24 Carrots

I recently stumbled upon a new restaurant - 24 Carrots.  It has become my new favorite place to dine out.  It started out as a juice bar in 2008 and has since expanded to serving food.  Everything is made from scratch using local, organic produce.  The menu is 100% vegetarian, and most everything can be made vegan.  There are also a number of gluten free options to choose from.  It is located in the NW corner of Chandler & Kyrene in Chandler.  Check out the link to their website below:

www.24carrotsjuice.com

Juicing!!

In honor of my 36th birthday, I bought myself a juicer.  I was inspired by the documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead".  If you haven't seen it, it is worth a look.  The juicer has been a great addition to my kitchen!  It has been fun for the entire family trying all sorts of combinations of fruits and vegetables.  Juicing is an easy way to get tons of fruit and veggie nutrients into your system quickly.  The combinations are endless, and you can taylor any recipe to fit your personal tastes.  Here are a couple recipes we have concocted and enjoyed:

Fruit (and a little veggie) juice:

5 carrots, unpeeled
3 medium sized oranges, peeled
2 apples, unpeeled
1 pear
8 large grapes

Run everything through the juicer.  I am using a Breville Elite.  The carrots, apples, and pears go through on high speed.  The grapes and oranges on low speed.  Stir to mix and enjoy!

Veggie (and a little fruit) juice:

2 green apples, unpeeled
1 pear
1" fresh ginger, unpeeled
1 cucumber, skin on
1 lime (hand squeezed)
6 celery stalks
2 C packed spinach

Alternate veggie recipe:

2 green apples, unpeeled
1 bell pepper (Orange, yellow or red work well...they are a little sweeter)
1 cucumber, skin on
1 pear
5 stalks celery
1 C packed fresh spinach
2 medium size tomatoes
1/2" ginger
1/2 lemon, hand squeezed

Run on high speed for the apples, cucumber, pear, celery, and ginger.  Slow speed for everything else.  Enjoy!

Raw Cashew Dream Cake

Here is another great raw dessert that is both delicious and easy to make.  I found this on another food blog:  www.mynewroots.blogspot.com.  It has a lot of great recipes, but this is one of my favorites!  I have made it a couple of times now and have gotten rave reviews!

For the crust:

1/2 C raw almonds
1/2 C soft medjool dates
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Pulse above ingredients in a food processor until it start to clump.  Press mixture into a 7" springform pan, or into a pie dish lined with saran wrap.  Set aside.

For the filling:

1 1/2 C raw cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour (the longer the better)
Juice from 1 large lemon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 C coconut oil, warmed to liquify
1/3 C agave nectar or honey
1 C raspberries (or blackberries, which is what I used)

Place cashews, vanilla, lemon, oil, and agave nectar in a blender and blend until smooth.  A vita mix works great for this!  Pour about 1/2 to 2/3 of the mixture onto the crust.  Add berries to blender and combine until smooth.  Pour the remaining mixture onto the first layer and smooth.  Cover and freeze for 3-4 hours.  Remove from freezer about 1 hour before serving to allow it to thaw.  Enjoy!

Since I am always trying to change things up, I combined the chocolate "cheesecake" and this recipe into one cake.  It was delicious!  I used the chocolate crust and decreased the chocolate recipe by about 1/2.  I poured the chocolate layer first, then the white layer, then the berry layer.

Vegan Chocolate "Cheese"cake

It's Valentine's Day...and nothing marks the occasion quite like chocolate!  Everyone in my family has an addiction to the stuff.  In trying to keep with our vegan diet, I have scoured the web searching for vegan chocolate recipes.  This is one that I found just in time for the big day.  It is from www.pure2raw.com (great website, btw).  It looks and tastes just like chocolate cheesecake.  We certainly will not be missing anything this Valentine's Day!

You will need:

For the crust:

1 C pecan meal (aka ground up pecans.  Or you can use walnuts or almonds here)
5 fresh medjool dates, pitted
1/2 C cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt

Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined.  It should be slightly clumped and sticky.  Press crust into a mini cheese cake pan (or you can use a 7" spring form pan) evenly.  Press firmly into all the corners.  Set aside while you make the filling.

For the chocolate filling you will need:

2 C raw cashews pieces, soaked for 15-20 minutes
1/2 C coconut oil, warmed into a liquid
1/2 C maple syrup (can use agave nectar)*
1/2 C water
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 C cocoa powder
*You can add 1-2 tbsp more syrup for a sweeter mix.

Place cashews into blender (a vita mix works great!) with maple syrup, vanilla, and water.  Blend until creamy.  Add cocoa powder and coconut oil and blend until creamy and smooth, scraping the sides a couple times.  Pour filling over the crust and smooth the tops.  Pop in the freezer for 3-4 hours to set.  Enjoy!

Vegan Lasagna Rolls

My family really enjoys lasagna.  So, I thought I would try a new take on it - lasagna rolls.  It is pretty easy to put together, and only needed a couple of small substitutions to make it vegan.

You will need:

9-10 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente

1-30oz jar marinara sauce or homemade marinara

1 recipe tofu ricotta (recipe follows)

1/2 bag Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese (optional)

For the tofu ricotta:

1 block extra firm tofu, patted dry

1/2 C fresh basil, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

juice from 1/2 medium sized lemon

1-2 tsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste
*See below for an alternate filling

To make the tofu ricotta, place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined.  The mixture should be crumbly, not smooth.

For the lasagna rolls, preheat oven to 375 F.  Coat a baking dish with cooking spray.  Cover the bottom of the dish with about 1/2 C marinara sauce.  Lay out the cooked lasagna noodles.  Place a heaping tablespoon of ricotta on the noodle and spread out.  Sprinkle lightly with Daiya, if using.  Roll up the noodle longwise and place in pan, seam side down.  Continue until all noodles are rolled and placed in pan.  Cover with remaining sauce and Daiya.  Cover and bake for 35 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes until browned.  Enjoy!

*In place of the tofu ricotta, you can make an almond pesto.  Simply place in a food processor 2 cups raw & unsalted almonds, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes, 2-3 oz fresh basil, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 cup water, and salt & pepper to taste.  Process until a smooth paste forms.  You will have to scrape the sides several times to incorporate well. 

Avocado Salad

I recently watched the movie "Forks over Knives".  It has had quite an impact on the way I cook.  The movie strongly promotes a whole grain, whole foods, animal free diet.  So, I have been trying to incorporate this philosophy into my cooking.  One of the recipes featured in the follow-up movie, Engine 2 Diet, is this easy and delicious salad.  It contains only fresh ingredients and is surprisingly good!

For a single serving, you will need:

1 to 1 1/2 C mixed greens, rinsed (I used dinosaur kale and spring mix)
1/2 ripe avocado
Juice from 1/2 medium sized lemon
Salad toppings of your choice - I used kalamata olives, tomatoes, and cucumber
Salt to taste

On the salad plate, mash the avocado.  Add the lemon and salt to taste.  Mix in the greens.  Top with your veggies and enjoy.  It takes mere minutes to prepare, but it is so delicious and healthy!