Incredible Vegan Burritos

I made these for me and the wife a few days back and they were so good I thought I would write up the recipe for you to try them out.  The items needed for them goes as follows.

1 package salsa flavored flour tortillas
60ml water
2 cans of spicy refried beans I'm in Canada and BC so I used Western family brand from Save-on but any would do.
3. 1 block of smoked tofu this recipe I used the Shiracha flavored but plain smoked would also work.
1 can diced tomato  I used one with lime juice and peppers added.
1 onion
1 pepper
2-3 cups of Spinach

Optional ingredients or toppings Salsa, Tofrutti sour cream, cilantro, Daiya cheese etc.

Roll of tin foil make enough torn sheets for the tortillas this mixture should make up roughly 8.

Prep:
Dice the onion and slice the pepper julienne style and grate the smoked tofu then fry them on medium heat until onion is transparent.  Add the can of tomatoes and let simmer for a 5-10mins, chop up the fresh spinach and then add to the pan and cook an additional 5mins or until the spinach is soft and cooked. 
Reheat the refried beans with the water on low heat in separate pot until heated through. 

Once both the items are ready to go get the tortilla's ready.

Putting the tortillas together:

Place tortilla on piece of aluminum foil with a large spoon scoop out some of the refried beans and spread in the middle of the tortilla leave a lot of space all around the tortilla.  Then take some tongs or a slotted spoon to help drain some of the liquid and grab some of the tofu concoction and place on top of the beans spread it out.

Roll-up like a burrito fold each side into the middle  fold up the rear to cover everything and then tightly roll to make burrito.  Than wrap the burrito and place on baking sheet make the rest of them.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and then bake in over for 20-25mins take out carefully unwrap the burritos put on plate and enjoy.  Topping with Salsa or other condiments is up to you they taste great on there own.

Popeye's Green Smoothie

This is what I usually have for breakfast most days this is what I use.

1 scoop Leanfit Green Plant based Vegan Protein Powder or Vega
2 bananas
1/2 cup mango
1 cup of mixed fruit usually frozen I use Dole fruit salad mix which is a combination of pineapple, peach, strawberries, and grapes.
2-3 cups of water depending on size of blender
2-3 cups of ORGANIC POWER GREENS- This is a mix I get at Costco baby kale, baby green and red chard, baby spinach it is awesome for smoothies.

This will make enough for my breakfast and a large jar I take to work or if I have a day off throw in my bag for bike trip.  You could also swap out the mixed fruit for berries if you like them more this is just what I love.

God Bless.

Bean and Tropical fruit salad with Citrus Dressing

This was concocted for lunch today what I used and what you will need.

4 cups Organic Spring Greens
1/2 long English cucumber
1 cup mango fresh or frozen
6 cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
1/2 cup red kidney beans drained and rinsed
1/4 cup pineapple
5 stalks of celery sliced
1/2 cup of Renee's Tangerine Lime dressing it is vegan


I love making fresh salads when I have the time and needless to say they are quite easy no cooking required.  I hope this makes you want to try your own salad experimenting.

God Bless. 

Rice and Bean and Vegetable Soup-VEGAN-

I made this up last night for dinner had some leftover rice from the night before and thought about what I was craving yes even vegans get cravings I just felt like some hearty soup.  What I used


1.5 liters of water
750-1000ml cooked rice
1000ml of spinach which I rough chopped
2 cans of diced tomato around 600 ml
1 large can of black beans 300ml
250ml frozen peas
60ml banana peppers chopped small bits- I used pickled variety half of this in jalapeno peppers"fresh" would work as well.
8 sticks of celery sliced thin
If I had some would have added 2 small onion or one large diced.



Seasoning added to water. all were dry nothing fresh
45ml chili powder
30ml Keg Steakhouse seasoning just a herb and salt mix folks using it up from the pantry
15ml onion salt
Pink Himalayan sea salt roughly 2 teaspoons its a grinder mill so just guessing on this one.
15ml oregano
10ml rosemary

Thickening:
Corn starch and water equal parts 60ml of each and dissolve


So I started off with just heating up the water, added the seasoning and than threw in all of the other ingredients.  I cooked this at medium heat a slow simmer stirring occasionally for roughly 1hr.  Once you feel confident all the stuff has cooked to your liking and the soup is simmering slowly add the cornstarch and stir while you add cook for additional 5 minutes to cook off the starch flavor and enjoy if you want it thicker always could use more cornstarch. 
Optional ingredients for this as it is kind of Chili soup some baked tortilla strips could be used to top things off and some vegan cheese grated.  I do not use either of these so in my case omitted.

However I did enjoy some Gluten Free Beet crackers and some sliced cucumber and guacamole.

Adding more veggies go for it this was what I had around the house and in the fridge.

 I'm gluten free and low fat for the most part but you could also make a roux base with flour and oil.

This of course makes a lot of soup so you could freeze some or just have leftovers for a few days or invite some friends over for a little get together and show them that being vegan is not tasteless or doesn't fill your belly.

Great source of protein and carbs and many other beneficial properties from the veggies.

Also with not having a salty processed stock to start off with I know exactly how much salt I used and everything else that went into it. 

You may think it sounds like I used a lot of salt but in reality I was flavoring 6 cups of water that is 1.5 liters.

Also a hearty bowl of this homemade concoction will only ring in about 220 calories per cup so having a large bowl no worries.  Calories mainly from rice and beans.

This is something that works well when the weather is crappy and you just want something to warm you up.

God Bless.

Spicy Cabbage and Onion Saute-Vegan-

Items for this are quite easy:

1/2 green cabbage
1 large onion
2 Tblspns of Clubhouse Greek Seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1tsp cracked red pepper flake
1 tsp of Himalayan pink sea salt
1 Tblsp lime juice
1/4 cup water
1 Tblsp of extra virgin olive oil- for sautéing

Simply slice the cabbage as you would for coleslaw, julienne the onion.
In a small bowl mix together the seasonings get them ready.

Place a large stirfry pan or pot on element and heat on medium-high until you can smell the olive oil
add the onion and cabbage and cook for roughly 10 minutes toss and stir occasionally so not to burn.  half way through cooking time add seasoning and give a good toss add the lime juice and water at this time.  Cover and cook slowly for another 10 minutes.  Cabbage should have a slight crunch to it when done serve up and enjoy.

Another take on this instead of the Greek spice mix try the Tex-Mex.  Both of these are just great spice mixes and considered vegan.

Vegan Chickpea Salad- "NOT RAW"

 Dinner last night was another simple salad that was quite yummy to say the least.

What you will need
1 can of chick peas
1 can of black olives
5 cups of mixed spring greens
1/4-1/2 cucumber-diced

Dressing
1/2 fresh lime-
pink sea salt
fresh ground pepper
1 Tblsp extra virgin olive oil

Simply put all ingredients in a large bowl.  Than mix together the juice from the lime and the olive oil and pour over the salad mix thoroughly grind the salt and pepper over the salad give one more toss and enjoy. 

Berry Smoothie Explosion Recipe

My Breakfast smoothie one of them anyways:

2 bananas organic if possible and nice and ripe ones spotted no greenies allowed
1-2 cups of mixed berries I use simply frozen
2 cups of water you could use coconut or some dairy alternative if you wish
My go to LeanFit Vegan plant based protein powder one scoop.

Altogether with Protein powder coming in at 110 calories and 19grams of protein the whole smoothie will ring in about 350 calories with the fruit little more if you use almond milk or the coconut water.  Good caloric intake for breakfast. 

Toss this all into your fav. blender and blend until nice and smooth unless you like it chunky I do not.  Drink up enjoy this should easily power you through until lunch.

If no one has ever told you this than here it is eating green bananas never a good thing not only are they bitter and kind of tasteless they can give you some gut aches and are harder to digest than some nice sweet ripe ones now when I say ripe they do not have to be black not like we are making banana bread here brown spotted is fine a little green at the stem is fine   If you do not have some ripe bananas use another fruit like mango for instance or some pineapple. 

Awesome Mixed Green Salad- with Pineapples and Olives

My dinner last night another great salad concoction:

1/2 can of black olives sliced
1/2 cucumber
1 cup pineapple
4 cups of organic mixed greens and herbs
1/2 cup of Renee's Sweet Onion Vegan dressing with some balsamic vinegar added to it this addition actually worked out well curbed the onion a tad.

Start off by adding olives to a large bowl, cup up cucumber in bite size pieces, I grabbed a fresh whole pineapple as they were on sale so peel a potion of the fruit and than cut into nice size chunks.  Greens are already triple washed and organic so they can be tossed right in.  I only had a small amount of dressing left so I poured the balsamic right into the bottle gave it a good shake with lid on of course and poured it over the salad.  Gave the salad a good toss and dived in water was the accompaniment and for dessert a couple of the almond date rolls.   I could easily make them but the Natural Delights from Bard Valley were on special if you have not tried them go for it you will not be disappointed. 

COOKED Vegan Veggie casserole- No Pasta-

  Made this for my Easter dinner as I was going over to in-laws who are not vegan.  This is what you will need

1 large sweet potato/yam
1/2 butternut squash or acorn unless it is small use whole thing
1 zucchini
I used some Keg Steakhouse seasoning I had lying around a good mix of herbs, salts, and pepper.
1 Tblsp. of Extra Virgin olive oil or you could use Avocado or Coconut.
I tossed this all about in a corning ware dish and baked at 350 degrees for 45Mins.

Yes this is not considered raw I many times do some cooked vegan dishes as well just for a change.
I had this and my sister in-law made some roasted beets with olive oil and seasonings which was perfect.  For dessert while they ate homemade carrot cake I munched on some almond&date rolls.

When you know your going some place a vegan option may not be possible prepare.

Tasty Baby Bok Choy Salad with Sesame Soy Dressing

This is what I concocted for dinner last night and it turned out rather good so I thought I would share it.  This is what you will need too accomplish this taste sensation:

6-8 Baby Bok Choy or Shanghai Bok Choy
2 heads of broccoli 1 big or 2 small
1/2 cucumber
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1/2 container of Renee's  Vegan Soy Sesame Dressing this is fresh stuff so in fridge section.  You could also make your own if you wish this was used out of convience leftover dressing.


Chop the bok choy into a large dice rough chop nothing to it
Broccoli take a knife a chop the tops off the staff into tiny florets like bite size
Cucumber simple dice cut in half lengthwise and than large bite size dice
Cilantro rough chop this is for flavor




This was a rather simple salad nothing fancy or elaborate but the taste was there if I had them would have thrown in some pickled banana peppers and maybe some mushrooms.

These recipes are some of the best limited ingredients so your stomach is not like what are you trying to do to me easy to digest and happy colon with all the fiber.  This may seem like a lot of food but when your vegan consuming large salads is just part of the lifestyle low calorie means you must eat more to get the calories required to function. 

I cracked some Himalayan sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to really send this into the stratosphere of taste. 

Amazing Greeeeen Smoothie

Hey Folks Livinrawguy here letting you know I'm back in the raw and vegan groove again ready to experiment with new recipes, and new ingredients.  I'm also v-logging away so I will be adding video clips as well as writing stuff quite regularly now so you can journey with me as I transition back into this healthy and beneficial lifestyle once again and wishing I never stopped, so folks even if you cannot read I will be sending out my love and commitment to changing and losing some weight along the way.  I started again cause I'm not getting any younger and my weight is dangerously high and I need to gain control of it once and for all and the best I have done with it in my life was when I was primarily raw vegan.  I started on the 8th of February at a weight of 290lbs yes high I'm not kidding here I'm may not lo1ok that big on video but I also carry a lot of muscle mass and just well proportioned and 6'1" tall and always had a large bone frame.  I will start off by giving you one of my new green smoothie recipes and it is very tasty.  Start with

1 cup of almond milk
1/2 cup mixed berries, Strawberry, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.
3 cups spinach
2-3 cups water
1/2 cup mango
1/2 cup papaya
1 ripe banana
1 Tblsp of Chia Seeds
1 scoop Vega Protein Powder Vanilla Flavor or any plant based protein mix.
For added chlorophyll and beneficial nutrients a shot of wheatgrass would also make this jump into the stratosphere of taste and beneficial properties


Place everything in a high speed blender or what have you and pulse a few times to get things going
and than hit the high speed or on button.  Cheap blenders you may need to use more water and possibly a smaller batch this is for a large blender mine holds almost 2ltrs.   Substituting the spinach for kale, collard greens, or even romaine is fine just make sure it is a dark green.

God Bless.  May you find your own journey to a healthier you.

Explosive Tasting Smoothie with Chia Seeds and Blueberries

This was a fiber and protein rich taste sensation that started off with 2 cups of blueberries, followed by one small banana and than 2 cups of mixed spring greens.   The ones I used were a mixture of baby kale, baby Swiss chard and spinach from fresh express.  I simply used 3 cups of water for the liquid as why add more calories or use something else when water is our life force already.
 I also added approx. 2 tablespoons of Chia seeds at last minute this concoction.  Not only once blended did this have a nice thick almost pudding like consistency it was just yummy.  This made just over a liter of smoothie enough for a healthy lunch and some for the wife.  Having a smoothie or a salad everyday as well as different fruits and veggies has been something I have tried to do regularly for the last few years.  Even though I do not say I'm a vegan it is important to consume foods that are beneficial for us to eat.   Chia seeds pack a whole lot of nutrients and when added to other antioxidant rich foods like blueberries for instance in this smoothie your giving those cells that extra boost to keep sickness at bay and help you stay healthy.  Purple foods and greens for a double whammy you can never go wrong when you put these fruits and veggies together.  We all know that antioxidants help with the removal of free radicals which is a good thing as free radicals can increase the chances of cancer growth.  The Chia seeds are also a great source of fiber and Omega 3's so this helps flush out the toxins in our colon as well.  If you have yet to try these small seeds and not just to use to make some funky Chia pet but to eat as a gel or used in something else give them a shot got nothing to lose other than maybe some crap hanging on to the walls of your colon.  This is why I use the word explosive Chia seeds really help to clean you out.

God Bless and best wishes.

You can also use Chia seeds in many things as a thickener so if your looking for the raw puddings, jello like desserts this is what you need you can find them in seed form even at Costco these days and powder form in most health food stores;  although with a high powered blender or a coffee grinder make your own powder.  The seeds absorb 10x their size in liquid so they kind of resemble tapioca or fish eggs I think most would prefer the tapioca reference.  Many kids would probably love these especially of you got a young one who likes science experiments and stuff or tapioca pudding and your weaning off of dairy throw some of these in some coconut milk and your good to go stir them around slowly about 30 minutes later they will have absorbed a lot of the liquid and now your left with a coconut milk raw tapioca pudding.  Your child can watch as these little seeds thicken the coconut milk and turn it into a pudding.

Blueberry and Pineapple Green Smoothie Blaster

Well today I made this concoction seeing what blueberries and pineapple would taste like a bit of a unlikely combination.
To my surprise it turned out quite tasty used some orange juice and water to help mix things up as I was using frozen fruit.  Now of course I had to veg it up a bit love the healthy and so I tossed in some spinach as well my favorite go to green since it is so neutral in flavor. 

I basically used as follows:

2 cups frozen blueberries
1.5 cups of frozen pineapple already chopped
2 cups of  OJ and 2 cups of filtered water
2 cups of Spinach I tend to always use organic
Blend until super smooth and consume

Remember whenever you want a sweeter smoothie add a banana with tropical fruit like pineapple totally not needed but the taste is great when put together.  If you also want a creamier smoothie without the dairy using dairy alternatives like coconut or almond milk can be used instead of the water or OJ.

May your trek down the health food path bring you some tasty drinks, and eats.
God Bless.
 

Kale and Mango Smoothie with Hemp Hearts

My Morning Smoothie concoction which ended up being quite the flavorful delight is as follows:
The ingredients I used for this were quite simple:

1 cup of Blueberries  I used frozen as the fresh ones are still quite pricy
1 Bunch of kale washed and remove the stems easier to blend
1 Banana/ use another if you want it sweeter
1 Mango I used a yellow sweeter ones or frozen chunks.
2-3 cups of water
3 tablespoons of Hemp Hearts
1 tsp of Honey

Optional flavor additions:
Cinnamon
Cayenne Pepper for a little kick
lemon/lime juice for some zing


I placed this all in my blender and started pulsing and than just let it go this was a thick masterpiece which could easily take on some more water to extend it without changing the flavor all that much.

The kale of course was at the forefront of this drink but really with kale being as powerful in flavor as it is what doesn't it mask.   However with the level of health benefits it attributes to the human body the taste can easily be over looked.  However if your new to this way of life and trying the dark greens that you may have steered clear of in the past is something that scares you; you could always add another banana or even a few more blueberries to mask the strong flavor of the kale a little extra honey would also help.

 I for one have found the taste of kale potent like with other potent greens like swiss chard and collard greens; kale however has a taste all its own some people like it others hate it I for one have come to love it.  I have found that many foods that I disliked when I was a child I have come to crave even turnips as I bet some of you are going yuck.

I suppose as you age your taste buds also change and get more refined and veggies that once made us ill just looking at them could also change to the exact opposite.  It could also be attributed to an increase in raw fruits and veggies into your life which could also change the way things taste to something more palatable and tasty.  I have also come to find in my raw travels that turnip tastes better raw than cooked go ahead slice some turnip thin either by hand or machine and give it a try who knows you may just have gotten over something you hated as a kid and now can love them as an adult.  If your looking for that crunch to go with your greens than try turnip instead of carrot next time.

Kale is full of many nutrients that are body craves it is a highly alkalizing vegetable and also full of antioxidants, iron, fiber, chlorophyll, and many more to list;  than added the other items listed above including the super food hemp hearts  that are a great source of healthy fats and an awesome source of protein for all you macho non-vegan guys looking for a protein fix instead of meat hemp hearts are where it is at.  Not only do Hemp Hearts give you a great nutty flavor to anything you are putting them in or on top of they are probably one of the greatest foods available for us to consume try them for yourself and you will see they are quite tasty and a bit addictive.

This makes quite a lot of smoothie which can be slowly drank over the course of the morning or if you have a significant other they would probably love to indulge in this fruity concoction of health and well being.  This may be a bit potent for the young ones unless you were to add the items I suggested only you can judge for yourself the end flavor that works for you.  The more greens in your green smoothies equal less calories and more nutrients than those fruit filled smoothies.

Hoping your smoothie concoctions bring you the health and vitality they bring to my own life.

God Bless and Best Wishes.

Yummy Mango Sorbet No Added Sugar

Using my new Torpedo Blender I made myself a delicious sorbet this afternoon the items I used for this are as follows:

2 cups of frozen mango
1 cup of cold coconut water

This was a bowls worth if making more just double or triple the recipe.

Simply blend this combination into a smooth and decadent concoction and enjoy.
You could use a Blendtec or Vitamix for this as well using the pulse function.  If you find it is too thick adding more coconut water will be fine if it is to thin consider adding some ice or more mango.

No additional sweeteners are needed for this to taste sublime.  For extra creaminess and some extra flavor half of a banana could also be used.

Just because it is raw doesn't mean it cannot taste incredible.  Start using your blender for more than just smoothies it can plenty of tasks. 

My Torpedo Blender I grabbed at Walmart great price and powerful for just over 100.00 dollars CA I'm not complaning has given me some of the best smoothies and soups I have had makes my old blender look like a piece of junk.  Also seems to be able to do a lot of the things a much more expensive blender can do.  It also has a spout incorporated for fast smoothie to glass or even making Margaritas for your friends.

One solid principle with raw cooking is using the KISS system-keep it simple stupid.

Baby Bok Choy Salad Experiment

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Well I was getting some groceries the other day and was wondering what to have for dinner; and than I saw a small bag of Baby Boy Choy and my choice was made for me it was like hey look at me you want me in your belly.  As I have made a recipe like this before I will tell you this baby bok choy has a much milder taste than its mature brother and therefore can go into a salad with a simple dressing and still be awesome for the salad I concocted you will need as follows:

5-6 heads of baby bok choy you could also use Shanghai bok choy for this
1 mango Fresh is best
1 pepper I used red
1 small bunch of fresh Cilantro if you do not like it omit it I for one love it
2-3 handfuls of spinach
 1 Avocado
Dressing
1 Lrg. orange
extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt and Fresh cracked pepper for flavor


To Prepare:
Wash the bok choy and set aside in colander to drain
Wash the other veggies and also set aside
Slice the pepper length wise and proceed to get rid of seeds than thick slice and make large dice.
Mango peel trim the flesh off the large seed and than also large dice
Cilantro if you want it rough chop all of these items can be tossed into a large mixing bowl
Spinach needs no prep just toss it in
Avocado cut around the seed going around the middle of the fruit remove seed and than scoop out flesh and large dice as well.

Dressing:
 Juice the orange pour over the salad drizzle the olive oil over top approx. 1 tablespoon

Finishing touches:

Toss the salad add the sea salt & pepper and than toss again the avocado will get smashed a bit and that is a good thing this will give the salad a nice creaminess to it which is extra yummy.  For extra heat you could spinkle some cracked chili flakes or cayenne pepper but it is not needed.

If you eat light this is good for two people, however if your active and like your salads this is for one.  Myself I love my salads and this size was good for me.

Not only does Bok Choy have a great subtle flavor to it it works well many different ingredients and is truly something not to pass by.

 When your looking for something else to put in your salad consider this.

God Bless and Joyful Eating.

Remember sometimes the simple things that you can use for a dressing or a base is what really makes food shine.

Bodum Citrus Juicer -Sweet Scrumptious OJ

Well the other day I was browsing my local Sears store and checked out the clearance table and low and behold I came across a deal of the century a beautiful pearl white Bodum Citrus Juicer.  Now I remembered looking at these units a few months ago but they wanted $59.99 for them and I was like I will wait not spending that kind of money even though Bodum does make some great products I had a feeling maybe the price would go down anyways I'm looking this over and the only thng that appears to be missing is one of the 2 glasses that come with the unit since you can only make one glass at a time i was not too concerned about this than I saw the tag I was instantly saying to myself SOLD it was on for you'll never guess 11.99 yes I know not under 20.00 but under 15.00 just because it was missing the cup.  Well since I grabbed it I went and grabbed some grapefruit and a bag of oranges and needless to say had the best glass of citrus juice I have ever had.  Truly there is fresh squeezed and than there is "Fresh Squeezed" until you have had a glass of fresh squeezed juice;  I do not mean the stuff you see in the store from one of those companies that says fresh squeezed either by hand or machine when you have the juice squeezed and consume it within a few minutes the flavor just explodes in your mouth.  Now not everyone can afford a citrus juicer but even a dollar store will have a manual one so give it a shot trust me you will be like man I never want that frozen or carton stuff again.  Plus when your juicing you know exactly what your getting no preservatives or added sugars or other junk.  Now many of you know I have a Breville Juice Fountain and I love it; however when you do not have to peel a orange or some other citrus prior to juicing it is heaven cut in half push down on the unit and all the work is done for you and than you can add this too any fruit or veggie juice you make with your traditional juicer or blended drinks or make one killer Virgin Cocktail.  This may be one of the more expensive citrus juicers you can get half decent ones reg. priced for under 40.00

My first juice was a combo Orange and Grapefruit MMMM! 

God Bless and Peace.

Explosive Mango & Berry Smoothie Recipe

One of my new favorite morning drinks has got to be my mixed berrie and mango smoothie and Spinach concoction infused with coconut oil and flax seed oil the liquid is simply water to get things going in the  blender.  The items needed for this delicious taste experience are as follows:

1/2 cup of fresh or frozen Mango I had some frozen organic from Costco which is awesome
1/2-1 cup of mixed berries the kind I use has blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries. I used frozen for this as well since fresh ones are rather expensive at this time of year.
2 cups luke warm water helps to thaw out the frozen fruit a bit if your using a Vitamix or Blendtec no need for warm water.
2-3 cups fresh organic spinach
2tsps flax seed oil
3tsps coconut oil

For added protein and Omega 3's Chia seed powder could be used or a bit of hemp seeds would also work well.
For an antioxidant power punch 1/2 cup of Goji berries could also be added and instead of water some steeped green tea could be used.

This beverage will not only keep you going throughout the morning it will also help move your bowels a bit if your plugged up with the fiber from the spinach and all the yummy Vitamin C and the antioxidants will help rid your body of free radicals which can cause cancer.

Most health food stores will carry the oils or you can find them online if you click on my shopping links.

God Bless and with the holiday season nearing Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Refreshing Kale Salad with Coconut Oil Dressing

This is a salad I tried out the other day and it worked out awesome the ingredients needed are as follows:

2 bunches of kale
3 cups of spinach
6 Roma tomatoes
1 cucumber diced
1/2 red onion or green onion "optional"
1 cup reg. white mushrooms
1 bunch Cilantro use half.

Dressing:
1Tblsp/15ml Coconut oil
1Tblsp/15ml Olive Oil
2tsp/10ml flax seed oil
Juice of one lime approx, 50ml 
1tsp/5ml Black Pepper
1tsp/5ml Sea Salt

Preparation:

Chop the Kale into slices and then place in bowl put dressing on top and massage the oil into the kale the oil and citrus really helps to break down the fibers and soften the coarseness of the kale so it is easier to consume and not so chewy allow the kale to sit while you prepare the rest of the items for the salad.

Remember many of the items I use are just what I had lying around or what I was craving like any salad put whatever you like eating in it.  I wish at the time I was making this I had some mango, or pineapple kicking around or some other tasty tropical fruit that pairs well with coconut mmmmm just thought of papaya.  With kale being coarse it will not wilt fast like other green leafy veggies so you have some time to get everything together.
   

Bell Pepper and Romaine Salad Experiment

The ingredients needed for this are as follows:

3-4 Red or yellow peppers or a mixture of the two
1 Head of romaine or 2 romaine hearts
1/ 2 Red onion
3-4 Tomatoes
1/2 Cucumber
1 cup Mushroom I used Crimini's
1/2 tub Sprouts your choice


Dressing:
2 Bell Peppers
5-6 individual leaves of fresh Rosemary I have a rosemary bush so the leave's are quite big so I just pick off a few rather than removing a whole branch.
2 Twigs of fresh Thyme remove herb from stem
1 Lime Fresh Squeezed you could use lemon; I like the taste of limes.
2 Tblspn. Coconut oil
1 Tblsp. Extra virgin Olive Oil
 2 - 3 Tblspns of Water to help blend depending on your blender of course I have cheap Oster.
1Tsp Fresh Cracked Pepper
1tsp paprika for added color and taste
Pinch of Sea salt for taste

This made enough dressing to really saturate this bowl of salad and the flavor was refreshing with the crisp peppers and then the dressing highlighting that flavor it was basically a take on a twist on a Caesar salad and a Greek Salad which turned out rather nice.  Remember fresh is best with herbs especially for salads and if you use dried use 3 times less as it is way more potent. 

One last tip if the smell of your dried spices is going  flat time to replace them they are old and going stale and will just make your food taste well not like they did when you first bought them.



 Take two of the peppers and set aside for the dressing;  the other ones get rid of seeds by topping and bottoming and then and chop into large pieces like you would for a Greek salad same for the cucumber and tomato and then a large dice for the red onion, slice the mushrooms and the sprouts well they just get tossed in. Rough chop the Romaine once washed and spun and then place in a bowl .

Toss all of the fixings together blend the above ingredients listed for the dressing combine them and enjoy letting it sit for a short time is fine romaine will stand up to a bit of soaking and it allows the dressing to coat everything really well.

P.S. Coconut oil really makes this dish POP.  I will be writing a very positive article on the brand I use soon as it was a gift and will need a disclaimer incorporated which I do not have with me here at work.  I suppose you could substitute it with a nut butter if you wish; though why would you want to with the health benefits coconut oil has to offer.

P.S.  Any of your vegan salads can have awesome protein added to it with Chia seeds, Hemp Seeds, nuts, and of course more green leafy veggies like Kale for instance.

God Bless & Peace.

One last thing by incorporating more RAW veggies and fruit to your lifestyle it will make your body work more efficiently for you and will also help with your skin complexion and bowel health and of course has been known to reverse the aging process all you baby-boomers/ THIS DOES NOT MEAN PIE.  Remember your body is usually dying on the inside before you will see signs of the arising issue on the outside start your cleanse today colon cancer is one of the number one killers of men and woman around the globe why not take the easy cleanse by increasing your raw fruits and veggies today and fresh green juices.