Pancakes, flat jacks, hotcakes, griddlebacks, and panky doos

Pancakes, flat jacks, hotcakes…no matter what you call them they’re delicious.  If you disagree, message me and we can have a pank doo (pancake) debate.  If I do find a non-pancake lover, I’d have the right mind to slap them across the face with one (like on the movie Grown-ups).  For those of you that are in agreement with my love of pancakes, here’s a dip your toe in the raw water recipe of deliciousness.

I got this recipe from Brendan Brazier’s book Thrive.  It’s a great book for athletes and non-athletes alike.  Vegans, health-nuts, and just people trying to be healthier can get some great ideas from it.  While Brendan’s recipe calls for buckwheat flour, I use whatever is on hand.  I would suggest keeping to a gluten-free flour, in order to keep these light on the stomach and easy to digest.

If you’re a brave raw foodist you can, like me, first sprout the buckwheat, or other grain.  Then dehydrate until crunchy.  Next grind in your food processor to desired consistency.  Now you have raw, sprouted, living flour!  Because this is such a process that takes several days, I do a big batch at a time and store it in the freezer.  The steps are REALLY easy, it just takes a bit of planning.  Probably a total of ten minutes actual work time.  If you don’t have a dehydrator, the time, or simply the gumption, start out with buckwheat, quinoa, or even almond flour.

Now, on to the recipe:

Stuff you need:

1 cup buckwheat flour (or other gluten-free flour, preferably sprouted)

1/4 cup flaxseed, ground (I use sprouted flax seed)

1/4 cup hemp protein powder (I use Garden of Life’s raw protein powder or Vega Protein Powder which is mostly raw)

2 teaspoons baking powder (this is optional and make sure to use aluminum-free powder : ) )

1 teaspoon cinnamon and whatever other spices your tongue desireth

1 banana

2 cups water

1/4 cup raw oat flakes or some other flakes like barley flakes, or you could add sprouted buckwheat, walnuts or anything else for some crunch and texture interest

Other fruit, like berries.  Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, blackberries, or dingle-berries (I don’t know what those actually are).  If it’s berriesque it belongs in the pancakes!

Directions:

1. Stir together the flour, flaxseed, hemp protein, baking powder, and cinnamon until they seem like one.

2. In a food processor blend the banana a some of the water until smooth.

3. Add the banana mixture and rest of the water to the  flour concoction and stir until smooth

4. Mix in the berries and oat flakes, and whatever else you want.

5. Now here’s where there’s a fork in the road.  You can a) dehydrate the pancakes on low or b) heat them on VERY low over the stove in a pan.  Of course dehydration will take a…while.  If you prefer to heat over the stove, but still want most of your food living, just be sure to keep the heat very low.  The pancakes should get firm on each side after sitting about five minutes.  The center will be moist and undercooked, but delicious none-the-less.

Now every good pancake has to have a delicious topping.  You can do the ever so over done maple syrup or agave nectar, honey if you desire.  In my opinion though, this raspberry topping I made for Todd really completes it.

Stuff you need:

1 cup raspberries

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon stevia or maple syrup or agave nectar (may need more according to taste)

Directions:

Blend everything together in a coffee grinder or food processor.

Throw it on top of your pancakes.

Now, I’m no expert, but the sweetness and fun color of this topping seems like a great way to introduce kids to raw pancakes.

And there you have it: A gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, nut free, low sugar, healthy carb, healthy fat, nutrient dense pancake of scrumptiousness.  They’re high-fiber, high vitamin c from the berries, provide plenty of essential fatty acids omega 3-6-9 from the flaxseed and hemp protein, high-enzyme, and just over-all good for you.  : )  Compare that to the average pancake which is made with white flour (no fiber), egg (no omega 3s unless you buy free range), milk (no enzymes,  no probiotics (important good bacteria stuff that your tummy and immune system like), not to mention the puss that’s included from over-milking the cow’s (yuuuum!)), and oil (unless it’s an extra virgin oil sourced from GOOD fats (like flaxseed, coconut oil, olive oil, walnut oil, etc) it offers virtually no benefit other than making your fat cells engorged (delightful).  I think we know who wins this one.  : )

Renee

Pasta

If you don’t like cheese this is not for you.  If you don’t like noodles, this is not for you.  However, if you’re one of the billions of smart people out there who love the creaminess of Alfredo this is dedicated to you!  If you want a pasta that’s not as heavy and doesn’t leave you feeling so full, it’s for you.  A pasta with more nutrient dense calories than regular pasta.  If you want a pasta that just tastes freakin delicious, you clicked the right spot.

How do we get raw pasta?  Firstly, we could search the shores far and wide for the exotic “Kelp noodle”.  We could search online and pay a gazillion dollars for shipping and handling. We could go into every health food store within a 100 mile radius and get funny looks or shrugs(remember I’m in the south).  So that won’t do.  We could try to think of some way to create our own noodle from scratch using flaxseed instead of egg, sprouted flour instead of white, and dehydrate??  Sounds like a complicated mess.  We could buy a fancy spirolini tool and surely our pasta woes would go away.   Well you are more adventurous than I, because I am simply going to vegetable peel some zucchini, and maybe, if I’m feeling brave, some squash or carrots.

When making your noodles, think fettuccine for the thickness and size of the noodle.  Simply peel away all the green from the zucchini or outer part of whatever vegetable you decide to use.  Then peel each side of the vegetable lengthwise, rotating it as you go.  For us, three zucchini equals about two servings, or one for me two for Todd.  Lol.   Letting the noodles sit out for a while helps them to become softer.  Additionally, you can soak them in water.  Sometimes I rub them with olive oil and a little sea salt.  You’ll just have to try different techniques to see what you prefer.

What shall you put on those naked noodles?  Why! A delicious cheese sauce of course. (Today anyways.)

Rawfredo Sauce:

1 cup soaked cashews

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4-1/2 cup water

Directions:

Throw everything in the food processor and blend.  You can add a little lemon juice if you like.  Make sure not to add to much water or it won’t be as thick and creamy.  Give it plenty of time to blend so you won’t bite into a chunk of cashew.

To this mix I like to add:

Marinated Mushrooms:

Namu Shoyu Sauce

Minced Garlic

Olive Oil

1 cup mushrooms

Directions:

Add a small amount of each ingredient to the mushrooms.  Give the mushrooms a massage, they’ve had a hard life and you have know idea what they went to get here, what with being removed from their dark stump and all.  Set them in the dehydrator to get warm and soft, but not too long.  Usually I just have them going while I’m preparing everything else.

I also like to add in diced red bell pepper, or whatever other vegetable I fancy at the time.

Now who wants cold pasta?  Not I.  So I “cheat” a little bit (Don’t tell the crazy raw foodist clan or they come burn my stove down!)  I put the whole mix into a pan and cook over VERY low heat standing right over it and stirring it constantly.  This allows everything to meld together and get nice and warm.  Hint: if it were to get over 115 it would burn your tongue.  So it should be warm, not hot.  When I first gave this to Todd, he didn’t know what it was, he just knew it was delicious.  He thought I had actually used alfredo sauce and was wondering where I got the noodles from.  Basically, you HAVE to try it.  It’s law.

What’s so great about this pasta for our bodies?  Because you’re not cooking it, it’s going to have enzymes and be easier to digest, while providing energy, which is the purpose of food in the first place.  The zucchini is low in calories, while it doesn’t shine with any single vitamin zuccihni is just all around good for you with a few B vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin C, amino acids (to build protein), iron, and other minerals.  It also high in fiber.

The cashews provide good fat and fiber to help you feel satisfied.  If the cashews are truly raw and soaked they will contain enzymes, specifically lipase, which helps your body break down the fat.  While cashews and nuts ARE high in calories and fat, studies have been conducted that show people who snack on nuts tend to have a healthier weight than those who don’t. Yay!  The key, as always, is moderation.  If you have a nut based meal for lunch, you probably wouldn’t follow with a nut based snack and nut based dinner.  It just depends on your calorie and fat needs.

Just in case you’re more of a dip your toe into the water kind of person or you don’t have a food processor I’ll be nice and share.  If you want to try the noodles, but not the cashew alfredo cheese, here’s a recipe I made before I ate mostly raw:

Skinny Alfredo Sauce:

1/4 cup low-fat or fat-free plain organic yogurt

4 oz organic low-fat cream cheese

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup of PLAIN almond, soy, or fat free organic milk

1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Combine yogurt and cream cheese in a sauce pan until mostly melted.  Add garlic and salt and slowly pour in the milk while continuing to whisk the mixture.

Now you can enjoy your vegetables and your pasta too!

Renee

Todd eats mostly raw and healthy stuff a lot for at least 30 days

I’m back!  Well, I was never away.  Of course the usual excuses follow: school, work, husband returning from Iraq, moving, etc.  Although I’ve been away I haven’t stopped living or loving life!  I was excited to get my report that I had over 1,500 views on my blog in December!  In January my husband, Todd, decided he wanted to do a detox/liver/colon cleanse with me.  He made the decision to eat as healthy as possible along with the cleanse.  Really???  Yes.  This came from an all-american he-man-woman-hating cheese-burger beer guzzling(sometimes) normal young army guy.  At this announcement I was both nervous and excited.  Pictures of food spewing out of his mouth, faces or comments about the food, or him losing so much weight he looked like he came from a concentration camp ran through my head.  At the same time of course I want the love of my life to experience his optimal healthy body.  After everything settled down in January we began our “Todd eats mostly raw and healthy stuff a lot for at least 30 days”.  Too long of a title?  The first few days were shaky.  I was working and Todd ran in and asked if a vanilla milkshake was raw.  He used his big blue puppy dog eyes and explained he was REALLY craving one.  But alas, as a health food enthusiast, I could not succumb to such trickery.  I did however make him a shake at home as soon as I got the chance.  Not your McDonalds hydrogenated-oil, high fructose corn syrup, fractioned milk goo, but delicious nonetheless.

I Need a Vanilla Milkshake! recipe:

1 frozen banana

1/2 scoop raw protein powder or Vega Shake and Go smoothie

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon raw agave nectar or honey or 1 teaspoon stevia powder

1 cup almond milk (creamier) or water

Ice as needed

Directions:

Throw everything in the blender as fast as possible.  Add ice as needed and according to textural desire(nice phrase!) Then quickly put it in a cup and savor to kick that milkshake craving in the a**!

We live a very busy lifestyle with friends, family, school, and work.  We run into a variety of scenarios, many of which involve food.  Wait, that’s every American.  Hmm.  So because we happen to be normal people we also happen to be imperfect.  Neither of us aspire to be perfect, we just try to do our best at that moment, on that day, in that year.  We don’t live by rules or dogmatic thinking, and we certainly don’t push our goals onto other people.  So, we do enjoy the occasional drink, steak (especially Todd), and sushi.  Because of Todd’s high protein needs we found it easiest for him to still incorporate meat into his diet.  There are many recipes however that require no cow’s that he likes quite a bit.

Todd’s Tacos.He calls them tacos…there not…there burritos more or less….and he scares people when he says “Oh you should come over and try our raw tacos!” Response”Whaaaat?  Raw taco meat???”  Pictures of Todd biting into bloody, ground up, hamburger meat are running through there head, I’m sure.  (Sorry to be so graphic?)  Anyways, heres the recipe:

Taco Meat:

1 cup raw soaked walnuts (no other nut will do…okay maybe…but it won’t be as good.)

1 carrot1 tablespoon organic chili powder (at least….it’s a “to taste” thing)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon water

Raw Cheese:

1 cup cashews soaked

1/4 cup nutritional yeast (not raw, but great source of B12 and that ever saught after cheesy flavor)

1 teaspoon sea salt2-4 tablespoons water

Raw Sour Cream:

1/4 cup cashews soaked

1 tablespoon vinegar (raw apple cider)

1-2 tablespoon water

Tomatillo Salsa:

4 Tomatillo (They are green “tomato like” vegetables covered in a light green leaf)

5 Tomatoes (which every variety you prefer)

1 onion

1 teaspoon sea salt

Fresh cilantro

Taco Meat Directions:

With the texture of taco meat in mind process all ingredients in food processor.  You don’t want it too crunchy or too mushy.  Carefully add the water, as you don’t want too much.  Taste as you go along to get the desired flavor.  Feel free to add a variety of spices.

Raw Cheddar Cheese Directions:

Blend everything together.  The amount of water will depend on the thickness or thinness of cheese desired.

Raw Sour Cream:Process everything.  It gives that bite.  It might not taste like sour cream by itself, but when combined with other flavors it provides that sour your looking for.  You might want to add more or less vinegar.

Tomatillo Salsa Directions:

Sometimes I chop it all up by hand, sometimes I use a food processor.  It depends on how lazy I am or am not feeling, or if I just want a variety of “chop” sizes.  I’ve been none to add red bell pepper to the mix as well.

Todd likes it this way:Take one Food for Life Ezekiel Tortilla (made with sprouted grains and cooked at a low temperature)Spread a good amount of cheese.  Follow with taco meat.  Add spinach or lettuce and salsa.  Top with sour cream.  Fold it up into a burrito, but refuse to call it a BURRITO and always persistently and determinately refer to it as a TACO.I enjoy it this way, or if I’m wanting something light (and grain-less) it’s delicious as a “taco salad”. Just sprinkle everything atop of bed of spinach or lettuce of choice.  Yum.

Raw Taco Salad

I have so many more recipes too share!  Let me know if you have any special requests or questions!  I might answer. ; ) Renee