Raw Ranch Dressing

My biggest objection to avoiding processed and creamy foods was giving up Ranch dressing. It's good on just about everything, and there's not another dressing I actually like on a salad. Through just a smidge of trial and error, I came up with this healthy version of Raw Ranch dressing.

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 45 minutes or overnight
1/2 fresh lime, squeezed
1 to 2 T. raw soy sauce
1 to 2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. dried dill (I know, not raw, so you can use fresh dill if you have it)
Real Salt to taste
Water

Place all ingredients in a blender and process on the highest setting until smooth. Start with just a little water and add more as needed to reach desired consistency. Also consider adding parsley for a little variety.

This amount will yield enough for three salads at dinner and some leftover for lunch the next day. This recipe will easily double and the leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for a few days. If keeping leftovers, shake gently as the lime juice seems to separate while being stored.

Note: The raw soy sauce adds a salty flavor, so use caution and taste often when adding the salt.

Fruit Tarts

Dessert! Quite possibly my favorite meal of the day, and definitely a favorite for the boys. I was concerned about all the sugar they were consuming in the form of brownies, cookies, and ice cream. This little beauty of a healthy dessert helps curb our cravings for the bad stuff. I dare you to stop at one tart!

1 large handful of raw almonds or mixed nuts, soaked overnight
2 to 3 dates (soaking optional)
1 1/2 cups any fruit, cut into small pieces
Drizzle of Agave Nectar

Drizzle agave nectar over the fruit and toss. Let stand while preparing the tart "crust."

Drain the nuts and dates, removing pits from the dates if they have them (I forgot to do this once - sort of wreaked havoc on my food processor). Place in a food processor with an S-shaped blade and process until the mixture starts to form into a ball. Add an additional date or two if the mixture is not forming into the ball shape. The actual amount of dates needed will depend on their size. You can add a little cinnamon, allspice, or other seasoning for variety.

Take small sections of the almond mixture, flatten, and build up the sides slightly. I recommend doing this on a sheet of waxed paper. Continue until you have used all the "dough" (this amount of nuts will yield about six tarts).

Scoop fruit into the center of each tart. Top with additional agave nectar, if desired.

Note: Agave nectar is a wonderful sweetener. It has a low glycemic index, which means it won't cause your blood sugar to spike. Agave nectar is very sweet, so you use less than other types of sweeteners.

Random Factoid: White sugar is bleached by filtering it with charred animal bones. If you're going to use regular sugar, I suggest Sucanat, which is a natural sugar. I do NOT recommend "raw" sugar as it goes through the "bleaching" process before molasses is added to give it the brown color.

Smoothies!

We couldn't have a discussion about Raw Foods without mentioning the Green Smoothie. As a staple breakfast food at our house, the boys love them. We get our fiber, protein and a hearty serving of fruits and vegetables to start our day. Green Smoothies can be made with any combination of fruits and greens, but this is our standard. Don't let the green color stop you - they're seriously amazing.

1/8 cup hemp seeds OR ground flax seeds
1 or 2 bananas
1 large pear (chop it in fourths and throw it in - no need to remove the seeds)
2 to 3 large handfuls of fresh spinach (or other greens like collard greens or kale - stems too!)
2 to 3 clementines

Put all ingredients in the blender and process on the highest speed. Then:

Fill the blender with about 6 ice cubes (cold smoothies just taste better) and whatever other fruit you can fit. Sometimes I'll throw in another handful of spinach, too. We use frozen blueberries, strawberries, and mangoes (although technically not raw because they're usually flash boiled before freezing, but these fruits tend to spoil more quickly so we prefer the frozen version), or fresh pineapple, apples, or more bananas. Get creative! One full blender makes three breakfast-sized smoothies.

Tip: Unless you're fortunate enough to own one of my most coveted possessions - the VitaMix blender - it's a good idea to put the softer fruits and greens at the bottom of the blender. It just mixes better this way.

Saucy Sauces!

Sauces are the key to making a delicious Nearly Raw Foods dish. Gone are the days when sauces meant heavy cream and thigh-thickening butter. Nuts, which contain "healthy fats," are the foundation for my creamy sauces.

Almost Alfredo Sauce

1 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 45 minutes (but overnight is better)
1/4 to 1/2 small onion
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/8 cup nutritional yeast (NOT a raw food, but adds a creamy, cheesy flavor)
1 tsp. Real Salt (more or less to taste)
1 to 2 T. Raw Soy Sauce (more or less to taste)
Water

Place all ingredients in a blender along with 1/2 cup water. Puree on highest setting until smooth, adding more water as necessary to meet desired consistency. We prefer a thinner sauce.

Serving Suggestion: Serve atop grated raw zucchini and carrots. A regular cheese grater with large holes works magic for making vegetable "noodles." Can also be served with a small amount of cooked spaghetti noodles (whole wheat noodles are better than the regular, starchy stuff) for picky eaters. Sprinkle with Hemp Seeds or Raw Sunflower seeds for an added nutritional boost.

Why soak nuts? There may be another reason for this, but the bottom line is that they simply process easier when soaked. The nuts absorb the water making them easier to puree into a creamy mixture. I've also heard that soaking, or "germinating," helps eliminate some unwanted compounds. Not real sure about this, though, so I'll stick to my "they're easier to process" answer.