Papaya Seed Dressing

1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
4-8 tbsp. fresh papaya seeds

Combine vinegar, honey, mustard, and salt in blender. Gradually add oil and onion. Finally, add papaya seeds and blend until they are cut to size of coarse ground pepper.

Note: the recipe called for on 2 T. papaya seeds but I but in 8 T. So I think it’s fine with what ever amount of papaya seeds your papaya has.

By - Elizabeth

Four Benefits of Papaya Seeds:
1. Antibacterial properties - research has found that papaya seeds are effective against E. coli, Salmonella, and Staph infections.
2. Kidney protection - research has found that papaya seed extract may protect the kidneys from toxin-induced kidney failure.
3. Eliminates intestinal parasites - there is evidence that papaya seeds eradicate intestinal parasites. In a study done on Nigerian children with intestinal parasites, 76.7% of the children were parasite-free after seven days of treatment with papaya seeds compared to only 16.7% of the children who received a placebo.
4. Liver detoxifier - In Chinese medicine, it is believed that a teaspoon of papaya seeds will help detoxify the liver. Papaya seeds are often recommended by natural doctors in the treatment of cirrhosis of the liver.

Every Morning Granola

This recipe comes from the Green Smoothie Girl, Robyn! I've included several additions that aren't in her original recipe.

By - Janine

Full of fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, and live sprouts--whole-foods nutrition perfect for children! You won’t get hungry before lunch, and kids won’t be nagging for snacks. I double this recipe and make it in a big broiler pan with a lid, where I keep it until it’s gone—a double batch lasts my four kids (big eaters!) about 10 days.

8 cups rolled oats

2 cups puffed millet

2 cups puffed quinoa

1 cup raw wheat germ

1 cup shredded organic coconut

½ cup freshly ground flax seed (I use my blender to grind the seed)

2 cups nuts (walnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds, pumpkin, sunflower seeds)

2 cups dried fruit (dates, golden raisins, cranberries, blueberries, banana chips, etc.)

¼ cup sesame seeds

2 Tbsp. cinnamon (I also use pumpkin pie spice)

Mix well.

Heat on stove until just melted, stir together, and pour over dry mixture:

½ cup honey

½ cup molasses or Grade B maple syrup

½ cup water

optional: ½ cup coconut oil

optional: 1 tsp. maple flavoring or vanilla

Mix liquid ingredients into dry ingredients until distributed evenly. Bake at 250 degrees,

stirring well halfway through the baking process, for 45 minutes. Keep in pantry for up to

2 weeks, or frig for up to 6 weeks.

Serve with: almond or rice milk, plus 2 Tbsp. sprouted raw sunflower seeds mixed in. To

sprout sunflower seeds: cover ½ pint of sunflower seeds with filtered water overnight, drain

in the morning—they are now living food with vastly more enzymes and nutrients. You

may also sprout raw almonds or pumpkin seeds to add to your granola in the morning.

Peanutty Sesame Noodles

Peanutty Sesame Noodles (Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's p.55)
Ingredients:

8oz spaghetti noodles (for gluten-free, use the brown rice spagetti noodles)

Easy Peanutty Sauce (recipe below)

1 C shredded carrot

1/2 C peeled and sliced cucumber

2 green onions chopped

1/4 C roasted peanuts, crushed



Directions:

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.

Pour Easy Peanutty Sauce over noodles and toss until noodles are evenly coated. Add carrots and cucumber. Toss gently.

Top with green onions and crushed peanuts.



Easy Peanutty Sauce

1/4 C Trader Ming's Soyaki or Veri Veri Teriyaki

1/4 C Creamy Salted Peanut Butter

2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

1/4 C water

Whisk Soyaki, peanut butter, and sesame oil until blended.

Add water and mix well.



Prep time: 10 minutes
Hands-off cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4-6

By - Janine

Raw Flax Crackers

1.5 cup Golden Flax Seeds
1 cup carrot pulp
1 cup of carrot juice
sea salt

Put golden flax seeds in about 2 cups of water and let sit for a few hours or even overnight.
Juice carrots to make 1 cup of pulp and one cup of juice (or add straight to the vitamix).
Golden flax seeds will be jelly like when they are ready.
Add the carrot pulp/juice and flax seeds together and add some sea salt to taste.

Pour the gelatinous mixture onto teflex sheets and using a knife, gently score the mixture into cracker shapes (I do triangles). This will help you to snap them neatly when they are done.
Place in a dehydrator.
Set the dehydrator to 145 degrees F for the first 2 hours and then reduce heat to 115 degrees.
When the mixture is dry enough to hold together, remove the teflex sheet and let the crackers continue dehydrating on the mesh. This will speed up the drying process.
When crisp, remove from the dehydrator and break gently along the scores you initially made.

By - Idy & Mark

Idy’s Raw Vegan Berry Mousse Cheesecake

Idy’s Raw Vegan Berry Mousse Cheesecake

(made by Deanne. my variations to the recipe include: using macadamia nuts instead of cashews and a combination of orange and lemon juice and less honey for step 2. For the fruit puree level (step 4) I used 2 bananas and 2 pints strawberries. I did not add the mousse layer (step 5).

Procedure:

1) Wipe down the sides and bottom of a spring form pan with coconut oil.

2) In a powerful blender, like a Vitamix, puree:

3 cups raw cashews ( soaked )
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice ( don’t use the store bought in plastic squeeze bottle )
1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup raw honey

¼ cup cold pressed coconut oil

Pour cashew puree into a bowl and set aside.

3) In a food processor, pulse

¼ tsp. sea salt
2 cups cashews or almonds, till like sand.
Add 1 1/2 cups pitted Medjool dates and pulse again till sticky enough to hold together. Press this mixture on to the spring form pan, forming a bottom crust.

Pour cashew puree on to the crust and evenly distribute with a spatula. Remove any air bubbles by tapping pan on a table. Freeze till firm

4) For the fruit puree layer, puree in the blender:

1 bag of fresh berries or fruit of your choice

¼ cup maple syrup or honey

pinch of salt

Pour puree on to the frozen cashew cheesecake. Spread evenly. Freeze till hard.

After freezing, you can stop at this point and serve it this way , or you can move on to the mousse layer.

5) For the Mousse layer, puree in the blender:

1 bag of fresh berries or fruit of your choice

1 cup raw cashews ( soaked )

½ cup filtered water

pinch of salt

Pour mousse on top of frozen berry cheesecake, cover, and freeze until firm. Take out of freezer 10 minutes before serving. Slice as desired. Top with fresh fruit.

Raw Energy Balls

Energy Balls: By Deanne

Take a mix of seeds, nuts and dried fruit.

Puree in a food processor or juicer.

Add sesame seeds, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and mesquite powder.

Roll into balls and coat with Coconut Flakes.

Here is the list of ingredients I used, but it can vary depending on what you have in your pantry:

Dates
Prunes
Himalayan Mulberries

Almonds
Sunflower Seeds
Macadamia Nuts
Hazlenuts

Cocoa Powder
Mesquite Powder*
Vanilla Extract

Sesame Seeds

Pureed Fresh Ginger

*More on Mesquite Powder:

Mesquite is a nutritious powder with a sweet, nutty flavor, suitable for use in baking or as a seasoning on food and in drinks. The powder is ground from the seed pods of the mesquite plant, also known as algorroba (Prosopis juliflora), a leguminous plant found in arid areas around the world, including parts of South America and the southwestern U.S.

In desert areas of the Americas, mesquite seed pods have long been used as a food source by the indigenous peoples, who traditionally ground them into a powder to be used as a flour or processed into a sweetener, a sweet beverage, or a fermented alcoholic drink. Today, mesquite powder is proving to be a versatile food with a high nutritional and flavor value.

Mesquite is also highly effective in balancing blood sugar. Because its sugar is in the form of fructose, which does not require insulin for metabolism, mesquite helps maintain a constant blood sugar level for a sustained period of time. It supports the diet of diabetics, and helps maintain a healthy insulin system in others.

Because mesquite powder is ground from the entire pod, including the seed, it is high in protein (11–17%). It is also rich in:

• Lysine
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Potassium
• Iron
• Zinc
• Dietary fiber

Mesquite is highly effective in balancing blood sugar. For thousands of years, Native Americans in the Southwest and Mexico relied on mesquite as a food staple, and there was no diabetes in those communities. Today, as the people have moved away from their native foods and become less active, diabetes and obesity have skyrocketed. Fifty percent of the Pima and Tohono O'odham people over the age of 35 reportedly suffer from diabetes, and it is believed that the removal of mesquite from their diets is one of the main causes.

Because its sugar is in the form of fructose, which does not require insulin for metabolism, mesquite helps maintain a constant blood sugar level for a sustained period of time. With a glycemic index of 25 and a high percentage (25%) of dietary fiber, it digests more slowly than many grains, preventing sharp rises and falls in blood sugar. Mesquite thus supports the diet of diabetics, and helps maintain a healthy insulin system in others.

Mesquite powder has social and ecological as well as nutritional value. The marketing of mesquite products harvested in arid rural areas fights desertification and provides a sustainable economic alternative to cutting down trees for rangeland, charcoal production, or other purposes.

Mesquite powder can be used in breads, biscuits, pie crusts, and other raw or baked goods, where it is usually used in combination with other flours (25-30% mesquite). Because of its high lysine content, it is an excellent addition to crackers and dehydrated foods, which may be low in lysine.

The powder's molasses-like flavor, with a slight hint of caramel, also goes well in teas, coffees, and smoothies. It's delicious in dairy or seed/nut yogurts and energy bars, and fruit/nut butter spreads. As a seasoning, it can be added to soups, sauces, casseroles, and virtually any vegetable or meat dishes, or even sprinkled on desserts.