Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

Mango Love Guacamole – Recipe For Lovers of Guacamole – Plus Chef Tips

by Kristen in apple, broccoli, garden guacamole, guacamole, organic, raw food

I’m pretty gaga for guacamole. What’s not to love? Creamy, fresh, satisfying, vibrant, and with a number of ways to enjoy it – raw by the spoonful, or heck, by the fingerfull, globbed on a vegan burrito (Chipotle, anyone?), or one of my favorites… Guacamole and Toast, anyone?

I’ve been upping the nutrient density of my guacamole though. Enter: organic broccoli. Do you remember not too long ago, when I used my trick of stealthily sneaking organic raw broccoli into a meal that I wrote about here? Broccoli is tres importante for adding tons of cancer fighting power to your life so it makes a very regular appearance in our lives.

Let me tell ya… there was not a hint of raw broccoli flavor in this new guacamole dish (of course, you can’t go wrong when you add some sweetness like mango or apple). So, here’s another recipe, loaded with nutrition to keep my family uber healthy, that I’ll go back to time and again: Mango Love Guacamole.

Garden Guacamole (Raw, Vegan, Organic) – Lower In Fat

by Kristen in avocado, garden guacamole, himalayan crystal salt, lower fat, weight loss

As many of you know, I’ve been making food in the apartment we’re staying at in New York. It’s a great way to keep my food totally Raw, totally organic, and it helps save some money. Plus, I love preparing food, so all around, I’m a happy girl. Isn’t this picture totally Om-nom-nom?

I wrote last week about a salad I made with avocado, bell peppers, celery, etc. Well, I had to make it again, it was SO awesome, fresh, delicious, and had so many amazing textures. This time, I made a bigger batch (of course!), and I wrote down the amounts so that I could share it with you.

One of the awesome things about this recipe is that I consider it a “lighter” guacamole, meaning that it’s lower in fat than traditional guacamole. Obviously, most guacamole is made up mostly of avocado. And, if you’re like me, it’s hard to stop eating guacamole once you start. Therefore, it’s not long before I’ve consumed a lot of fat. Well, I lightened the fat load per serving of this recipe by filling it up with fat-free non-sweet fruits and vegetables. A lot of people easily lose weight on a Raw vegan diet even if they consume plenty of fresh organic Raw vegan fats. However, there are some people who hit a plateau and they wonder what to do next. For this, I usually recommend cutting back on some of the fats you’re eating. It doesn’t have to be all the time or every day, but you might try experimenting with some dishes that have a lower amount of fat and see how it goes. You’ll probably drop those last stubborn pounds if you do. And, Garden Guacamole is a great recipe to get you started.

I enjoyed my portion of this scooped onto organic red leaf lettuce that I used as a wrap, like a burrito. My husband wanted his on Ezekial toast. We were both licking our fingers and loving every succulently fresh bite.

Garden Guacamole

Recipe by Kristen Suzanne (KristensRaw.com)

Yield approximately 4 – 5 cups

For this recipe, I used medium size non-sweet fruits, but you could use large! And, you could substitute the tomato with cucumber or add diced zucchini… there are all kinds of options. Shredded carrots would be delish, too. Just try and keep it colorful. That’s half the fun of it!

3 avocados, pitted, peeled and diced

juice from 2 limes

1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt

1 medium heirloom tomato, diced*

1 medium red bell pepper, destemmed, seeded, and diced

1 medium orange bell pepper, destemmed, seeded, and diced

3 large stalks celery, diced

1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped

Place the diced avocado into a large bowl with the lime juice and salt. Smish is up (I like using a potato masher to do the job). Then, add the rest of the ingredients and toss well to mix. At this point, taste it and see if you’d like to add more salt.

*If heirloom tomatoes aren’t in season, then use regular tomatoes.

Caravan of Dreams Dinner Date With Friends In New York & Saturday’s Raw Food Plan

by Kristen in Amazing Grass, avocado, caravan of dreams, choosing raw, digestion, garden guacamole, Green smoothie, iron, nori, organic, raspberry leaf, raw soup, sun warrior rice protein

The other night we met up with my good buddies Gena (of the awesome blog, Choosing Raw) and Cassie for some dinner at Caravan of Dreams (this restaurant is organic and vegan with plenty of Raw options). I kept my food Raw by having their delicious Avocado Coconut soup and a large, fresh salad that came with a delightfully spicy dressing that made my taste buds dance. My husband had a cooked vegan dish which was a burrito with seitan in it (very tasty). Gena and Cassie also kept it Raw with soup and salad. My salad came with nori strips which I asked for on the side. I agreed to try those – again. Try, I did. Twice. I just can’t do it. Ugh. Can’t stand eating sea veggies. I sure wish I could, but I can’t. I’ll stick to hiding dulse and kelp in my smoothies and raw soups instead of tossing it on salads where I actually have to bite into it. In the picture, that’s Gena on the left, me in the middle, and Cassie on the right.

Saturday’s Raw Vegan Food Plan

I have an awesome day of simple Raw food planned (read this post to learn how planning your Raw food for the day can motivate you to succeed with the Raw vegan lifestyle). It’s 9am and I have my list of food. I have a couple of goals with this list. First, I want to make sure I consume the fresh organic produce we bought the other day in a timely fashion. Second, since our embryo transfer is tomorrow, I think it’s smart to make this a day of really easy digestion and nutrient dense food. Sure, that’s usually how my diet is… but by making my food in the apartment and having most of it blended, I’m doing it more so (ensuring it’s all organic, all fresh, and all made with extra love energy).

I would like to find a place with organic wheat grass shots, too, if possible. I know, that last video showing my grimace doesn’t make it sound too appetizing when I think about it, but it’s so good for my body. And, once the embryo is transfered, it’s good for my monkey. I’m taking Amazing Grass wheat grass pills while I’m traveling but I’d like to get some fresh wheatgrass in, too. Ehem, I say I’d like to do it now, but ask me after I drink it.

1/2 quart filtered water with fresh squeezed organic lemon (let me just say here that everything I eat today is organic)

This is a great way for my body to get a little gently cleansing done in the morning after a night of sleep.

1 cup Raspberry Leaf Tea

I’m strengthening my uterus as much as possible by drinking this daily until the big day tomorrow!

Protein Shake (water, Sun Warrior’s Raw Rice Protein)

This is simple, easy, and I just chug it down quickly.

1 quart Green Smoothie (water, cilantro, spinach, fresh squeezed orange juice, bananas)

The vitamin C in the orange juice helps my body better assimilate the iron in the spinach. I can’t wait to drink this!

Garden Guacamole (with red leaf lettuce wraps)

This is the recipe I made the other day, only I made a bigger batch of it yesterday. I’m posting the recipe tomorrow, so be sure to check back. It’s fabulous.

Nutrient Soup (water, fresh lemon and lime juice, dinosaur kale, heirloom tomato, red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, celery, avocado, salt)

I love making Raw soups like this. They’re super easy, really filling because of the fiber and the avocado, and they’re so nutritious.

If I’m hungry later tonight, I’ll have some Raw granola and Raw sunflower seed milk.

Have an awesome day and make it a point to eat more Raw Vegan today! Your body will thank you. The environment will thank you. The animals will thank you.