Need help figuring out what to make!

[Cristahl]

Hellos peoples!
I have been lurking all week just reading and reading and three days ago I took the plunge and started eating raw. I bought lots of veggies and such but am stuck on combining them. I have been digging around recipes but alot of them call for stuff I dont have. And I dont get paid for two more days (eek!) so I need to figure out what I can do to get me though..
Hopefully first off someone can help my newbieness and second I am posting this in the right place :)
ok.. heres what I have left
parsley
broccoli (3lbs)
Carrots (2 pounds)
lettuce (green leaf one head)
baby spinach (2 bunches)
3 ears of corn
celery (one head)
kale(one head)
tomatos (8 or so)
almonds(2 cups)
bananas(10)
watermelon (3 large fresh)(one whole made into frozen cubes for smoothies)
frozen blueberry's (froze by me me)
one apple.
dry lentils
various spices.
dry beans that I have no clue what to do with yet

All I have to work with is a grater, slicer and blender
Any ideas?? I just made a cauliflower soup with blended cauliflower water nut butter(the last and I wish I hadn't added it I dislike overly nutty flavor and its making me nausious but I dont want to waste a whole cauliflower) a splash of olive oil and mixed it with diced tomatoes and corn.. which is the photo attached.
Thanks anyone who can help!!

http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/i/284767693573_0_0.jpg?outquality=56&ext=.jpg&255,255,255,1,0,0,0,0&squareoutput=255,255,255&border=1&size=300http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/i/284767444485_0_0.jpg?outquality=56&ext=.jpg&255,255,255,1,0,0,0,0&squareoutput=255,255,255&border=1&size=300

[ReneeH]

O.k....take 5 of those Bananas and freeze them now... When they are frozen, take 2 of them with a Handful of Spinach, 10oz of H2O, and those Blueberries and make a SMOOTHIE!!!

Then, take those Almonds and make some Almond Milk, Cut the Corn off of the Cob and make Alissa's Corn Chowder! I just had it and it's DELICIOUS!!!

I would also make some Broccolini Salad with your Broccoli: dice Broccoli, EVOO, Sea Salt, dice Carrots (I also like Mushrooms, but I didn't see it on the list...) Let marinade 30 minutes...SOOO GOOOD!!! You can also Marinate your KALE this way!!!

Don't forget the good ole' fashioned SALAD!!!! Sprout the Lentils and add them to your salad!!! Or make Alissa's Pad Thai out of it!

[Cristahl]

Then, take those Almonds and make some Almond Milk, Cut the Corn off of the Cob and make Alissa's Corn Chowder! I just had it and it's DELICIOUS!!!

Don't forget the good ole' fashioned SALAD!!!! Sprout the Lentils and add them to your salad!!! Or make Alissa's Pad Thai out of it!

I've got a cup of the almonds soaking already with that idea in mind.. it was one of the very few I could figure out lol
How do you make pad thai? and sorry if it sounds silly but.. how do you sprout them??

[ReneeH]

The Pad Thai is in Alissa's book... So, unfortunately I can't post the recipe...but it's worth getting the book for, let me tell you!!! Take a look at this thread...I'm working my way through her recipes and you can see what they look like:

Click here: http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=52787 (Scoll all the way down to see the Pad Thai)

Sprouting is easy!!! Just soak the lentils 8 hours (rinse 2-3 times), drain H2O off and put a paper towel over them... They will sprout in 2-3 Days...:)

[revdrcyn]

Hi Cristahl,

If you do not have Alissa Cohen's book, LIVING ON LIVE FOOD, get it right away.

She has easy-to-follow shopping lists and meal plans for the first 4 weeks. I just started Week 3 and could not have done it without the book or this site.

The recipes are amazing, delicious, and easy!

All the best,

Cynthia

[Cristahl]

I am going to look for that. Do I have to order it online and wait for it ir is there a store that carries it I can find it sooner? I have a negitive balance right now so cant order it though I want it badly (just from reading here so much)
Renee I have been following your thread hehe the spahgette looks so tasty! Thanks so much for the ideas. I am going to try and do the broccoli one tonight(prep wise) so I can take it to work and have it for lunch.
I've been doing a smoothie in the morning with watermellon, banannas, kale, spinach, and blueberrys and a "sandwich" consisting of mushrooms from work, tomatos, lettuce and shredded carrots with a lentil veggie garlic blend sauce I made. But I need variety and stuff at home of I will get bored fast :)
Today I was looking through the photos only thread and my gosh that got me making a must haves list of veggies.
I forgot that I had a spahgette squash sitting in the window with a cantalope.. can you eat that kind of squash raw?

[ReneeH]

Hummm...not sure about the Spagetti Squash... check the "Search" engine to see about that...

DEFINETELY get Alissa's book!!! It's the Best Gift I gave myself (besides my Bible!!!)!!! I also get bored easily with food...(hence the variety of things I make....), which is why I LOVE RAW food books!!! The "Spagetti" was done using a Zucchini and a Saladacco (Alissa sells them)...

I actually made a photo album of all the food I made from the RAW books I have! My kids kept telliing me how great everything looked and they suggested I take a photo! I'm so glad I did that, so when I get bored, I look back at it and remember what it took to make the dish.

Good job on the Smoothies!!! Keep 'um coming!!!

You CAN do this!!! Just be determined to stay RAW. And, when you get your book, do Alissa's 30 day plan. Let us know how things go for you!!!

[DebB]

Almost every single night for dinner I make a tomato salad. I chop up some tomatoes, slice 1 ear of corn off the cob, thinly chopped onion, sweet bell pepper sometimes, cucumber sometimes (thinly sliced). Toss that and add some fresh squeezed lime juice, salt, pepper and cumin. You can add chopped fresh cilantro too... I realize you don't have everything above, but you get the idea. I could live on that salad... (I guess I do!)

Kale - here's my favorite massaged kale salad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlpy2RcsOtc) - YUM! You may like to watch all her videos, they're great - she's a raw food coach.

Broccoli and carrots - here's my favorite broccoli salad. We're going camping this weekend to Mt. Rainier and I'm making a big batch of this to take along - Mmmm! Here's the recipe, my notes are at the very end.

Broccoli Salad - by BDraw

Chop broccoli (small, medium, your choice)
Chop or grate carrots (or use chopped apples instead)
Chop little onion (your choice of color)
Add equal amounts of raisins and sunflower seed (or preferred nut)
1 cup each

Mix well, using roughly twice the amount of broccoli as carrot or apple.

For dressing I blend (in blender) one peeled orange, about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of honey. Pour over, let sit for a bit, overnight is fine, but then, so is 15 minutes.

We love this and if I use enough seeds or nuts, I call it dinner at least one night a week.

You could also add celery, cauliflower, etc. Hope you like it.

#13 - http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=12579

video on how to chop the broccoli:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xEDcaspq7Y0

Deb's notes: There are a couple secrets to this recipe. One is to use only the broccoli's flowers, not much of the stalks. If you use the stalks, it can get very strong tasting. The second is to search out very flavorful oranges. I also use agave instead of honey (just a preference). I also add 1/2 tsp. salt in the dressing. I use broccoli, grated carrots and onion combination, with sunflower seeds and raisins (can buy organic raisins at Costco). My updated notes: Many times I add an extra orange without doubling the other ingredients.

[Cristahl]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the suggestions.. I ended up digging into the squash it was so/so. Dehydrated some tomatos for about 10 hours then blended them with seasonings for a sauce.
now I am combining my soaked/blended flax and some soaked almonds and raw rolled oats and stuff for dehydrated granola that I will have for breakfast (mouth is watering just thinking about it!) I also dehydrated slices from a banana and some blueberrys while doing the tomatos just for the granola.

I am craving bread, and warm food! Its not even the bread I want but the squishy texture..:mad:

[sprouts2go]

Put some cinnamon on a plate coat both sides of banan slices and pop in the dehydrator YUM. I try to stay away from the nut milks they make me nauseous to. I use an avocado or zucchini base for my soups.
My understanding on watermelon is that it should not be combined with anything else. I would drink it or eat it plain.
You have the ingredinets for some great smoothies.
Use your frozen bananas for puddings or ice cream and those blueberries. Grind some nuts on top YUM. Maybe even some cinnamon on it.

[Cristahl]

any idea why on the watermelon? the frozen chunks make the smoothie nice and cold and are not too hard on my cheap blender (which I have a feeling I am going to kill very soon) where as if I freeze banana it does NOT like it at all.. I am going to get a vitamix when I can afford it. I was acually looking at them at the fair a few weeks ago before I stumbled on raw living and wanted one then just for smoothies!
How do you do the zucs for a base? Do you peel them first? I havnt had zuc raw yet (just got some today and bell peppers, cukes, and alfalfa sprouts with borrowed moneys)

[sprouts2go]

Some rule about "eat melon alone or leave it alone"

"Has to do with how it digests. Melons are more than 90 percent liquid and leave the stomach quickly if not delayed and fermented by combining with other foods. Dr. Vetrano says, "Melons are best taken alone because the sugar and other nutriments are in a less stable form than the nutrients of other fruits. Orange juice may be kept in the refrigerator for an hour with little change in flavor, but if you refrigerate watermelon juice for only ten minutes, its flavor, color and composition markedly change. It decomposes much more quickly than other fruits. Consequently, if it is held in the stomach awaiting the digestion of other foods, it will decompose (ferment) and cause a great deal of gastric distress. Eating watermelon with nuts can really be troublesome."
You can google it for more but that is what I found and had heard about. Others will chime in on it.

Vitamix has a 3 payment plan and there are codes on this site to get free shipping. I bought mine about a month ago and the smoothies are so smooth. I thought my old blender was doing a good job but nope the Vitamix is soooooo much better.

[Cristahl]

good to know,
do you peel the zuccini for soup or just pop it in the blender?

[rawintexas]

I stay close the basics since I've never been much of a cook (unraw or raw). So I make many different variations of green smoothies in the morning or some simple fruit in the morning and then mid afternoon I do a big veggie salad - sometimes lettuce based traditional salad w/avocado....sometimes not lettuce based - yesterday I did chopped red pepper, onion, avocado, celery, etc. and a little home made raw dressing. For dessert, I blended red banana with a peach and put in little ramekin dishes, covered in saran and froze. Once it thaws a little it's like a nice banana/peach sorbet. Snack: a sliced banana with a little raw almond butter.

Not big on recipes...do them occasionally.