Tag: cashews

  • Detox green smoothie

    Detox green smoothie

    This simple combo rocks my mornings these days:

    1 celery stalk
    1 small apple
    3cm piece of cucumber
    1 handful of spinach*
    2-3 cm lemon grass stalk
    1 piece of ginger (to your liking)
    spoonful of turmeric powder**
    dash of black pepper
    5 cashews
    good, long squeeze of lemon juice
    1 cup of cold green tea***

    Blend it all together.

    What makes this smoothie fantastic to me, is its tangy freshness. It is not too sweet, nicely green, full of fibers and it has great character because of the celery, turmeric and lemon.

    Spinach

    * Leafy greens are great, but it is important to switch every now and then because of their alkaloid contents. Replace the spinach for kale, for example.

    By the way, I often use frozen leafs becaus those are super easy to use and have better nutritional values than ‘fresh’ leafs that are a few days old!

    Turmeric

    ** This stuff is one of the most powerful foods in the world and helps fight inflammations and tumors, among many other health benefits. For some time, I have put fresh turmeric in my smoothie each and every morning until I decided to look up if that was even healthy… which, as it turns out, it isn’t.

    Because it is so powerful, raw turmeric is treated by the body as a poison and I have read some explanations that really make sense and led me to refrain from eating raw turmeric.

    Look up the 1976 (yes, old) Goodpasture and Irrighi study if you want to know more.

    Green tea

    *** Green tea has been proven to reduce ageing, prolong lifespan and improve health in remarkable ways. Every night, I make a pot full of green tea, drink a cup or two and save the rest for the next morning, where part of it ends in a smoothie and Jan uses the rest for a homemade ice tea.

    When brewing green tea, make sure to let the water cool down to 70 degrees Celsius after you boiled it and to take out the tea leaves after 5 minutes.

    This smoothie is my favorite thing to drink after my morning runs. It clears and replenishes and I feel as if reborn.

    I hope you’ll enjoy it, too 💗.

     

  • Roots, nuts & fruits with fennel

    Roots, nuts & fruits with fennel

    Don’t be depressed because the sky is grey, when there’s mushrooms and clouds and brightly colored leafs to enjoy. The wind, the rain, the waving of the grass in the fields, the stormy sky… and then the comfort of home with sweet and hearty tastes. Let’s love autumn.

    A very autumny dish that celebrated the abundance of green grapes and root vegetables during these rainy days. The sweet and earthy taste is grounding and soothing for the body. After a summer outside, it’s time to turn inward again.

    Or, you just like the amazing combination of celery and cashews, like me. For a nice snack or side dish, softly cook celery pieces in oil or butter, add the cashews and some fennel (or rosemary is also great!) and salt and pepper.

    Recipe Roots, nuts & fruits with fennel

    • Cut turnip, potatoes and celery stalks. Keep separated.
    • Heat oil and fry the potatoes with salt.
    • After 10 minutes, add turnip, slices of celery stick and one teaspoon of fennel seeds per person.
    • After another 5 minutes, when the potatoes are starting to brown and the celery is softening, add onion rings and cashew nuts.
    • When the potatoes are browned, the celery is soft and the fennel is fragrant, add the grapes.
    • Add honey and pepper to taste. Very nice with some Chinese 5 spices powder, too.

    xXx

  • Carrot coconut cashew soup

    Carrot coconut cashew soup

    Enjoy this one raw or cooked. The cashews and coconut cream (santen) make for a delicious creaminess. I’d advise to prepare the soup a few hours or up to a day before serving. The ingredients need some time to get settled before they start being all aromatic.

    A high speed blender would come in very handy now that i’m enjoying raw soups more and more, but alas… the universe has yet to supply me with one ;). A normal blender works fine, too, but then the raw soup will be a bit grainy. Although of course passing it through a sieve always helps, i didn’t make that effort this time.

    Recipe for Carrot Coconut Cashew Soup
    Blend a handful of cashews with a cup of water until you have a nice velvety cream.Then add in the blender:

    • one big carrot, in blender-friendly chunks
    • a slice of pumpkin (5 cm in width)
    • a tiny garlic clove
    • a piece of ginger
    • grated rind of one lemon or a stalk of lemongrass
    • 3 tablespoons of santen (coconut cream)
    • a piece of apple, or two dates, or honey to taste, for sweetness
    • a teaspoon or tablespoon of curry paste
    • salt & pepper
    • for hot soup: a few dried kaffer lime leafs
    • Water as needed for a smooth blend

    Kaffer lime leafs is one of those things that make your dishes taste like ‘the real thing’. It’s one of those ‘secret’ ingredients and does the trick every time. You get them at Asian food stores. Buy dried leafs; the frozen ones have lost all their taste in my experience.

    This is nice with a spoonful of turmeric cream (check it out!), if you have it. Also, try adding some acai or raw cacao powder, it gives a nice little extra layer that lifts up all ingredients.

    I just realized this…
    By the way! Using the same ingredients, you can make a very nice curry. Cut up the carrot and pumpkin and combine the other ingredients except the cashews into a sauce. Fry the veggies in coconut oil, add the sauce and simmer everything for some time with the cashews.

    Next day you can blend the leftovers into this soup.

    Wow, now i feel like doing it all over again ;).

  • Raw Avocado Lemon Pie

    Raw Avocado Lemon Pie

    Alive
    Last week i found myself dancing, swimming and chilling out in Portugal, at the bi-annual Boom Festival. It was like a fairy tale, a soothing and hope inspiring experience of what life on earth will be like if we all just respect and love each other and find our space to play and relax into the wonder and abundance of nature’s gifts.

    I felt so alive, brimming with energy and joyful jumpiness while all my senses were heightened – pure natural bliss induced by this environment that brings out the best in people.

    It’s in this place that i had the avocado lemon pie. It was so delicious. I got another piece and shared it with friends. Next day, i got yet another piece to share again. Everybody must know how good this tastes.

    Raw pie
    I loooooove raw pies. Although they’re just as packed with calories as the oven baked butter-flour cakes i grew up with, raw pies also carry an amazing taste and feeling of nutrient-rich freshness. Now, usually, i don’t let any opportunity pass to add copious amounts of raw cacao powder, but this time… i’m giving space to the taste of summer pleasures featuring fruits and flowers!

    This pie holds fresh coconut*, slices of peach, avocado and lemon, and is kept in shape using coconut fat, which is solid at room temperature.

    * not the super-young fresh green coconut but the type that we find in western stores, where you need to break the brown fibery shell open with a hammer or axe to find the 1-2 cm thick white coconut coating inside.

    Back home
    Yesterday i had a go at creating my own version of this tangy, creamy, crispy pie. It turned out blissfully tasty, especially if you’re like me and you like the combo of sweet, sour and a hint of salt combined with all kinds of fruity tones. I had kept the avocado-lemon filling quite zesty, so it could use some extra honey dripped on top just before serving or, as my half-indonesian brother-in-law suggested, some gula jawa (palm sugar) flakes – and indeed this goes perfectly with the coconut that is also inside!

    Recipe for Raw (Vegan) Avocado Lemon Pie

    Don’t worry if you don’t have a cake form; a soup bowl will work just as well. These measurements are for a cake of about 12 cm wide and 6 cm high and serve 8.

    Crust

    • 1 handful of coconut (semi-fresh is best, bust desiccated will also work)
    • 1 handful of unsalted cashews
    • 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (liquid so gently heat to just above room temperature)
    • 2 soft dates or figs, or use one tablespoon of marmelade
    • pinch of salt
    • pinch of vanilla or some drops of vanilla essence

    Soak a handful of raw, unsalted cashews in water.
    Open the coconut (here’s how – for Dutchies), take out some flesh and cut in small pieces until you have a handful. I left the brown skin on, it was fine like that but for a more delicate/pure taste you could peel the coconut pieces until purely white.

    In a food processor, combine the cashews and coconut and chop until fine and crumbly. Now add coconut oil, vanilla, salt and dates or marmelade and combine into a dough.

    Spread it out in the middle of a plate into a cake bottom layer. Make sure the soup bowl (if using) fits tightly around it. Put in fridge to cool and harden.

    Fruit layer & filling

    • 1 peach or other fruit
    • 1.5 large avocado
    • 1.5-2 lemons, juice and rind (use grater to grate yellow lemon rind)
    • 0.5 cup of extra virgin coconut oil (not the unscented kind)
    • 0.5 cup honey or agave syrup
    • tiny pinch of salt

    In a clean food processor or blender, combine the avocado, lemon juice and rind, honey or agave syrup, coconut oil and pinch of salt until smooth. Taste and adjust the ingredients to taste. Make it just a bit sweeter than you might feel like as cooling will make the sweetness less prominent.

    Take crust from the fridge, add a single layer of fruit slices and spoon all the avocado mixture on top. Cover with the soup bowl again and put back in the fridge for an hour or two or longer if you want.

    Decoration

    Take the pie from the fridge, gently lift the soup bowl and top the pie and plate with fresh fruit slices, chocolate flakes or (as shown in picture) colorful dried and/or fresh flower buds. I used lavender and dried calendula (marigold). Drip with honey, agave syrup or gula jawa (palm sugar) flakes for added sweetness.

    And… enjoy <3

  • Avocado and halloumi salad

    Avocado and halloumi salad

    As we all know, India is the holy land of curries (spiced everything dishes) and dhals (spiced lentil dishes). Little did i expect my first recipe after India to be about… simple avocado and Greek grilled cheese.

    🙂

    Back to basic

    Truth is, all the amazing curries, thalis, dhals and breads i ate while in India, have in the end of my stay ignited an enormous craving for raw and almost bland food.

    And so once i discovered that our favorite beach restaurant served a simple salad of carrot, cabbage and cheese, i couldn’t get enough.

    However, no worries! There will also be curries. Only a bit later.

    Contactgrill

    Lately, i’ve been raving over my new contactgrill (bought secondhand, unblemished, for only 5 euros). This recipe is an example of why: just toss some raw veggies in a bowl, top with nuts and seeds and olive oil and serve with shortly grilled halloumi cheese (or zucchini slices, or seitan strips). Looks great, very healthy and ready within only a few minutes. Minutes!

    Halloumi

    Halloumi is a Greek cheese that can be grilled and still remains its bite and form. It is quite salty so it’s a perfect companion for otherwise unsalted foods – be sure not to add more salt. It combines great with sweet foods such as raisins, pomegranate seeds and honey.

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    Recipe for Avocado and halloumi salad

    For one person:

    • Halloumi cheese, three 5 mm slices
    • Cabbage (green, white, red or chinese), two handfuls
    • Raisins or mulberries, 1 small handful
    • Avocado, one half
    • Hemp seeds and cashew nuts
    • Pepper
    • Olive oil

    Heat the halloumi slices on the contactgrill or in a pan. Meanwhile, cut the veggies and toss together. Sprinkle with olive oil, add some pepper. Place the lightly browned halloumi slices on top, add a few more drops of olive oil and some nuts and seeds.

    Great with sprouts as well, and just use any veggies in your shrink![/fusion_highlight]

    Enjoy this tasty, healthy quickie. I love it!

    And now, for the Dutchies…

    Recept Salade met avocado en halloumi

    Per persoon:

    • Halloumi, 3 plakken van 5 mm
    • Kool (groen, wit, rood of chinese), twee handen vol dunne reepjes
    • Rozijnen of moerbeien, een handje
    • Avocado, half
    • Hennepzaad en cashewnoten
    • Peper
    • Olive oil

    Verhit de halloumi op een grillijzer of in de pan. Snijd intussen de groenten en hussel samen. Besprenkel met olijfolie en maal peper erboven. Leg de nu gebruinde halloumiplakken op de salade en druppel er nog wat meer olijfolie bij. Top af met noten en zaden.

    Ook super met sprouts, en qua groenten kun je natuurlijk lekker varieren met wat je toevallig in je koelkast vindt.

    Enjoy![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]