{Meatless Monday} Banana Berry Hemp Butter Lettuce Wrap!

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Hello lovelies!

Happy Meatless Monday!

Yesterday, I was in the kitchie doing a lot cooking and uncooking up a storm! I had 2 kinds of beans in two different crocks…black and lentils. I also made more coconut lime cookies, hemp seed butter, and cut and sliced up two watermelons, a cantaloupe, carrots, and celery!

It was a busy day! On top of that, I did some laundry, cleaned the bathroom all while the hubby watched the boys and tended to the outside of our home. It worked out really well. I took a few breaks to enjoy some much needed sunshine though which is when I realized my neighbors were BBQ’ing (it also smelled like they were cooking something in a crockpot too!).

Yesterday, our meal theme seemed to be tostadas/open faced taco related … breakfast… lunch… and dinner!  I didn’t intentionally plan out this way but funny how things work out.

It started with brekkie; where I made what I’m calling a banana berry butter tostada aka lettuce wrap  (see pic above)… then at lunch we had hummus tostadas and for din-din we had black bean tostadas with fresh gauc! See, I told ya, it was a tostada day.

All three versions were refreshingly yum for summer meals.  I wish I would have taken a photo of the black bean tostadas…damn! I was so proud of myself for not frying the organic corn tortillas in oil. I decided to use the toaster oven instead and was so happy with the results.  I put the toaster oven on broil and let them heat up until they were crisp and a little browned but not burnt by any means. No fuss, no mess and a crispy tortilla.  Anywho, I digress…

back to the main feature…

The idea for the banana berry butter lettuce wrap  came from Kristen Suzanne. Kristen is a raw vegan chef and has her own website known as Kristen’s Raw where she blogs about raw vegan foods and shares recipes. I happen to follow her updates on Facebook and  a few times she’s mentioned having something similar to the banana berry lettuce wraps.  I couldn’t locate the update in which she has the ingredients… but it went something like this…

(all organic, of course!)

cashew butter on a piece of romaine with sliced bananas for breakfast…yum!

After seeing the update it’s been stuck in my head since. I’m a huge banana and almond butter fan so, to say the least, I had to give this a try. Plus, it seemed like a quick and easy meal.

QUICK + EASY = SOLD!

So, while I was in the kitchie gettin’ all my ingredients together I realized we did not have any cashews… (could have sworn) so, hemp butter it was. Yes!  Hemp butter and NO! you can’t smoke it…haha!

If you have unhulled hemp seeds in your pantry just process them down into a butter…it only takes a few minutes. It’s very, very, tasty and VERY nutritious. The hemp seeds turn into a beautiful green color which in turn makes buttery GREEN goodness… it was SO meant to be! haha!

After the hemp seeds were pulverized down into a butter using my food processor; the rest of the recipe was a cinch! I also figured it wouldn’t hurt to add in the fresh strawberries from the farmer’s market…so in they went!

Banana Berry Hemp Butter Lettuce Wrap

2 leaves of Romaine

1 banana sliced

2-3 strawberries sliced

1/2 cup of hemp butter

sprinkle of cinnamon

And if you want you can sprinkle on some hemp and chia seeds for a little extra nutrition punch.

Directions:

Take your romaine leaves and using a knife, smother them with hemp butter or nut/seed butter of choice.  Next, add in sliced bananas and strawberries. Sprinkle on a little cinnamon, fold together and enjoy! These lettuce wraps are so filling and delicious. Believe it or not,  both boys ate them right up! I could not believe it. They LOVED it.

Too cool!  Honestly, this would be a great meal any time of the day or snack!

Thank you, Kristen, for all your wonderful raw vegan meal ideas!!! This one is definitely a keeper.

YUM!

I also made more Coconut Lime Cookies. I made a small batch of them last week but they were so damn good I had to make more.

& because I was once addicted to cereals….I found a little way to make these cookies into a fun bowl of yummy cereal. I confess, it was a late night snack, but nonetheless, a healthy one.

I crumbled up a couple cookies and poured homemade hemp milk over them…HOLY MOLY…it was like I was back in Fruit Loop heaven. SUPER good and no guilt!

Sarma’s Coconut Lime Cookie, Living Raw Food

Alone, these cookies are fantastic and remind me of  Key Lime Truffles from See’s Candy. Back in the day, my husband Tyler, would spoil me with a box of Key Lime Truffles from See’s …and guess what… I’d eat them all up, every single one! *gulp*  Shameful, I know.  I MUST say, lately, anything too sweet, like, fake sweet is starting to taste like CRAP. Seriously. Slowly but surely this candy craving of mine is diminishing. YAY!  Pass me the greens, please….

The hubby and I have had numerous discussions about our newly clean diet (approx 6 mos +) and we’re really starting to notice a difference in the way we feel as well as when we eat something that’s processed, refined, fried…etc. It’s been an amazing journey for us and I love comparing notes about how eating less meat and including more and more greens into our diet has made a significant difference.

On Friday night, we were craving a good stir fry meal and by accident my poor hubby added a little too much water so it really steamed down the veggies and made them mushy!  Of course, we all know stir fry veggies are usually a little firm and al dente, if you will… lol!

It was a tiny sweet mistake but in the end we both couldn’t believe we truly, in our heart of hearts, wanted our veggies closer to raw and the mushy-ness factor was not pleasing…even though we ate as not to waste food. It was great knowing this though.

AND then all weekend after this mushy dinner… I was craving celery!

Is that weird?! Haha! (NO, I’m not pregnant!)

Alrighty, well, I’ve gotta run…

looking forward to tonight’s yummy’s

Mushroom Burgers and Quinoa Pistachio Salad…

Hope you have a fabulous Monday!

and as always, please feel free to share any meatless recipes in the comments or on our Facebook page!

What are you having?

Urban Garden Update, Part 2 & CSA Crate Contents #9

Good evening, peeps!

Hope you enjoyed yesterday’s front yard urban garden update!

We have a lot of ideas and still have much more work to do.

It’s a slow going process but so worth every little bit of progress.

The backyard garden is doing alright this year. The heat really interferes with growth.

It’s tough but so much of a live and learn experience.  Gettin’ there.

Today, we did nothing but tend to the garden and housework… all day long! It was totally worth it because things are much neater and tidy.

The garden was fertilized, watered, weeded and we harvested basil, two serrano peppers & more peaches. Lot’s of yummy veggies & fruit coming our way shortly.

This post is full of pics and is lengthy, SO consider yourself  forewarned. LOL!

Our Basil is doing so well… parsley, cilantro, and 2 different kinds of thyme in this bed

& watermelon would be on the left …(not pictured)

Cukes trellised … so many blossoms…fingers are crossed!

Almond trees in the ground!

The area we live in was once known for it’s almond orchards…

some still exist but many have been plowed by new development

Backyard garden…  our pepper bed on the right… (chocolate, purple, green, jalapeno’s)

The calendula flowers are starting to die out… we reworked the bed today and planted more beets and dill!

Zucchini bed having some trouble… starting to come back and turn green again

WAS yellow and had spots (possibly mold) but looking a bit healthier these days.

Will get a flower then baby zuch’s die off…so, we shall see. A little bummed about the zucchini…

anyone know what might be the problem?

Dixie out free ranging or wreakin’ havoc…

she loves to eat our tomato flowers… Grr!

The eco tot and Baby C garden is in the very front of the pic… carrots and peppers so far…

all planted by Tristan, our 3 year old himself. He works this area and waters…

Baby C proved that he liked dunking his head in the muddy water after his brother watered.

It was pretty hilarious and I wish I would have had the camera for that shot.

Strawberries halted in production but have a a couple blossoms…

*click on photo’s to enlarge* 

Hot green chili peppers…serrano’s and jalapeno’s

These pepper plants nearly died while we were on vay k!

upon my return I discovered them to be a shriveled mess.

After a little water revival they perked up some..

Not entirely but it’s looking WAY healthier.

Tomatoes! We shaded them some because it’s hella hot

& they could use a little break from the heat.

They’re VERY happy about this.

Purple kale…

living on (just barely) after Henrietta & Dixie took the liberty of helping themselves!

Asparagus, in it’s first year… the stalks fern out… pretty, huh?!

They’re some baby gus’s in the box but the first year they get to kick it.

Our 2 peach trees sit beside this box… only 1 is producing fruit this year.

I’m still leaving out our cabbage bed, carrots, grapes, apricot, cherry and nectarine tree…

phew… it’s overwhelming! LOL!

Our first Orange Jubilee Tomato and the chicks pecked at it!

sheesh!

Now onto the CSA loot… all organic & farm fresh… support your local farmer!!!

“personal” watermelon (scored 2 extra for being early at the pickup)

& a cantaloupe from the farmer’s market.

Peaches& Saturn Peaches– round (on bottom)

red potatoes galore.

Sunny, sun… sunflowers! They brighten my soul.

Olliaberries & cilantro are from the farmer’s market…

purple basil, corn (gave 4 ears to parents)

paddy squash (3), summer squash (3) all included in CSA crate.

I like to reuse the butcher paper from the CSA box and wrap up herbs in it.

Once herbs are wrapped, I allow a tiny bit of water to run through so dampen the paper…

this helps the herbs “keep”.

Kale from the farmer’s market. I promise it’s not moldy… LOL!

Oops! PLASTIC…. next wk. I need to remember to leave the green baskets behind &

remember my cloth bags because this week I forgot them… doh! The consequences:

2 plastic bags and the green baskets. YUCK!

Red onions…  which I plan to use in salsa

Oh! which reminds me… I completely forgot to edit the jalapeno and tomato pic…

visualize 4 tomatoes, a package of cherry tom’s & a handful of peppers ( jalapeno & serrano), will ya?

All tucked inside our CSA crate!

Looking forward to using up our bounty of veggies & fruits (from the garden and our crate).

Having fresh organic produce on hand makes me giddy!

Are you involved in a CSA share?

How does your garden grow?

Hope you had a great weekend!

{Meatless Monday} Raw Vegan e-books & daiya cheese

Happy Meatless Monday, peeps!

Hope you had a great weekend. Ours was jam packed – go, go, go! We even managed to get a few things done out in the garden. I can’t believe it’s been almost a week since I’ve posted anything here.

Baby C is gettin’ in his molars and is having a little trouble getting to sleep so it’s been tough for me to stay up and blog. I’m thinking it may even be safe to say that posts may be sporadic through the summer season as activities tend to pick up.

With the warmer weather here the inspiration for light and fresh meals has already begun. Lot’s of fresh fruit, salads, water, green smoothies and frozen treats have been on the mind and going into the belly. I have to say I’m getting better and better at eating raw meals. The heat makes me crave more raw, fresh foods. I’m so much more aware of what is going into my body since I started this journey which was actually last summer. It’s not perfect…but I’m learning so much about eating healthier and am doing my best to make healthier choices.

I’m trying to keep it relatively simple when it comes to raw vegan meals. I have a nice collection of raw uncookbooks as well as a few e-books. I’m in love with all of Ani Phyo’s recipe books and have made quite a few of her dishes. I recently made her banana bread biscuits and trail mix cookies! SOOOOoooo good!

The banana bread was just like the flour version but seriously, so much better and fresher tasting. I’m planning to make more soon. I hope to also meet her when she returns to Los Angeles for her book signing tour.

The eco tot really loves these donut holes, so, I’ve been making those up too (and I totally thought I took a picture of em’ but I guess not). Last week, was a toughie. I’m really hoping to stay on top of things more this week. Fingers crossed. I hate making promises I can’t keep.

Anywho! before this post turns into some sort of rant… (warning you…)

I’d like to highlight two e-books I’ve been uncooking from.

- The Magically Mysterious Raw E-book

- Raw on $10 a Day (or Less)!

LOVE, LOVE, them. Both are very different and unique in their own regard but have one thing in common SIMPLE & delicious recipes.

A dehydrator is required for some of the recipes featured but for those of you who don’t own one you can always use your oven on the lowest setting. Our oven does not set below 170 and in the raw foods world above 115 degrees destroys beneficial enzymes. I do what I can for now but I do WISH for TSM dehydrator.

Dehydrator or not… eating raw fresh foods does not require heating your food. A dehydrator helps people like me transition into the world of rawkin’ foods (makes ya feel like you’re still cooking somewhat).  I’ve made a few recipes from each e-book. Each one has been yummy.  Again, no pictures- I know, bad bloggy! *smacks hand*

To tell you the truth I’m horrible about remembering to take foodie pics until it’s too late and it’s already gone.  lol!

On top of eating raw, we mainly eat vegetarian and vegan dishes. Recently, I  had snatched up some daiya cheese from the health food store…

It’s not half bad and surprisingly cheesy!

If you haven’t heard of Daiya cheese it’s a dairy free cheese made from tapioca rather than soy! It was a splurge and I was surprised my local health food store carried it….I meant to grab the mozzeralla but instead grabbed cheddar. It melts and pulls apart just like cheese and tastes a lot like an american cheese. We added it to eggs, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli and also made quesadilla’s one night (heavy on the gauc ). If you’re a vegan or veggie don’t miss out on this one!

Wish it didn’t come packaged in plastic though because I truly cringe when I buy items packaged in plastic. I don’t like to support all the plastic litter especially since I can’t recycle the package. Wish companies would get smarter and start packaging their products sustainably or at the very least package them in plastics made from recycled materials. daiya in bulk? Sheesh! <end rant>

I tell ya,  never thought being a mama to boys would be such a TOUGH task. Holy tots, wonder woman! Pre-kids, my lists were all checked and you couldn’t find a crumb or dust in this place. My OCD has gone out the window along with my skills it seems… still some room for patience but it’s difficult some days. I have a mild case of scatterbrainnervia aka anxiety (self diagnosing, myself here!).

Which is why I need to get this healthy eating on track so I can start gaining more clarity and function properly. SHEESH! I definitely feel a difference on days I eat more raw then on days when I eat foods that I know I shouldn’t be eating. bleah! Wish I had a lot more determination, like my bloggy friend Alysha! Blogging has been a bit overwhelming for me to get done lately too (in case you haven’t noticed ). With two active tots, teething, yada yada yada… + on my free time I’ve been doing a lot of research on homeschooling and reading a lot of great new blogs! good times.

Okay, okay, I’ll quit complaining and do my best to bring you green action on the daily but stick with me if it only happens weekly, please! 

So, tell me, what have you been cooking or uncooking up in the kitchie?

CSA Action: Numero Cinco & Just Say No, to Toxic Chemicals!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

We picked up another box load of organic veggies on Saturday…woo-hOO! So, the trip to the farm isn’t going to happen as mentioned… apparently this year they aren’t doing a Saturday farm day only a Friday. Friday’s are a work day and unfortunately for us that means we don’t get to participate. boo-HOO! lol!

O’well… it wasn’t meant to be. Were just thrilled that berry season is about to hit!!! Oh yeah, fresh, ripe, organic berries of all kinds. First up! Blueberries! 2.5 lbs. will be in next Saturday’s box. I couldn’t be more delighted… and say, did you know that blueberries are good to eat for allergy sufferers. YUP!

If you suffer from allergies, try adding in more bioflavonoids to your diet. Just recently, I did some reading up on allergies since it’s the season and we’ve all had sinus colds. Plus, after this last birth I’ve noticed a few food sensitivities. I’ve heard that pregnancy can cause this and getting older. Between the two, I’m sure some kind of changes are taking place.

You can bet, I’ll be finding some thrills on Blueberry Hill too! 

This weeks box included apriums.

A hybrid of an apricot (75%) and plum (25%)…

They’re really yummy, juicy and another great source of bioflavonoids!

As well as the wonderful grapefruit which was also included.

What else…

- Broccolli

- Cauliflower

- Clip Top Carrots

- Cabbage

- Potatoes

- Red Leaf Lettuce

- Romaine

- Thyme

- Mediterranean Squash

- Radishes

- Strawberries

In case, you haven’t heard, the latest reports regarding pesticide exposure; confirm an increased risk in ADHD – especially in developing children!!

Such bullshit! &

to make matters even more sickening…

California is about to give the okay to allow use of a chemical known to cause cancer!!

Be sure to visit this link and to sign a petition against the use of methyl iodide!

Doesn’t the name alone sound scary?!!

It’s so scary/sad when you think about all the families who are being researched because they live near farms that are sprayed heavily with chemicals and what it’s doing to these small towns.  Babies are born with defects… people are getting sick… it’s no wonder. Something that was once nutritious becomes highly toxic.  WTF! Why must we mess with nature?

This year the Environmental Working Group released a revised version of the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists.

The adorable image below is known as  the  “Dirty Dozen”  cheat sheat and is available to download and print...

The Environmental Working Group  compiled a list of 50 fruits and broke them down with 50 being the worst!

Celery happens to be at the bottom of the list! yuk! I’m all about minimizing our exposure and  the cheat sheet, above, will help us remember which fruits and veggies to avoid; if you cannot purchase/harvest organically grown.

Dr. Andrew Weil, a natural health expert,  partnered with EWG and filmed a 3-minute video on how to use the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen guide practically to buy organic produce.

A few hints from his video:

* reduce consumption of fruits and veggies from Dirty Dozen list

* buy organic whenever possible

* If you can’t get organic, avoid the Dirty Dozen all together and stick with the Clean Fifteen

Another reason why I’m happy we joined a CSA ( Community Supported Agriculture ).

wOOt!

Eat local, eat organic… & eat healthy!

Are you part of a CSA?

Do you wash your fruits and veggies to avoid chemicals?

Let’s hear it, RYD readers!

CSA Goods :: Make ya, go Mmmm!

Abundant Harvest Organics: Community Supported Agriculture

Happy Easter Eve (for those celebrating)!

We picked up our CSA goods this am and I can’t tell you how much it puts a smile on my face.

Mmm! Fresh fruit, veggies and herbs… gotta luv it.

We used up the majority of last weeks veggies with a few leftovers… need to get better about fitting in some of the other  items we usually have for din-din in for lunch. I’m working on that for this week … so wish me luck!

What’s in the crate?

- Navel Oranges

- Grapefruit

- Asparagus

- Clip Top Carrots

- Za’ atar

- Potatoes

- Artichokes

- Green Leaf Lettuce

- Red Leaf Lettuce

- Cabbage

- Vidalia Onion

- Tomatoes

The newsletter came with two yummy recipes…

Roasted Carrots with Za’atar & Roasted Asparagus with Ginger Soy Sesame Dressing

These side dishes are on the Easter menu for sure!!

Mmm!

I’m off to a few garage sales, a trip to the market and then it’s some natural egg dyeing time!

We’re having a sugar free Easter so that means it will as be Nestle free too!

Have a lovely weekend.

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