Minute-Meal Nutritious style!

Ugh I am always busy... most students let their health become their last priority when life gets hectic- but for me my schedule just means I need creative ways to keep my nutrients coming.

The other day I knew I was going to be out of the house the entire day- and I had about thirty minutes to get dressed eat breakfast and prepare my food for the day... so with the 3 minutes I saved for food prep (...it takes me a while to get ready and I like to take my time while eating ;)....) I quickly made this yummy awesome vegan (not 100% raw but can be made 100% raw) goodness!!!

Then while I was sitting with my friend when she was getting an IV at the hospital I took out my pre-packed meal and my camera and took a picture of my creation for my blog- lets just say not only does she think I am the biggest loser but she was pretty embarrassed. Um still a win of my life!

So what you will need to make this awesomeness!
-Tempeh (BUY ORGANIC!!!! Tempeh is fermented soybeans for all you vegan newbies)
-Ketchup (The reason this dish isn't raw- Ketchups like my all time favorite food- actually 2nd fav because tomato sauce is number one in my life!!!! But because I am so into ketchup I will figure out a raw ketchup recipe and get back to you soon...)
-Sprouts (any kind you like- I used alfalfa. or you can use lettuce- I mix lettuce in sometimes when I am not too lazy to spend hours washing it.)
-salt, pepper, /whatever other spices you put into things.
I didn't take measurements really it is based on your taste buds- you can do wrong....

You mix all the ingredients and get this weird looking concoction- I know it looks nasty to some people (my friend refused to try it) but it really tastes awesome- it is one of my new favorite meals.
I think if you add mung bean-sprouts and cook it- it might be a yum veggie burger for non rawists- I never tried but just thought of it now- if you attempt this let me know. Also you can add spices to make it suitable for any dish- wow I love tempeh!

Stay healthy
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Sushi Night

Okay so I'm ready to throw some raw vegan awesomeness your way- raw vegan sushi...

I have been super busy studying for my make up exams... I missed three exams to go to South Africa for two weeks and party it up at my brothers wedding :) it was worth the stress I am under now- although I hate stress more than anything because it puts the body in an unnatural state of fight-or-flight- unnatural because stress was meant for survival not for meaningless busy work that society throws at me. (This is why people get sick from stress- I wrote my final research report on stress in my old college- I'll devote a post to it eventually.)


My friend Katya decided that it would be a good blog entry for me if we had a sushi night. So for our creative friday night dinner we invited friends to bring their favorite veggies and come kick it Japanese style with us...

Katya made vegan sushi and I made the incredible raw delicacy you see in the photograph!


What you need: 
-Nori Sheets (I bought mine at the local health-food store for 6 ₪= $1.65; but you can buy them at any supermarket now days.)
-A wooden sushi thing to roll it up- sorry I'm too lazy to google what it's called. UPDATE: A Bamboo Mat- Thanks Shira :)!!!
-A really sharp knife.
-Alfalfa sprouts to use instead of rice (sometimes I just cut lettuce instead of sprouts)
- Random veggies you like in you sushi: Avocado, Cucumber, Carrots, Red pepper
- Pickled Ginger (You can pickle it yourself- google it; I just bought at the store)
-Soy Sauce (Get one with out MSG, sugar, or gluten- Read ingredients you will be surprised to see all the extra shit they put into food.)

Okay so cut all you veggies really thin. 
Wet the nori with a little bit of water first so it will stick because there is no rice to make it sticky.
Then youtube how to make sushi and just use the same technique they tell you but with sprouts instead of rice!) 
I actually never googled how to roll sushi we just did it over and over until it worked.

Our final product was a success so yum! Katya spent all of dinner making fun of me (Raw vegans get a lot of beef from people- like my pun? but you just gotta get used to it) because I was just eating salad but actually I tried the vegan one and I think the raw vegan sushi was much more flavorful. Raw sushi is surprisingly a really filling meal... so please enjoy and let me know how it goes!


Back to studying...
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Pasta- because you ran out of cereal

Okay so pasta is pretty much the only reason most of us have not starved to death yet but it's mad fattening. Before I went raw I inhaled that shiz- I'd make an entire bag and keep it in the fridge for go-to meals when I don't have the energy to think about what to eat through out the week. Plus pasta is super awesome because every time you eat it- you add a different sauce and walla not the same meal you had yesterday.

But now how the hell is a raw vegan gonna chow down on some processed-white-flour-carby-pasta? Oh wait, an awesome alternative? No way, impossible! Oh yes my friend it is possible- there is a healthy alternative to pasta and it tastes the same, if not better! I feed this dish to really stubborn anti-vegans and they loved it! Not only does this alternative taste like pasta- it is quicker to make than pasta.

Are you ready to find out the worlds best kept secret (unless the picture on top already gave it away)? Drum roll please.... Zucchini! 

Take a peeler and peel the zucchini into strips... and add your favorite sauce... and walla it tastes just like pasta minus the carbs! Plus zucchini is really healthy packed with vitamins. A lot of the vitamins are in the skin so eat the skin too (try to buy organic though).  Really I am serious, what are you waiting for, go try it!

The recipe I am sharing with you today is sundried tomato and pesto pasta...

You will need:
1 Zucchini (This recipe makes extra pesto sauce that you can store in the fridge for two weeks but if you are making for more than one person you can add more zucchinis)
And for the Sauce:
1 cup of Basil
1/4 cup of Sun-dried tomatos (If you like sun-dried tomatoes you can skip it or put less)
1 Tablespoon of Pine nuts (which are expensive and you can skip this if you want)
2 Tablespoons of Olive oil
1 clove of Garlic (if you like less garlic use less)





Peel the Zucchini into spaghetti strips- stop peeling once you read the seeds.

Wash the basil and leave it to dry in the colander/ or just dry it by hand.
You can then blend all the ingredients or continue on reading for my ghetto style that can be used if you don't have equipment

Take the pine nuts put it in a plastic bag take a mug and crush it into little pieces. I did this on a towel so I wouldn't break the mug. The plastic bag will probably break- mine did- so like double wrap it or something- within the same bag to try not to waste plastic like try to fold the plastic over or something. I'm sure there is a better way to do all this I just didn't come up with it yet... if you think of anything post it in the comment section.

Chop the basil, garlic, and sun-dried tomato really small like the smallest you can cut it up. Then put all the ingredients together and mash it like there is not tomorrow- I used a fork and a knife.

Eventually it will look like pesto sauce!!!

Mix the sauce into the zucchini pasta add any spices you like and enjoy your meal!

Also if you are a cooked food eater and you are looking for a warm meal (weird but I guess everyone has their preferences.) You can throw this into a skillet and cook it on the stove- you will be losing a lot of nutrients but it is still a better alternative to pasta.

Let me know how your pasta comes out! And share any sauce ideas you have in the comments section!

xoxo

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