extensive harm. It is highly recommended by the experts that we avoid feeding our dogs the following foods:


* Chocolate (especially ones with high cocoa content) - Treobromine in chocolate is toxic to dogs and could lead to elevated heart rate, seizures or death.
* Macadamia nuts - can cause a toxic reaction called macadamia nut toxicosis. Symptoms include walking wobbly or inability to stand, muscle tremors and weakness, swollen limbs and joint pain.
* Rising bread dough - the yeast can continue to expand in your dog's stomach which could be fatal.
* Onions and Garlic - can cause haemolytic anaemia which can cause your dog's blood cells to burst.
* Fatty turkey and chicken skins - Eating these can give your dog gastro-intestinal distress or pancreatitis.
* Grapes and raisins - a big warning to my fellow wine grape growers as most have doggies who love to munch the grapes right off the vines!! Eating these can cause your dog to have kidney failure which can be fatal.


Feeding table scraps to dogs is never a good idea but please be aware that it can have severe and sometimes fatal consequences!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cake With German Chocolate Coconut And Pecan Icing

Dates and cashews provide the creamy base for the pecan and coconut icing.

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Our Annual Celebration!
I know it's a big jump from the raw vegan, gluten free cleanse we did last week to a German chocolate cake, but I'm getting ready for our annual family party. Every year we all get together to celebrate Summer Solstice. It's not that we are into pagan rituals, the family just decided that the end of June was a perfect time to get together. The airports aren't too crowded. There's no chance of snow delays. Our pool is generally warm enough by then for the grandkids to swim. And the date has generally worked out for everyone!
So with this year's party coming up, I thought I'd better decide on a yummy dessert that will please the crowd. The number one concern for me is NO DAIRY. Last year's party coincided with our 20th wedding anniversary and I bought a decadent cake from this very fancy bakery in Sebastopol. Although everyone really enjoyed it, (I must admit, it was delicious), I felt awful after eating it. It must have contained lots of cream and I'm lactose intolerant. So this year, I'm going to make the dessert myself!


Definitely Not Low in Calories
German chocolate cakes have an icing that always includes two ingredients that are pretty high in calories and high in fat - coconut and pecans. Although neither of these ingredients are particularly unhealthy foods, when you combine them with white sugar, evaporated milk, butter and egg yokes (as in the traditional recipe), you can end up with a piece of cake that exceeds 600 calories per slice! So even though my recipe is fairly high in calories, it is made mostly from whole, natural foods and is still half the calories of some traditional recipes. The saturated fat comes from coconut's tropical oil which is not harmful like the saturated fat from butter. And, the cake is cholesterol free and rich in heart healthy nuts!
Dates and cashews make up the creamy base for the icing of chopped pecans and unsweetened shredded coconut and the cake is made with white whole wheat flour. (If you haven't discovered King Arthur's white whole wheat flour yet, check it out. It's as light as white flour yet it has the nutrients and dietary fiber of whole wheat! It's the ONLY wheat flour I use.) 
So although you shouldn't make this rich cake a regular part of your diet, it's a wonderful treat when the family gets together. I hope my family likes it!

Vegan chocolate chips are folded into the cake batter for added richness . 

This vegan chocolate chip cake is delicious even without icing and it's only 161 calories per slice!
Dust with powdered sugar and serve with sliced strawberries!

Vegan German Chocolate Cake
[makes 12 - 16 servings]
For the chocolate chip cake
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Sucanat or organic cane sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened, non-GMO soy milk
1/2 cup mashed banana
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
For the coconut pecan icing
1 cup raw cashews, soaked 4 - 6 hours and rinsed
4 medjool dates, pitted and soaked 4 - 6 hours (drained, reserving soak water)
1/4 cup reserved date soak water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 cup dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut - divided
2/3 cup raw pecans, finely chopped


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of an 8 inch cake pan and place in the bottom. Grease the sides of the pan with vegan margarine or olive oil. Set aside.
To make the cake, begin by making a flax egg by combining ground flaxseeds and water in a small bowl or cup. Beat with a small fork until the mixture becomes gooey. Set aside.
Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix well.
In a medium bowl, mix the sugar with soy milk, mashed banana, vanilla, olive oil and flax egg with an electric beater (if you have one) until thoroughly combined.
Add this to the dry ingredients and beat again until well blended. 
Fold in the chocolate chips and pour into prepared cake pan.
Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool in the pan, on a rack, for 5 to 10 minutes.
Turn the cake onto the rack, gently removing the wax paper from the bottom. Turn the cake back over so it is cooling with its top facing up. Set aside until it's completely cool.
To make the icing, add soaked and rinsed cashews, the dates and 1/4 cup of their soak water, vanilla and maple syrup to a food processor with an S blade. Process until smooth and creamy scraping down the sides when necessary.
Add all but 1 tablespoon of the shredded coconut and pulse a few times until it is combined.
Place into a bowl and stir in the chopped pecans.
Ice the cake and sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of coconut over the top. 
Serve immediately or refrigerate.


Per serving (12 pieces): 333.7 calories, 19.7 g fat, 6.6 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5.8 g protein, 37.6 g carbohydrates and 5.4 g dietary fiber.


Per serving (16 pieces): 250.3 calories, 14.7 g fat, 4.9 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 4.3 g protein, 28.2 g carbohydrates and 4.1 g dietary fiber.

ONE WEEK RAW AND GLUTEN FREE - Day 7, Learn To Make Raw Meatballs On Zucchini Ribbon Pasta!

Raw walnut meatballs on ribbons of zucchini with tomato sauce

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DAY 7 OF "ONE WEEK RAW AND GLUTEN FREE"

Today is the 7th and last day of our "One Week Raw and Gluten Free" mini cleanse. But it doesn't have to be the end. If you want to extend it a few more weeks, just repeat the recipes you enjoyed during the week. In case you missed any of them, check out DAY 1, DAY 2, DAY 3, DAY 4, DAY 5 and DAY 6.


Today's menu includes:
Breakfast: Strawberry, pear and spinach smoothie
Snack: Leftover pear and apple crisp from last night's dessert
Lunch: Monster salad
Dinner: Raw meatballs on zucchini ribbon pasta
Dessert: Mango and mixed berries


Breakfast:
Strawberry, pear and spinach "green smoothie"
(New Recipe)
Raw Vegan, Gluten Free
[makes 2 servings - enjoy both throughout the morning]
1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries or strawberry tops *
1 large or 2 medium organic pears, cored
2 cups organic, baby spinach
1 tablespoon unrefined flaxseed oil
1 1/2 cups filtered water


Place all ingredients in a VitaMix blender and process until smooth.


Per serving: 190.8 calories, 7.0 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 3.7 g omega 3 and 1.0 g omega 6 fatty acid, 0 mg cholesterol, 2.3 g protein, 35 g carbohydrates and 8.3 g dietary fiber. 

This green smoothie is high in fiber and omega 3 fatty acid.
Spinach contains lutein and zeaxanthin which may decrease the risk of age related macular degeneration.

* When I clean organic strawberries, I cut off the tops (which include a 1/2 inch of strawberry), freeze them and use them for smoothies.

Today's snack is leftover pear and apple crisp.
That is, if you didn't eat it all last night! It's sooo good!!

Lunch
One of the best things you can do for your health is to eat some sort of salad every day of your life. I'm not talking iceberg lettuce and thousand islands dressing. I'm talking about a HUGE MONSTER salad with as many veggies you can stuff in a bowl topped with more healthful goodies like nuts, seeds and fruit. Today's salad contains many of the leftover ingredients from the recipes we made this week:
red leaf lettuce,torn
baby spinach
daikon, thinly sliced 
carrots, thinly sliced 
cucumber, thinly sliced
orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
red onion, sliced
broccoli florets
avocado, sliced
raisins
hemp seeds
sunflower seeds
sesame seeds


For the dressing, I had leftover ginger tahini dipping sauce from DAY 6 which I thinned with some freshly squeezed lime juice and a little water. If you ran out, make a little more!
So fill your refrigerator with veggies and experiment with combinations for lunch or dinner each day!

Today's lunch is a MONSTER salad with many of the leftover veggies from this week's menus.

Dinner
Today we're going to make little raw meatballs. My poor Italian grandparents, were they alive, would think I was absolutely nuts! But these little guys, made from walnuts and other goodies, really taste meaty! 
We're also going to make a raw tomato sauce for our zucchini pasta.  When not on a raw cleanse, you can serve this delicious and healthy raw sauce mixed with hot pasta and the raw meatballs (at room temp) on top. They are too delicate to mix in or cook. 
I've posted this on the blog before (in fact it is one of the most "googled" recipes) but it's improved and changed a bit to make it gluten free. 


Raw Zucchini Ribbons with Walnut Meatballs and Tomato sauce
Old Blog Favorite - modified
Raw Vegan, Gluten Free
[makes 4 servings]
For the zucchini pasta
4 medium zucchini
Freshly ground black pepper
For the raw tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked in filtered water for 1 hour, or until soft, and drained
1 Medjool date, pitted and soaked in filtered water for 1 hour and drained
1 cup ripe tomatoes, diced
4 kalamata olives
2 packed tablespoons fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the meatballs [makes 12 small meatballs, 3 per serving]
1 clove garlic
1 1/3 cup raw English walnuts soaked for several hours and rinsed
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons Bragg liquid aminos
1 teaspoon thinly sliced green onion, white part only
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced, plus extra for garnish


Make the zucchini ribbons by peeling the zucchini with a potato peeler, gradually rotating with each peel.
To make a thinner spaghetti, use a vegetable slicer. My favorite is Benriner. Wrap the ribbons or spaghetti in a paper towel until ready to use otherwise they will get watery when combined with the sauce.

Making the zucchini ribbons with a vegetable peeler.

You can make zucchini spaghetti by using a Benriner spiral vegetable slicer. Peel the zucchini first so it really looks like spaghetti!

To make the sauce, drop a clove of garlic in the chute of a food processor with an S blade while it's running. After it is minced, add the drained sun dried tomatoes and date along with the fresh tomatoes, olives, and the rest of the tomato sauce ingredients. Process until smooth, place in a small bowl and set aside.

Top with extra parsley and freshly ground black pepper and serve!

Wash and dry the food processor. 
To make the meatballs, drop a clove of garlic in the chute of the food processor while it's running.
After it is minced, add the walnuts, nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice and Bragg liquid aminos and process until smooth, scraping down the sides when necessary. 
Place in a bowl and mix in green onion and parsley.
Form 12 small balls from the mixture, dip each one in tomato sauce to coat and set aside.
Mix the zucchini pasta in the desired amount of sauce. Serve onto 4 plates and top each with 3 sauce covered meatballs.
Garnish with parsley and freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

Tonight's dessert is diced mango and an assortment of fresh berries