Finally my Dehydrator!

Yes!!! Finally I have received a dehydrator. My amazing mom bought it for me as a gift so I can start creating new recipes which needs dehydration like bread, burgers, chips, fruits, etc... .

And, to challenge me, the family has decided that I prepare the lunch for Sunday, a raw vegan lunch which needs dehydration.

This  dehydrator holds 5 plates, and has different temperatures. I mostly might use 40 degrees tops.

 

Dehydrator

 So the menu for tomorrow will be:
Om Burger by Crudessence, which needs a chapati bread, and the meat, both dehydrated, the bread for 5 hours and the meat for 8 to 10 hours.
Stay tuned for the recipes!

La Reina

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 

"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  

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  

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

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

Recipe from: Crudessence Recipe Book

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