The BEST Tahini Dressing

Here it is…the best Tahini Dressing recipe!

Hands down this is Kerwin’s favorite salad dressing. He loves to drench his lettuce and veggies in it. No matter the salad, somehow this dressing always goes perfectly. AND I’ll share a secret with you – making this dressing was the very first time Kerwin used our Vitamix blender. He  even asked me to show him how to make it so he didn’t have to wait on me.

It lasts forever in the fridge so we always make a double batch of it and store it in glass mason jars or bottles with lids.

Ingredients

  • 3/8 cup Tahini * (of course!)
  • 1/2 cup Nama Shoyu (unpasteurized soy sauce. Our preference but Liquid Aminos is a good, and cheaper, 2nd choice. Tamari is another decent option.)
  • 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Organic too if possible)
  • 1/4 cup Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (with the ‘mother’)
  • 4-6 Cloves Garlic (we love garlic so adjust to your liking)
  • 1/4 cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

Directions

  • Put all ingredients in a blender and let it run until the garlic is broken down.
  • If using a Vitamix blender, no need to chop or peel the paper off of the garlic. There are lots of nutrients in the ‘skin’. 🙂
  • This recipe can handle lots of garlic, as there aren’t a other spices or competing flavors.

Pour onto your salad of choice and enjoy!

Original credit to Alissa Cohen for this recipe that we found years ago in one of my very first Raw food “cook” books.  

* To make your own Tahini, all you need is raw sesame seeds and a food processor. Watch my In The Kitchen video to see a demo.

Walnut Meat Salad Tahini Dressing
Yum!
Greens: leaf lettuce, arugula, cilantro, celery and Brussels sprouts Sprinkles: black sesame seeds, buckwheat groats and chia seeds Dressing: This Tahini recipe Topping: walnut taco meat.
Salad and Tahini Dressing
It goes with everything!

THE Lemon Vinaigrette

Dressing poured over a salad

This is The Best Lemon Vinaigrette I’ve ever had! It’s creamy, savory, packed with flavor and yet, it’s simple to make. 

It’s a pet peeve of mine when searching for recipes online that you have to SCROOOOOLLL forever on each blog post to get to the ingredients to know if its even an option. In the middle of making dinner I don’t have time to read the story behind the recipe (sorry to my fellow bloggers!) so I’m going to cut right to the chase for you. 😛

Ingredients
  • 1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
  • 2 Tbl Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 1 1/2 Tbl Dijon Mustard
  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Heaping tsp Dried Oregano (Marjoram, Thyme or Winter Savory could be used in place of Oregano)
  • 1/2 tsp Pink Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Directions
  • Chop the garlic and then add all ingredients together and blend to emulsify the oil/vinegar. If you’re using a Vitamix, no need to chop OR peel the garlic. I find though that for a quick dressing, with less clean up time, that a small individual blender works perfectly. I have a Magic Bullet and it’s the same one I use for grinding coffee beans and whole spices. I love it! But as I DON’T love hunks of garlic in my dressings, I pre-chop. 

It’ll store in the fridge in a sealed jar for several weeks (or more!). Most every ingredient is a natural preservative LOL.

I like to double the recipe and we still have no problems using it up within a week. 😃

If you don’t want to make your own Dijon Mustard, the one I like is linked below ⬇️.

*This dressing IS very sharp and strongly flavored so adjust the lemon, mustard and garlic to your liking. Keep it mind it will definitely soften when blended with your salad ingredients. In our house, we’ve found that it goes famously with a salad of spinach, kale and quinoa (which on it’s own is very bland) and a combo of the basic veggies we like to have on hand – celery, bell pepper, sweet onion, carrots, tomatoes, green beans and avocado topped with pumpkin seeds. Yum!

Please come back after you make it and tell me how you liked it or what changes you made! I’m always open for “tweaks”. 😃

I hope you enjoy this vinaigrette as much as my husband and I do! 

Quinoa and Veggies_9665
Quinoa & Veggies
Quinoa, Cilantro, Red Onions, Tomatoes, Basil Microgreens
Veggie Salad with Lemon Dressing_9771
Lunch to go
Veggie salad ready for Kerwin to take to work. The tomatoes and avo can be quickly added to the salad when ready to eat. Greens stay fresher, crunchier by transporting them without dressing.
Salad Ingredients_9645
Never eat plain Greens!
Line up of ingredients to add to your salad base. Chop veggies while your quinoa is cooking.

Resources:

Magic Bullet
Magic Bullet
Same basic model I have. Works great for spices, coffee beans and dressings!
Dijon Mustard
Dijon Mustard
Organic with all whole ingredients. No fake preservatives. 👍🏼 *Distilled White Vinegar, Water, Mustard Seed, Sea Salt, Clove
Pink Salt
Pink Salt
This one from Trader Joe's is the perfect size to have at the dinner table if you want fresh ground salt.
Himalayan Pink Salt
Ground Pink Salt
I've seen this one at Natural Grocers too. Nice that it's clearly labeled Non-Irradiated.
EVOO
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
This is currently my favorite EVOO. It's also "First Cold Pressed" which is something you always want.

Yes, these are all my Amazon Affiliate links and I hope you’ll use them if you order any of these products. 😊 ALWAYS shop on Amazon with an affiliate link, even if it’s not mine, but of course I’d love it if it IS mine! 

Raw Apple Bread

Do you LOVE bread?

Do you feel you can never let go of pasta, pastries and breads? Are processed carbs the reason all your diets fail?

Then you’ll love this recipe!

I too was challenged as I started eating raw, plant based. What do you use as a base for everything you want to pile on top? What do you do about bread?

Well, it’s an ongoing process that is continually improving but…the great news is I’m finding new recipes and learning to get creative. Woohoo! Who knew I was creative in the kitchen?! I sure didn’t. 😛 For example, Jicama slices make DELICIOUS taco shells, Romaine or Kale leaves make fabulous wraps and Onion Bread is without a doubt simply unforgettable while also making your whole house smell incredible for an entire day while it’s “baking”.

Actually, the end result is that I’m loving these new “breads” replacements even better than the bread itself! Yes, there is indeed hope! I get super excited every time I come across a new recipe, like this one ⬇️…

I had these apples that were too soft to eat that I’d been saving to find the perfect dish to make with them. Enter the simple Apple Bread from one of my favorite Raw books: The RAWvolution Continues.

Ingredients

  • 5 cups shredded, cored apples (I chopped mine up in the food processor to make it faster. It worked, minus a few chunks I pulled out and nibbled on. Lol)
  • 1/2 cup Flaxseeds, ground
  • 1/2 cup Sunflowers seeds, ground
  • 4 tsp Maple Syrup (coconut nectar was listed in the book but it’s not my preference.)
  • 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon (I love cinnamon and don’t think you can really over do it LOL but you could use less)

Directions

  • Combine all the ingredients and mix by hand. It’s so fun!
  • Spread approx 2 cups of the mixture into a Teflex sheet lined dehydrator tray
  • Repeat until all mixture is used up. I’ll come back and update once I make it again and remember how many trays it uses. Lol. I’m thinking maybe 3.
  • Dehydrate at 105° for 6-8 hours, until it’s solid enough you can peel it off the Teflext sheet.
  • ‘Then flip it over onto a second dehydrator tray and carefully peel off the sheet.
  • Dehydrate an additional few hours until it’s the desired level of firmness. You want them to hold their shape, be firm enough they don’t tear but still flexible enough they don’t crack when you bend them. I did approx 4 more hours. They will firm up a little more after cooling. You can always put them back in if they are too soft.
  • I stored mine in the fridge in a ziplock and they lasted 2 weeks, no problem. The challenge was not eating in one sitting! You could also store them uncovered in the pantry.

They are yummy, not too sweet, with just the right amount of chew. Also great for travel, giving you lots of options of what to put on top that you might find locally on your travels and they really don’t require being in the fridge.

I did a how to video when I was making them for myself. Once I’ve edited it, I’ll come back and post the link here.

Enjoy!

Make It Monday | Creamed Spinach

Talk about a simple dish. This is perfect when you’re hungry and want something fast that’s got a kick of rich flavor. And the dressing is Oil Free!

Enjoy!

All you need is…

  • Spinach
  • Creamy Garlic Dressing (recipe below)
  • Walnut Taco Meat (optional)
  • Toppings are optional. I used Black Sesame Seeds but sunflower seeds or buckwheat groats would be nice too.

The dressing recipe came from the book The RAWvolution Continues

My changes were to use ~

  • 1/8 cup Liquid Aminos (instead of 1/4 cup coconut aminos)
  • 1/4 cup water (Add more of less till the consistency is how you like it)
  • 1 cup of mixed white nuts – Cashews, Pine Nuts and Brazil Nuts (I didn’t have a whole cup of cashews lol)

  • You could also use this yummy spinach in a wrap with cauliflower rice, red bell peppers, dulse flakes, carrots and cucumbers. Sounds delicious doesn’t it?

 

Happy Eating!

Eating Healthy 101: Nut Milk

I thought in this Eating Healthy 101 series that it would be good to start simple. Instead of loading you up with lots of complicated recipes we can start with a basic staple recipe and build as we go. Sound good?

First up is replacing dairy milk with a nut/seed based milk. You can use pretty much any nuts or seeds and many times they can be specific to the recipe. Some are sweeter, smoother, nuttier..etc. Here I’ll share one of my favorites – Cashew Nut Milk. Cashews blend up nice and smooth so no straining with a nut milk bag is required. That comes in handy when you’re just getting started with homemade milk or you’re in a rush.

Ingredients

  •  RAW Cashews (cheapest I’ve found near me is at Trader Joe’s. I personally don’t currently use organic because of the price, accessibility and the quantity of nuts I use, but that’s up to you.)
  • Medjool Dates – Costco has The Best deal on them (and now they are even organic), Trader Joe’s is my second choice. Dates are one of the top natural, good for you, sweeteners out there, used in sooooo many ways so there are no worries the Costco container is too big, you’ll use them. 😉 They can also be stored in the fridge to stay fresh longer.
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Water

Instructions

  • Soak 1 Cup of Cashews in water for 4 hours in a bowl on the counter, or overnight.
    Drain and rinse a couple times. That dirty water contains the digestive enzyme inhibitor nuts have on them to deter predators and to keep the nuts in a holding pattern until they are ready to sprout and grow. It’s also what makes nuts difficult for people to digest and why many people think they are allergic. The nuts will have soaked up some water and expanded to more than 1 cup, that’s perfect.
  • Put 4 cups clean Water in your blender and all of the soaked Cashews. (adjust to 3 cups water if you want a thicker/creamier milk)
  • Add 2 1/2 Dates (you won’t taste them!)
  • Add a capful of the Vanilla Extract.
  • Blend until it’s super smooth, no pieces. Drink away! Or add as cream to your coffee.

I LOVE the foam on fresh milk when I add it to my coffee.

If you want your coffee sweeter you can add Pure Maple Syrup (a bit goes a long way, be sure to stir well before adding more, it likes to sit at the bottom)

Store the milk is a glass container with a lid in the coldest part of your fridge. It’ll keep for 3 days. The nuts will go rancid after that, you’ll know when that’s happened. Always shake before using as it’ll separate a bit.

This milk is also the base of the smoothie recipe I’ll share with you next. Plus, it works for Hot Chocolate, milk for granola cereal or chia seed pudding, just to name a few!

If you have any questions please ask. 😃 I’d how your milk turns out!

For more recipes join my Facebook group Joy, Wellness and Women!

Cheers!
Tiffany

Onion Bread!

Day 11:

What a surprise discovery! I never imagined that a simple 5 ingredient recipe for onion bread would change my world. THIS is what real Raw food is all about!

When you feel so excited, alive, happy, with taste buds cheering for joy, you know you’ve found something special. More than “just food”, food that inspires feelings like this are what make life incredible and so full of JOY.

My plan for this Raw journey is to keep it simple and delicious. I don’t want to slave away for hours in the kitchen and yet I still want to eat foods with a variety of yummy flavors and textures. I came across this bread recipe in the book RAWvolution by Matt Amsden and I’m in love with it, in its entirety. 😊 It is EXACTLY what I’m looking for. I’m sure you’ll be seeing more recipes I make from it. You can find it on Amazon here. Or check your library.

Did you catch the second surprise announcement in the video?

I am beyond blessed and happy for the support and being on such a life changing journey with my partner and best friend.?❤️❤️☺️

Here’s the recipe and I truly hope you make it!

  • 3 large yellow onions
  • 3/4 cup flax seeds, ground in a blender, coffee grinder or food processor
  • 3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, ground
  • 1/2 cup Nama Shoyu (Tamari or Liquid Aminos)
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Slice the onions on a mandolin and then halve them (or use the slicing disc on a food processor). Put all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. I used my hands for extra fun 😝.

Divide the mixture in half and spread onto two dehydrator trays lined with Teflex sheets. Spread mixture as evenly and thinly as you can, without seeing holes. It may take a little massaging, again I used my hands for smear-ability lol, but it should cover most of the tray. Dehydrate at 105° for 12 hours, flip the tray over, peel off the Teflex sheet and return to the dehydrator for another 8 to 12 hours or so, until desired degree of dryness.

I kept mine barely moist, so it’s soft and pliable, I didn’t want a crunchy bread. I suggest storing in the fridge in a sealed container for freshness.

Makes 2 trays as noted above. I doubled the batch, which I don’t usually do with a new recipe, but I had plenty of onions from Farm Fresh Las Vegas so why not. Boy, am I grateful I did! These will be going with me on my business flight in the morning. Part of my secret to staying raw while traveling is to take something(s) with you that are super tasty and easy to travel with.

Day 11 out of 160, signing off. 😀

Raw Onion Bread Stack Selfie

Spiced Pecan Milk

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Raw Shelled Pecans (soaked in water for at least 2 hours)
  • 3 1/2 Cups Water 
  • 1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup 
  • 2 Tbl Coconut Oil
  • 1 Tbl Cinnamon 
  • Pinch or two of Nutmeg 
  • 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Tbl Sunflower Lecithin
  • Pinch or two of Salt
  •  

Blend nuts and water till smooth then add the remaining ingredients and blend to combine. Adjust flavors to your palette and enjoy! 

 

It will keep for 3 days in a cold fridge. 

*add cacao or carbo powder to make a yummy hot chocolate drink. 

Raw Salted Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 cup pitted and tightly packed Medjool dates
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Water

Instructions 

Heat two cups of water in a saucepan till warm about 110°, NOT hot. Place the dates in a bowl and submerge them with the warm water. Allow them to sit for 15-20 minutes to soften.

Drain the dates, reserving the soak water. Place them into a blender with ¾ cup of the soak water, the vanilla, coconut oil and the salt. Blend on high till very smooth and saucey. Add more water as needed, until the sauce is pourable but still thick.

Notes

•Be careful not to be generous with the coconut oil, otherwise it will overpower the caramel flavor.

•Sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

•For additional maple flavor, try adding some Lucuma Powder.