Raw Tomato Soup

BREAKING NEWS:  I got a magic bullet blender off of craigslist. It is amazing, and I love it, and I have been using it exclusively to make my meals for the last week.

Also, I have been using a ton of raw food recipes from RawOn10. I love how that site provides daily menus, complete with calorie counts! Has been KEY to my pre-Trinidad diet and weight loss plan ;)

Without further ado: I've been making a super easy raw tomato soup for dinner. I eat it cold, so it's kind of a cross between gaspacho and soup-- but since I put in olive oil and garlic and basil, it still has soup-y flavor.

THE RECIPE: (makes one serving)

1 tomato
4 inch piece of celery stalk
4 baby carrots
1-2 tbs basil
salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion, (minimal) red pepper flakes --> all to taste
1 tbs almond milk
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Blend it all up! And of course, garnish with celery leaves.

Makes a filling yet light meal-- dang, don't you feel healthy?

Kale with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Mmm, kaaaale.....

It's a vegetable recipe!


Kale. I must admit, Kale has tended to be one of my "last resort" vegetables. When I'm sick of the usuals (broccoli, spinach, zucchini, even chard), then I end up buying less desirable veggies, like kale. But I've never really tried cooking kale. It usually just gets thrown in a pan and boiled (gross), or sauteed with some oil and minimal seasonings (slightly less gross). But then I found this recipe in a Family Circle magazine, and it looked exciting and tasty!  ...and so it was. Kale has redeemed itself.

THE RECIPE:

2 tbs olive oil

4 cloves garlic, mashed     ----> cook in a skillet over medium heat until garlic is golden, then add:
1 lb kale, cut into pieces   ----> saute 2 minutes, add:
1/4 tsp salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 tbs raisins
2 tbs pine nuts                  ----> cover and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if kale
                                                  gets too dry.

There ya go! The kale ends up tasting rather sweet from the raisins, and the pine nuts add a complementary savory flavor. Enjoy.