The budget post

Another reason that some people decide to do Raw til 4 is also based on their financial situation.  I get a lot of comments on my IG and that of others, that sometimes, buying large quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables, is not always feasible   
That's fine, and I totally understand where you're coming from if that is your situation, so here are a few dishes that won't break the bank.  

Vegetable Stir Fry with Sweet Potato Noodles

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large carrot, sliced 
1 large zucchini, sliced
handful of green beans, chopped into about 2 cm pieces
1/3 of a medium capsicum, cut into strips
1 cup of broccoli florets
1/3 cup soy beans (I used frozen)
300 g of marinated tempeh or tofu (optional)
1/4 cup of water
1 low sodium vegan stock cube
2 TBS of coconut aminos or low sodium tamari
1 TBS of coconut nectar
1 tsp of grated ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp of chilli flakes (optional)
250g of sweet potato noodles*


Method

Place a large pot of water on high heat to boil.  Once boiling, add the sweet potato noodles and stir.  Leave for 5 minutes.  Check that they are done, drain and rinse a few times.
Leave in colander to drain whilst you make the stir fry.

In a small bowl, combine the coconut aminos, nectar, garlic and ginger.  Taste and adjust according to taste (more aminos, more nectar, e.t.c).  Set aside.
In a medium sized frying pan or wok, add the water and dissolve the stock cube over medium heat.  Once the stock cube is dissolved, add the vegetables and place lid on top so that the veggies can steam, stirring occasionally.
Once the veggies become vibrant in colour, add the prepared sauce and tempeh/tofu. Stir, and place lid on again.  Lower to low heat until veggies are done.

Transfer the noodles back into the big pot and add in the contents of the frying pan.
Stir to combine vegetables, sauce and noodles.  Add cracked pepper to taste and season if needed.
Serve immediately with a sprinkle of the chilli flakes if using.
*I bought my noodles from the Asian supermarket.
P.S, feel free to use any veggies you have :)

Another great dish to make that is budget friendly (and raw) is nori rolls.  I've always loved sushi and going to sushi bars but if you can't get there or your wallet won't currently allow for it, try making them at home.
They are super easy, all you need is some nori sheets and a mat and you are good to go.
What I love the most about making them is that you can do just about any flavour combination that you want, like or desire.
I just love, love, LOVE them!
Here's one platter I had for lunch today, it was divine!  They are also good to make ahead of time for those of you who need to plan and prep your meals.  They keep well as long as they are refrigerated.

The platter above has 3 types of nori, here are the combinations:

• carrot, coriander and hempseed rice (process 1 carrot, 1 TBS of hemp seeds and a small handful of coriander with 1/8 tsp of garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cumin powder, 1/8 tsp of onion powder), apple, avocado, cucumber & capsicum.
• baby spinach, capsicum, cucumber, mango, & avocado.
• beetroot, cucumber, capsicum, apple, coriander and avocado.

If you need to learn how to roll, please youtube it, it's pretty simple though.

These little parcels of goodness taste so good, no sauce required!

Time for some sweet, sweet, deliciousness!

This here was an epic breakfast parfait.  I don't have a name for it so I'll just tell you the layers and you can make it yourself if you wish.

But before I do that, I'll just tell you that I used local hand picked and vine ripened peaches to make one of the layers.  Ok, so I've always thought I had eaten my fair share of good tasting peaches, but let me tell you, THESE peaches were out of this world!  They were so juicy and sweet, it's like nothing I've ever tasted before.  It made me a little sad too because once upon a time all our fruit and veggies tasted like this.  Now we get a watered down version of everything because things have to be picked green and artificially ripened so that they can transport well.  But, let's not dwell on the negative, the good thing is that these peaches were well, peachy!

The thing on top is not a cherry but a cherry plum.  Have never seen those before and they were also delicious!

Ok, but now for the layers:

• banana beet ice cream: 2 frozen bananas, 1/4 of a small beetroot.  Process until smooth and ice cream like.
• peach banana ice cream: 2 frozen bananas, 2 peaches.  Process until smooth and ice cream like.
• Blueberry pear sauce: 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 pitted medjool date, 1 large ripe pear, water as required.  Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth, add a little bit of water at a time until you get the desired consistency.

Fruit I used to layer: kiwi fruit, cherry plums, monkey bananas.

So there you have it lovely people, some recipes to get your tummies smiling and your bodies moving.

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

No oil? No Sweat!

To follow on from the last post, here is a recipe that sticks to the high carb low fat principles of a 801010 diet but allows for cooked foods.

It's an easy recipe and one that will please little kids and big kids alike, I know my little ones munched it all up, probably because they love all things pasta, like most kids.

The hubby was loving it too, being filling and all.  

That's one of his main complaints when it comes to raw food, he's still hungry after a salad of some sort.  Here's a happy compromise.

Creamy Pumpkin, Peas & Sage Pasta

Serves 4 as a main meal

Ingredients

3/4 packet of pasta of choice (I used corn pasta to keep it GF)

1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree

1/2 medium brown onion diced

3 cloves of garlic

1 cup of vegetable stock (low sodium if possible)

1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk

2 TBS of nutritional yeast

10 sage leaves, finely chopped

1 cup of peas (frozen or fresh)

Method

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to packet instructions. Drain. 

Meanwhile, add the onion and garlic to a non-stick frying pan and add about 1/4 cup of water on medium heat.  

Stir until the garlic and onion turn translucent and soft.  

Add the pumpkin puree, vegetable stock, almond milk, nutritional yeast, peas, and half of the sage. 

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce is slightly thickened and reduced. Season with salt and pepper to taste if using.  I just added some cracked pepper.

Add the pasta to the sauce, and mix well. If you are making this ahead of time, I suggest adding the sauce just prior to serving as it can become dry if you let it sit.  

Sprinkle each serving with the remaining sage before serving.

Easy peasy and not a drop of oil in sight!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

Raw Til 4

I know a lot of you out there would love to try out the raw vegan lifestyle but the thought of eating raw at every meal can be daunting and the beginning of your undoing.  
Sure, maybe a raw breakfast and lunch is easy enough, but what about dinner time?  Are you craving your grains, or maybe some baked veggies?
Enter RAW TIL 4.
Basically, you eat raw for breakfast and lunch and then dinner can be a low fat high carb cooked vegan meal of your choice.
Sounds easy enough right?
Well it really is.  It's also good practice to have your heaviest meal at the end of the day so that your body has time to digest it without more food being added on top of it.

The other advantage of eating this way is that it's more sociable.  You can still go out for dinner and there's usually something that you can have, even if you have to tweak it a little bit.  I've found that most chefs will modify a meal and make it vegan, and there's a lot more vegan options on menus these days anyways.

Here's an example of what a low fat high carb Raw Til 4 Day would look like:

Breakfast:  1 L Green Smoothie

Lunch:  Large green salad or zucchini pasta or fruit mono meal

Dinner:  Large green salad +
1 cup cooked grain of choice (use millet, quinoa, rice, amaranth if you are GF), with a side of tomato based vegetable stew.
or
Buckwheat or corn pasta with low sodium tomato based sauce.
or
Vegan quinoa paella

Don't forget to drink your water, at least 2 L if possible and try not to eat 3 hours before your bed time.

If you are looking for some low fat cooked vegan meals, please scroll the blog for some ideas.

If you are not vegan, you can add your animal protein at this time, maybe just pair it with veggies or salad as carbs and protein are really hard on your digestive system.
You could also try to keep your animal protein to three times per week, no harm there!

If you haven't yet read The Beauty Detox Solution, you may want to get your hands on a copy of it.  Although she doesn't use the title 'Raw Til 4', she does encourage raw foods until dinner time and her explanations as to why make complete sense, trust me, it'll change the way you look at food and your digestive system overall.

If you want any more food ideas, please check out my instagram as I will be posting some low fat high carb meals in the next few weeks for those of you who choose to start the Raw Til 4 plan.
Treat is as a little 2 week challenge and make it fun.  There's nothing like the word 'challenge' to get you motivated.
And let's face it, how can you fail this?  If you ask me, you're getting the best of both worlds!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb