overwhelmed....

[sonyan]

When my son was dx'ed with Autism, we went to a GF/CF diet, and then eliminated all of his IgG allergy foods (delayed onset allergies). I had/have a small 3 ring notebook full of recipes that he can have. There was no searching tons of cookbooks, etc.

I haven't done that with raw foods, mostly because I don't have access to the printer I used to print his recipes, so I find myself at night, thumbing through 5 cookbooks, and getting so frustrated I either 1)don't eat, or 2) just grab a brownie and forget about it... feeling dejected later, of course.

I think one of the main issues is that the recipes use SO MANY different ingredients. I don't come across one that is quick and easy and I have all the stuff for. I'm not creative, so coming up with substitutes on the fly doesn't work well for me.

Can anyone link me to, or give me, a few of your "staple" recipes? The ones that you make weekly or bi-weekly, or use common ingredients? ONes that my kids might eat? *sigh*

[Veganforlife]

Oh sonyan - there is a tremendous amount of info on autism here.

Also, you may wanna hook up (e-mail) Shine72. She has a rawtism group. She is an expert on this!!!

[Raene]

Food staples:
Fridge--lettuce, spinach, hemp seeds, apple cider vinegar, apples, pears, melon, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, garlic scapes, chard (vary depending on season), miso
Cupboard/Counter--almonds, sunflower seeds, olive oil, celtic sea salt, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, ginger (my most used spices), hazelnuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, nutritional yeast, bananas, garlic, onions

These are just the things I ALWAYS have on hand with exception of melons and grapes which are seasonal for us. We do have a lot of other stuff, but these are the must-haves for the summer.

[Thick]

It would be easier to help you if you told us what your staples are. I can help you with few ingredients, though. Here's what comes to mind=

*plain ripe fruit

*salads with the stuff you like in them

*guacamole-can be as simple as mashed avacadoes and salt
w/celery sticks, romaine lettuce dippers or bell peppers

*walnut brownie bowl-
In the food processor, blend together-
walnuts or pecans
cocoa
pinch salt
bit vanilla
honey or agave
Im sure this could be dehydrated, but I just eat it as is--it is an excellent junk food replacement. Don't worry about the measurements, it will be good no matter what=)>

*spinach pesto soup
basil bunch
several handfuls spinach
2 cloves garlic or to taste
salt
water
food process it up--of course you could add other stuff you like as well.

*bananas and nuts
I let the kids slice the bananas with plastic knives into rounds. zthen they press a nut into the top of each round, pointed upward. It looks really fancy, and they are proud of doing it themselves, then they eat it of course-you'll like it too=)

* walnut tacos/taco salad
make walnut taco meat-
process walnuts, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic or whatever you like in taco meat
wrap in romaine leaves, or top a salad like taco salad
good with tomatoes, pico de gallo, avacado etc

I like simple recipes, too. ust remember that you don't need to make lasagna etc, just have some simpler food like salads and pieces of fruit.

[cherries]

I just eat straight fruit most of the time!

* Kids love frozen things, especially now that it's summertime. I buy bags of frozen berries (FYI they don't blanch frozen berries just the veggies) and just pour them into a bowl for my kids.

* I peel and freeze bananas and my kids wrap a paper towel around one end and eat it like a popsicle.

* A really common staple recipe is just avocados and tomatos chopped up. It has a better pizza-effect than dehydrated pizza IMHO, the tomatos and fatty avocados just work great together. I would easily eat this twice a day if I could buy all those avocados.

* I used to try to give my kids nut milks, but they didn't like them, now I make this nut candy every day:
I put raisins (or other dried fruit) in the food processer (about 2/3 c) and add coconut oil (about 1/3 c) and a cap-full of vanilla and process until it's broken up.
Grind nuts in a coffee grinder (about the same amount of nuts as the dried fruit) and add them to the dried fruit and process until mixed. If I want it sweeter, I add agave nectar. I used to add carob powder to this until I discovered that I liked it better without carob.
On a big dinner plate, spread a peice of wax paper that's twice as wide as the plate. Dump the mixture onto the plate and fold the wax paper over and push down on it spreading the mixture out to the edges of the plate. Stick it in the freezer and in about 15 min it will get hard. (the coconut oil gets hard fast) and then break off chunks and eat it, or cut it with a pizza cutter.

I agree with you 100% about the recipe books being frustrating. The recipe books wouldn't sell if all they did was told you to peel and eat fruit. So they come up with all these exotic recipes, but most raw is just staight fruit eating and simple salads!

[gingincal]

Chin up, Sonyan! You can do it. :)

Some of the most amazing things to me are the simplest:
mashed avocado w/celery sticks
apple slices w/almond butter
avocado slices and a green onion rolled in a romaine lettuce leaf
cut up oranges
frozen blueberries

[Apasaraw]

eachpeach is a mom who posts pix, recipes and kid meal planning. Check out her posts for kid friendly things.

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=19047

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=9872

I second VFL's mention of Sunshine's "Rawkin Rawtism" blog as well. If you have time to listen to her 10 minute podcasts online, give them a try.

http://www.rawtism.com

[Anastazia]

I just wanted to say, you guys are all amazing! :cool:

What a wonderful bunch of responses to a stressed-out mom, I'm honored to be part of such a supportive community! :)

I can feel the love all the way here in Canada....even in this heat! :D
~Anastazia~

[shashibala]

I found that nut and seed pates/dips saved me at first. I could make enough for 2 or 3 dinners. Then I'd change what I did with them. I'd roll the pate in nori or a collard leaf, dip carrots in it, stuff it in a tomato or a cucumber, put a dollop on top of a salad, or eat it with a spoon if I couldn't wait!
I prefer pate made of sunflower seeds.
Here is one version, but Alissa has a good one too. You just start with a base of sunnies and put stuff in til it tastes good! You don't have to soak them if you don't have time. This one is complicated. I usually use far fewer ingredients. Also, if you get tired of your dip you can add a different spice or herb to change it up.

From Carmella's blog (the sunny raw kitchen)

Pate Du Soleil
3 cups hulled sunflower seeds, soaked 8-12 hours, sprouted 2-4 hours
1 cup lemon juice
2 red peppers, roughly chopped
4 scallions (green onions), roughly chopped
½ small onion roughly chopped
½ cup raw tahini
2 tablespoons nama shoyu or other salty product
8 tablespoons coarsely chopped parsley
2-3 medium cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Soak sunflower seeds overnight. Drain.

2. Allow to sit out on counter for 2-4 hours (but no longer, if you are not ready to continue with recipe, rinse, drain and refrigerate to slow the sprouting process).

3. Rinse and drain.

4. If you have a large enough food processor just put all the ingredients in it, and run until pate is quite smooth.

5. Taste, adjust seasonings. The garlic flavor will develop and become stronger in a few hours.

Notes:
This pate can be made with nuts or a combination of seeds and nuts; when you make it with all sunflower seeds it will keep for a week or more in the refrigerator.


These are from Ani Phyo's raw book.
Almond Ginger Pate

1 Tablespoon ginger
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or substitute Bragg's or Nama Shoyu)
1 cup almonds, dry
1 lemon’s juice
1/4 cup filtered water

SPANISH SCRAMBLE

Love the chicks pate

1 cup almonds, dry
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, dry
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 cup filtered water

Process in the food processor and then put in a bowl.

Ani makes it Spanish style by adding

Fold these ingredients into the bowl mixture.

1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 cup tomato, diced
2 Tablespoons scallions, chopped
1 batch Love the Chicks Pate
1/2 cup spinach leaves
pinch black pepper

[KirbyCuke]

Thanks so much for your p\ost and for all the replies. I am just starting out,this is my second week raw and was just starting tonight to get really overwhelmed looking at all these cookbooksI bought,etc
I think right now I just need the simpler approach as well.
I am constantly looking at some of the books and saying I dont have this ingred, or I dont have 8 hrs to first soak and then dehydrate,lol
so with 2 kids under 4 yrs old,simpler is better and I am breathing a little easier right now
so thanks again,I hope all these replies help the person who posted but they sure helped me tonight!!!:)