Neat new stuff!

Since school is over for this semester, I've had a lot of free time to browse around health food stores to see what's new, and also to play around with new recipes :)  Since I have a dehydrator now, this is just the beginning of a very exciting holiday season because I can finally make all the raw treats that I love!

So recently......

I discovered a new product--

 I found this raw bar at Healthy Planet up in Markham. It contains cacao powder, all kinds of organic veggies and sprouts, and coated with dark chocolate (the only part that's not raw). I never expected it to taste good at first because of the ingredients, but I was very wrong! It tasted like a chocolate brownie cookie! A must try!

Next, I went to Fresh again because I love their food so much--

 This time I ordered their Mushroom Onion burger (served on greens instead of buns). Their signature grain burger is topped with sauteed mushrooms and onion, plus their super duper delicious house mayo. The burger is really meaty (it also has pinkish and chewy bits inside due to red beets and TVP so it really resembles meat) and the sauce is rich and creamy, so if they don't tell you they're vegan, it would fool a lot of people! 5 stars!

Then, I created some new recipes--

 Black Sesame Walnut milk with Rose

• 1 cup soaked walnuts and black sesame seeds
•  4 cups water (or coconut water to make it extra special)
• 3 or more/less dates or other natural sweeteners), depending on how sweet you like it
• 3 tablespoons rosewater
• 1 tablespoon real vanilla extract

Blend everything in a high powered blender until smooth. If your blender is not very powerful, you may have to strain the milk to make it smooth...Enjoy!

 A cup for my mom (topped with cardamom powder and black sesame seeds)

 I used it for my raw Asian granola that I made last week. The recipe is here. Make the raw version of it by grinding buckwheat into powder instead of using flour (if you have a dehydrator). If not, you can bake it. This milk and the granola compliment each other so well! This is truly one of the most delicious breakfast I've ever had!! I also added sliced bananas, goji berries, cacao nibs, and cinnamon. Mmmm....

Now for the savoury stuff--

 Cilantro Pesto soup topped with sprouts, avocado, green peppers and mushrooms, sprinkled with parsley flakes, dried chili flakes and nutritional yeast

First, make the pesto-

• 2 cups chopped lettuce
• 2 cups chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup raw nuts/seeds of choice
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp curry paste or miso depending on your taste bud
• 2 dates or 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp black peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Blend everything together in a high powered blender or food processor. Stop when your desired "chunkiness" or texture of the pesto is achieved. To make the soup, simply add water to the pesto and blend until very smooth (this has to be done with a blender). Because this recipe makes a lot of pesto, save some for later use and add about 1/4 cup of pesto for each bowl/serving of soup. The amount of water to add depends on how creamy you like your soup to be. Remember, recipes are just guidelines! Once you're done making the soup, pour into pretty bowls and top with anything you like!  :)