Saturday, January 26, 2013

Dragon Fruit


 

Have you ever seen this fruit before? You might have while shopping at the grocery store, but have you had the curiosity to taste it? Well, I have, it has a sweet good taste, and the fun is that I can add it to my smoothies!

The story is that I didn't buy it, it was my lovely brother-in-law, who knows that I like to try new fruits and discover new tastes so while he was shopping the other day, he thought about buying some.
Dragon Fruit

What do you know about the dragon fruit?

It is know as Pitaya or pitahaya is the fruit of several cactus species. "Pitaya" usually refers to fruit of the genus Stenocereus, while "Pitahaya" or "Dragonfruit" always refers to fruit of the genus Hylocereus.

It comes from a cactus called the dragon fruit cactus plant, which only blooms at night. This fruit typically grows in tropical, dry or subtropical environments. The fruit can be eaten fresh or dried, and both forms are full of nutrients and health benefits.

Fiber

According to NaturalFoodBenefits.com, dragon fruit is a good source of fiber, with nearly 1 g of fiber for every 100 g of fresh dragon fruit. When dragon fruit is dried, the fiber content rises even more, with 10 g of fiber or more found in 100 g of the dried fruit, depending on how much water the dried fruit has. Eating the skin of this fruit adds to the fiber content--just make sure the skin is free of mold and dirt.

Cholesterol and Fats

Dragon fruit has low amounts of cholesterol, and has minimal amounts of fats that raise cholesterol levels, states the Diabetic Life Diet website. The cholesterol in dragon fruit comes from the many seeds that are in the fruit, sometimes thousands of seeds in one piece of fruit. When you eat dragon fruit, the seeds are extremely small and diffused throughout the fruit, so it is impossible to remove all of the seeds prior to eating. These seeds add fat and protein to the fruit, but the majority of fat in the seeds is the good kinds of fat called monounsaturated fat.

Vitamins and Antioxidants

The dragon fruit is chock-full of vitamins, including vitamin C and antioxidants. The amount of vitamin C in each fruit can vary, depending on soil nutrients and differences in dragon fruit cacti, but the website Dragon Fruit Pitaya Fruit estimates that approximately 50 percent of your daily vitamin C requirement can be met by eating 100 g of dried dragon fruit or 1 kg of fresh dragon fruit. Other nutrients in dragon fruit include carotene, phosphorus and vitamins B1, B2 and B3, according to Agriculture Business Week. Antioxidants help destroy free radicals in the body, which are molecules that may cause cancer, cardiovascular issues and other health problems.

Effects on Diabetes

Dragon Fruit Pitaya Fruit notes that the fruit can help control glucose levels in some people with Type 2 diabetes. If you have diabetes, it is best to talk to your doctor about the possible health benefits of dragon fruit.




Reference: Livestrong 

Friday, January 25, 2013

"Tour de Tomates Guacamole"

"Tour de Tomates Guacamole"

Emporte-Pièces Rond
Preparation: 10 Minutes
Portions: 4 appetizers or 2 main dish
Equipment: Emporte-Pièces Rond / cookie-pieces

Raw Organic Ingredients:
2 medium tomatoes

Tartare avocado and corn
2 avocados
1/2 cup corn
2 tb.s dried tomatoes, minced
corn
250g celery, minced
1/8 t.s. sea salt
1/8 t.s. cumin, ground
1/2 t.s. chili powder
Zest and juice of 1 lime
120g arugula sprouts



Cut the tomatoes into small pieces and drain the excess liquid.Put it aside to be used in the process. Put, in a bowl, all ingredients of the tartar avocado and corn. Mix delicately.
 

Place a cookie-pieces in the center of the platter surrounded by nest Arugula sprouts.

Deposit 3 tb.s of
tartar avocado and corn in the bottom of the cookie pieces. Press with the back of the spoon to pack all without crushing. Add 3 tb.s of the small tomatoes pieces, then again 2 tb.s tartar avocado and corn. Finish it with 2 tb.s of the tomatoes pieces and pack everything with the back of the spoon to form a compact tower, but not crushed.

Repeat the process for the other 3 plates.

Eat fresh


Bon Appétit!
La Reina
Recipe from: Crudessence Recipe Book  



Thursday, January 17, 2013

Tagliatelles au Pesto

Tagliatelles au Pesto


Preparation: 10 Minutes
Portions: 4 appetizers or 2 main dish
Equipment: Mandoline

Raw Organic Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini
1/4 cup Pistachios and Basil Pesto
1/2 t.s. sea salt
1 tb.s olive oil
1 garlic clove
6 kalamata olives
2 tb.s pine nuts


Tagliatelles style zucchini
Using the mandoline, make long, thin strips of zucchini
In a bowl, bring together all the ingredients; zucchini tagliatelles, pesto,  sea salt, garlic clove and olive oil.  
Place the tagliatelles in plates and garnish with the olives and pine nuts

Eat fresh


Bon Appétit!
La Reina
Recipe from: Crudessence Recipe Book  



Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Smoothie Exotique

Spinach is my favorite green leaf, as you might notice I use it a lot in my smoothies.
Since I was very young my favorite dish was Lebanese made spinach with meat balls and rice, the times where I used to eat meat, with yogurt along the side. Those were the days, but luckily I can still mix my spinach with my smoothies, salads, and other raw dishes.

Smoothie Exotique

Raw Organic Ingredients:
Handful Spinash
1 Banana
1 Orange
1 Mango


1 cup of Water

Equipment:
Vitamix or a blender

Add all the ingredients in the Vitamix, and mix until smooth.
Serves 2


Bon Appétit!

La Reina

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Fruits Alors!


Raw Organic Ingredients: 
1 tb.s. coconut oil
3 Grapefruits 
4 Strawberries
3/4 cup Mango
1/2 cup Raspberries
1/2 t.s. ground cardamom
3 t.s. Date paste or 3 seedless dates
1 1/2 Water


Equipment:
Vitamix

Add all the ingredients in the vitamix, and mix until smooth.
If you want it cold, use ice with the water.   

Bon Appétit!

La Reina

Monday, January 14, 2013

Mango and Grapefruit


Mango and Grapefruit

Organic Ingredients:

Seeds:
1 tb.s of Flax seeds
1 tb.s Pumpkin seeds

Dried Fruits:
1 tb.s Goji berries

Fruits:

1 Mango
1 Grapefruit
1 Banana
1 Apple

Equipment:
Blender or a Vitamix

1 cup of water


Mix all in a blender, or a Vita-mix

Serves 3 cups

Bon Appétit!

La Reina

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Coconut Ice Cream

Dairy free coconut ice cream (vegan, nut free)
Author: 
Recipe type: dessert
Prep time: 
Total time: 
 
4 ingredient ice cream made from coconut
Ingredients
  • 1 cup coconut creamer (or canned coconut milk just make sure full fat)
  • ¼ cup coconut butter*
  • ½ tsp stevia** adjust taste to your liking
  • ½ tsp cardamom
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into blender and blend till creamy.
  2. *If you do not have coconut butter, you can use coconut oil but do around 2-3 tbsp.
  3. **And if you do not like stevia, pick your favorite sweetener and adjust to taste. Start around 1-2 tbsp and go from there. Depends how sweet you like it.
  4. Once coconut ice cream is blended, pour into a shallow dish and place in freezer. Depending if you use coconut butter or coconut oil, the time in freezer will vary. Just keep checking on it, should take only a few hours.
Notes
Other great flavor options - add lemon zest use vanilla or cinnamon instead of cardamom, or add it with it stir in your favorite chocolate chips

Friday, January 11, 2013

Pad Thaï

My first-time home made Pad Thaï. It is DELICIOUS, even when my mother tried it, she was humming while tasting it, which means she approved it, and I felt so proud. Try it yourself, and get the Thaï flavor with the vegan "cuisine"!

Pad Thaï

Preparation: 20 Minutes
Portions: 4
Utensils: Mandoline or Spirooli Coupe Spirale

Decoration and Sauce:
1 small Lettuce, cut into pieces
1/2 cup Pad Thaï Sauce (check recipe)
1/2 cup cashew nuts, coarsely ground
1/2 lime, cut in 4
Coriander leaf

Raw Organic Ingredients:
1 1/2 zucchini, spaghetti style with the Spirool
1 medium Daikon a Japanese white Radish, spaghetti style
1 cup red cabbage, sliced
1/4 cup green onion, sliced
1 cup red pepper, cut in strips
1 cup yellow pepper, cut in strips
2 cups sunflower sprouts
1/2 cup fresh coriander
Daikon



In a bowl, bring together all the ingredients; mixed vegetables. Add the Pad Thaï Sauce
and mix well.

Place the mixture in a mountain style. Spread the crushed cashews. Decorate with a wedge of lime and coriander leaves. Eat fresh





Bon Appétit!
La Reina
Recipe from: Crudessence Recipe Book  

Pad Thai Sauce


Pad Thai Sauce

Preparation: 5 minutes
Serves 2 cups

Raw Organic Ingredients:
1/4 cup Tamarin Paste
1/4 cup Agave nectar
1/4 cup Tamari Sauce
2 tb.s. chili flakes
1 tb.s. Garlic, glove
1/4 cup Sunflower oil
2 tb.s. water

Reduce all ingredients in a blender into a thick sauce.

Can be kept for 2 weeks in the fridge in a container.

Add to Pad Thaï


Bon Appétit!

La Reina


Recipe from: Crudessence Recipe Book 


Recipe with Pad Thaï

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Spinach & Pineapple

Fresh and cold to start a good morning with the greens. I chose Spinach and Pineapple to boost my body and energy after my meditation and yoga and jump into my daily overload of work.
Spinach & Pineapple



Organic Ingredients:

Fruits:
4 Pineapple slice, frozen
1 Banana
1 cup Spinach
1/2 Mango


Seeds:
Hemp seeds

Equipment:
Blender or Vitamix

1 cup of water

Add all ingredients in the blender.

Decorate with hemp seeds
Or choose your own decoration :-)


Bon Appétit!

La Reina

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Kale Soup

A nice and fast dinner idea, Kale Soup
Kale Soup


Preparation: 5 Minutes
Portions: 4
Equipment: Blender or a Vitamix

Raw Organic Ingredients:
5 kale leaves and/or spinach and / or chard leafs
1 Avocado
1 cup sunflower sprouts
1/4 cup hemp seeds
2 1/2 cups water, (hot if you want a hot soup)
1 lemon, peeled
1 t.s. ground coriander
2 tb.s. tamari sauce or nama shoyu




Kale
Avocado
Nama Shoyu


Hemp seeds





Put all the ingredients in the blender, or vitamix until obtaining a smooth soup.






Bon Appétit!

La Reina

Recipe from: Crudessence Recipe Book  



Monday, January 7, 2013

Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated Mushrooms

This recipe is to be used with the "Spaghettis au Pesto"


Prepare 1 cup

Raw Organic Ingredients:
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
4 t.s. sea salt
4 t.s. olive oil
1 t.s. ground black pepper



In a bowl, mix the mushrooms with the sea salt, ground black pepper and olive oil.  
Leave it for 15 minutes, then throw the water left in the bottom before using the marinated mushrooms.
Eat fresh


Bon Appétit!

La Reina

Recipe from: Crudessence Recipe Book  
Recipes used with: Spaghettis au Pesto

Pistachios and Basil Pesto

Pistachios and Basil Pesto
Soaking: 4 hours
Preparation: 15 Minutes
Portions: 1 1/2 cup
Equipment: Blender

Raw Organic Ingredients:
1/2 cup pistachios, soaked

1/3 cup cashew nuts, soaked
1 cup basil leafs

1 1/2 garlic clove
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 t.s. sea salt

pistachios
cashew
Basil and Garlic


Olive Oil
Sea Salt










Soak the pistachios and the cashews for 4 hours. Rinse them well after soaking.
In the mixer, blend all the ingredients into a creamy paste.


Can be kept 1 week in the fridge, or 6 months in the freezer.



Bon Appétit!

La Reina

Recipe from: Crudessence Recipe Book  
Recipes used with: Spaghettis au Pesto 

"Spaghettis au pesto"

I am starting with new dishes for daily lunch and/or dinners. I had this amazing "Spaghettis au Pesto" with my mum, who actually loved it.
It took me sometime to prepare this dish, as there are different ingredients and preparations which needs to be done in parallel. But putting this dish together takes only 10 minutes.

Indulge in the essence of live food,  and savor the best flavors of nature.
Spaghettis au pesto


Preparation: 10 Minutes
Portions: 4
Equipment: Spirooli Coupe Spirale

Raw Organic Ingredients:
1 apple, spaghetti style with the Spirool
8 zucchini, spaghetti style with the Spirool
3/4 cup Pistachios and Basil Pesto
2 tb.s lemon, juiced
2 tb.s olive oil
6 spinach leafs
1 cup marinated mushroom
1/4 cup crumesan

In a bowl, bring together all the ingredients; spaghetti, pesto, lemon juice and olive oil.  
Place the spinach at the bottom of each dish, add in a mountain style the "spaghettis au pesto" and the marinated mushrooms. Spread the crumesan on top. 
Eat fresh


Bon Appétit!
La Reina
Recipe from: Crudessence Recipe Book  


Loco Local Smoothie


 Raw Organic Ingredients: 
2 Apples
6 Strawberries
1/2 cup Blueberries
1/2 cup Fresh or Dried Cranberries
1 tb.s. Maple Syrup
300 ml Water
Blueberries
Dried Cranberries
 


Equipment:
Vitamix

Add all the ingredients in the vitamix, and mix until smooth.
If you want it cold, use ice with the water.   

Bon Appétit!

La Reina

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Crudessence, I love You!

Crudessence MacKay
In few of my previous blogs, I have mentioned how Crudessence, the one and only Raw Vegan restaurant in Montreal have changed my life. How every person I invited to try their authentic food got stoned by the energy filling the taste, atmosphere, staff and the choices of their delicious creations.

Almost a year ago, they have published their amazing un-cook book, "Crudessence", by its chefs David Cote and Mathieu Gallant, with the help of their wonderful colleagues, not forgetting one of the persons who invited me to volunteer in few of their projects and got me more involved in the best practice ever, Julian Giacomel. I would like to thank every single person who got me into this new adventure, for changing my eating habits to be more conscious about what we eat and how to heal inside out.

Here are few photos of their book signing event, I wanted to write about this a year ago, but I believe there is always a time for everything, and now it is.

I decided, as well to start preparing more of their recipes, and indulge in its essence.
It is a must buy book, trust me, worth every recipe, and penny!


David Cote and Mathieu Gallant
Merci David, Mathieu and Julian

Thank you Crudessence!

La Reina