Transitional Raw Food Recipes (January 2010)

If you think it is hard to follow the raw food diet during the winter months, here are some seasonal transitional recipes that will help you do just that. During January, in most places in the US, you can find beets, turnips, parsnips, a variety of oranges, and who could forget those leafy greens? This month’s green leafy treasures are Swiss Chard, kale and collard greens. Enjoy mixing and matching your favorites in the following recipes!

January’s Jumpin’ Juice

Ingredients:

1 small beetroot
1 apple, any variety, cored
4 carrots
1/2 a bunch of curly kale
1 medium cucumber
1 inch of ginger root, optional

Run everything through a juicer and drink immediately. If you like it sweeter, stir in dried and crumbled stevia leaves before drinking. Sip through a straw. Serves 1

Colors of Winter Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 apple, any variety, cored and diced
1 banana
3 navel oranges
4 leaves of green or rainbow Swiss Chard
1/2 of an avocado

Blend until smooth and creamy in a Vita-Mix or blender. Pour into your favorite smoothie glass and sip through a straw. Serves 1

Whole Turnip Salad

A simple and inventive way to eat turnips, from Beautiful on Raw: Uncooked Creations

Ingredients:

1 cup turnip greens, chopped
olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
sea salt to taste
1 medium turnip root, spiralized
1 medium zucchini, spiralized
1/2 sliced avocado

Toss greens with sea salt, olive oil and lemon juice. Add turnip root, zucchini and avocado. Mix well and serve immediately. Serves 1

Non-Nori Unsushi

Ingredients:

1 medium parsnip, peeled and cubed (aproximately 1 cup)
1/4 cup pine nuts, soaked
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon raw honey or agave nectar
pinch of sea salt

1 avocado, pitted and sliced into strips
1/2 sweet red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
4 large Collard leaves, stems removed (you will have 8 halves)

Pulse the first 5 ingredients in a food processor until it resembles the texture of rice. Lay collard greens out flat, vertically, and spoon a small amount of ‘rice mixture’ in the middle. Top with remaining vegetables and roll up from the bottom tightly. Secure with toothpick if needed. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Makes 8 wraps

Creamy Asian Style Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh young coconut water
1 cup fresh carrot juice
1 heaping Tablespoon of raw tahini
small piece of ginger root, grated
meat of one young coconut, sliced into strips
2 Tablespoons of chopped red pepper
2 Tablespoons of chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons of carrot juice pulp

Blend first four ingredients in a Vita-Mix or blender, along with half of the coconut meat. Pour into two serving bowls and garnish with remaining chopped vegetables and remaining coconut. Serves 2