new to raw foods and forum

[nikko2]

:) hi everyone,

I have been on raw foods for 6 days!! My reasons for doing this is to improve my health and loose 60 lbs. Just a couple of questions. I bought a raw cookbook and the recipies I've tried have all been great. But I have 2 cravings. One is that I want Hot soup esp as the weather is cooling and sometime I feel like I need/want something more substantial like a burger. Any suggestions for a newbie? Also I see many recipies require a dehydrator, how important an appliance is this in raw fooding? Thanks

[Curtis]

Welcome Nikko2, glad you are here :)
I am fairly new myself so I will let others with more knowledge to answer your questions. You might also want to take some time and go through the posts here as they might answer some of your questions. :)
There is a lot of very helpful threads in this forum.

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi Nikko and welcome!

Here is a thread that was started about warm soups: http://rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229

And here is a thread talking about dehydrators and whether or not one can get by without one:
http://rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=250

For a long time I didn't have a dehydrator. I did what I could, but if you want to create certain recipes such as nut burgers, pizzas, fruit leather, grawnola, etc., then you'll want to try and get one.

Now, I held off so long because I felt I HAD to have an Excalibur. I will still get one once we relocate in another year or so, but for now, the one I have is doing an EXCELLENT job. I would invest in the Excalibur only because it has more room and it doesn't have the hole in the center and I plan to one day become a raw foods chef and create foods for others. I can't do that with what I have now, but for me and my family, it's great!

Here is a link to the one I have:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=1120727

I like it because it has temp. control and it goes as low as 95 degrees, the fan is on TOP and not the bottom (don't have to worry about spills on it like with other round models) and it just does the trick...it does what I need it to do.

So, as you can see, they're not expensive at all...grab one up!

As for your wanting something more substantial, until you get a dehydrator, you can do nut loafs and spread on lettuce leaves or eat as is. Here is a recipe I got from http://thegardendiet.com

Nut Loaf: (replacement to meat, meat loaf)
This is so tasty, meatloaf will pale in comparison! Filling too.

-Two cups Nuts (Any combination of one or more or all of these: Brazil Nuts, Almonds, Pecans, Pine Nuts, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Walnuts, Hazelnuts)
-1 Red pepper
-1 Tomato
-2 cloves Garlic
-1/2 Onion
-5 Mushrooms
-2 tablespoons Whole Pine Nuts

Grind vegetables and nuts in Food Processor with S-Blade. Spread Tahini Sauce ontop (2 tablespoons Raw Tahini, juice of 1/2 a lemon juice, 1 teaspoon honey, and 2 cloves garlic)

Now, I didn't make the topping, but it's REALLY good and satisfying! And when/if you get a dehydrator, you can take the same recipe and make patties and dehydrate to make "burgers"! My husband LOVED them!

Best to ya!

Cherie

P.S. If you decide to go with that model of dehydrator, do NOT follow their guidelines for dehydrating in the little book that comes with it! They suggest setting the temps way too high for the food to be considered still raw. Follow the recipe guidelines instead or just try and keep it set no higher than 105.

[Kristi]

Bravo Cherie! You couldn't ask for better advice nikko2! Welcome!

[Sweet lips]

Welcome Nikko,

Congratulations on your decision to become raw. Alissa has some very good ones in her book. For soups really thick soups like mushroom, corn chowder or tomato and put in a hot bowl, I also spice it, so it is warm going down.

I know what you mean about the burger things - Here are a few. If you can check the temp on your oven at get it at 105, you can use that until you are able to get a dehydrator - I too am looking forward to the day I can purchase one -soon soon soon. I do have the one with the hole in it. I also take my pulps - carrots, nut pulps and mix them with lots of onion, green and red pepper, as well as seasonings and make those into patties

from "Living in the Raw" by Rose Lee Calabro.

Squash Patties

2 C sunflower seeds, soaked 6-8 hours and rinsed
2 carrots finely grated
1 red bell pepper finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 yellow squash, finely chopped
1 zucchine, finely chopped
1/4 C raw tahini
2 T flax oil
2 T lemon juice
1 T bragg liquid aminos
dash cayenne

Process sunflower seeds through a juicer using the solid plate or using the S blade in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Form into round patties and refrigerate an hour before serving. Place each patty on a bed of sprouts and top with a dressing sauce.

Since these patties do not have any seasoning, ADD SOME I would add to the mixture 2 medium cloves of garlic, 2 tsps of dried mustard and some Vegeit or Crazy salt (mixture of veggies), celtic salt or nama shoyu.

If you feel they should be dark, use some Nama Shoyu or something like it.


Zoom Burgers
Real Tomato Ketchup

fromhttp://www.rawfoodchef.com/html/zoom_burger.html

Zoom Burgers
Servings: 6
Special equipment: Food processor, dehydrator

1 1/2 cups walnuts soaked for 12 hours and dehydrated
2 cups zucchini, shredded
3/4 cup celery, minced
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, minced
1/2 cup red onion, ,minced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons dark miso, plus a little water
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
1 teaspoon Celtic Salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 tablespoons parsley, minced
1/4 cup golden flax, ground into powder

1. Place 2/3 of the walnuts in the food processor, and puree. Add the zucchini and pulse to mix. (Do not over process – mixture should have a little texture.) Put mixture into a bowl large enough for mixing.
2. Mince remaining nuts by hand or pulse in the food processor until grainy.
3. Combine all remaining ingredients together and stir well.
4. Form burgers 1/2 inch thick using 1 cup of mixture per patty.
5. Place on a Teflex sheet in a 105 degree dehydrator for 6 - 12 hours or until desired texture is achieved. Turn once during dehydration time.
6. Serve on a lettuce leaf or a live sprouted grain bun with Cashew Mayonnaise, Honey Mustard, Real Tomato Ketchup and all the raw `trimmings'.

Serving Variation: To serve as a more elegant dinner entrée, form them into oval-shaped croquettes 1/2 inch thick, using 1 cup of the mixture per croquette, and serve on a bed of Sweet Red Pepper Sauce or Onion Shiitake Gravy (see recipes in Angel Foods: Healthy Recipes for Heavenly Bodies).

Real Tomato Ketchup
Serves 12 (approx. 10 ounces)
Special equipment: Blender

1 1/3 ounces sun-dried tomato powder (1c = 2/3 c powder)
1tablespoon tamarind paste or lemon juice
2 tomatoes, chopped
1tablespoon lemon juice
1pitted date
3/4 teaspoon Celtic salt
dash white pepper

Puree all ingredients in blender or food processor. Store in fridge for up to 1 week.

NOTES :
1 cup dried tomato halves = 2/3 cup (or 5 1/3 oz) when ground into powder, using a Vita-mix or other high-powered blender. If a Vita-mix is not available, soak the sun-dried tomatoes in water until they are soft enough to dice, then use the diced tomatoes in place of the powder.


Veggie Burgers~from Alex the raw guru

3/4 cup burdock (puree, you can grate it on a very fine grater, or blend it with the water); The burdock root CAN NOT be substituted, this is what gives the burger a meaty flavor
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (soaked)
1/2 cup cashews or pine nuts
1 cup almonds (soaked)
1 cup walnuts (soaked)
3 tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup celery juice or water
1/2 carrot (finely minced)
1 celery stick (minced)
2 tbs. dried basil
1 tbs. dried sage
1 tsp. fresh ginger (minced)
2 tbs. fresh ciliantro
pinch of turmeric (keeps the mixture from spoiling)
1 tsp. cayanne or 1 tsp. of fresh diced ripe jalapeno
pinch of freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 tsp. celitc sea salt

Blend the nuts with the oil and celery juice or water. Mix in the everything else. Put this is the fridge to marinate for 1 hour. Lay a piece of parchment paper on the table, put your burger mixture on top, get another piece of parchement and put it on top of the mixture, using a rolling pin or the palms of your hand, roll the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Then using a cookie cutter or a cup cut out pattie shapes, and place the patties on teflex sheets, dehydrate for 2 hours at 145 degrees (only in the excalibur at this temperture). You can make these into little meat balls and serve them with pasta, or make em even smaller and top your pizza. Yummy!

THIS IS REAK GOOD!
I of course like everything spicy so my modifications are jalpeno peppers and I added some psyllium husk powder because I wanted them to be firm. Drinks lots of water if you do! I made them into meatballs and put in a marina sauce with squash spaghetti - very good.

Combine:
1 lb. soaked nuts
1 lb. grated carrots
1 chopped onion
1 T. sweetener (honey, banana, raisins)
1 T. oil
1-2 T. poultry (or other) seasoning
2-3 T. nutritional yeast
sea salt to taste

Process in food processor until a firm pate is achieved. If mixture is not thick enough, add dill, dried garlic, dried onion, dried parsley flakes, nutritional yeast, psyllium husk powder, ground flaxseeds.

Form into balls, cutlets, or fillets and sprinkle with a little paprika before serving. If "fishburgers" are desired, add dulse, kelp, or nori to the mixture.

Serves 10

- from the Boutenko family's book, "Raw Family"