Gluten Free Vegan Living

As you know, I have been paying more attention to the amount of raw food I have been eating lately.  Thankfully, the benefits of added Raw Food to your diet is becoming more widely known in the health community.

Salads are a pretty easy choice for eating raw foods every day, but variety is also a goal to strive for in your diet.

Today’s featured article is by Joyce del Rosario.  Here is her list of the 8 Raw Foods to Add to Your Diet:

foods that should be eaten raw

1. Coconut … is known to be one of the most effective natural hydrating foods there is, especially when eaten fresh and raw…

2. Leafy greens — Fresh leafy greens like kale, chard and spinach are full of vitamin C that boosts your immune system and also contain chlorophyll, a powerful antioxidant, as well as fiber, enzymes and amino acids

3. Fermented vegetables … are super easy to digest, as the fermentation process ensures that the starches are pre-digested, which makes it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients…

4. Sprouts … are the best “live” food you could eat, and are thought to provide more vitamins, minerals and enzymes per calorie than any other food, cooked or raw.

5. Blueberries … are one of the best sources of antioxidants and are excellent for improving brain function…

6. Nuts — Raw nuts like almonds, walnuts and cashews can lower the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood and are even thought to reduce the risk of blood clots by improving the lining of your arteries….

7. Chia seeds — If you want a food that contains fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, protein, potassium, iron, magnesium and calcium, then the chia seed is going to be your new favorite snack….

8. Cacao — Raw cacao is a great mood booster due to the phyto-chemicals it contains, which explains why so many people turn to chocolate when they are feeling low….

Make sure to check out the original post from This Rawsome Vegan Life for recipes using these raw food ingredients!

I was surprised to find that I am eating many of them, myself!  Hopefully, huckleberries are as good as blueberries — as huckleberries are very popular in the northern Rockies (Idaho state fruit!).  And I need to study and share more info and recipes with fermented foods …. not a big item in my diet.

How many of these nutrient dense raw foods are you eating?

In keeping with our Holiday Cookie theme, I have found a wonderful no-bake Coconut Snowball cookie recipe.  If you like coconut, you will love this recipe.

But before I list the recipe, I would like to ask how many of my readers LOVE Christmas cookies? How many of you have a special Gluten Free Vegan recipe you would like to share with us?  If you share your special recipe, I will add your name into a drawing to receive a FREE copy Lindsay Nixon’s newest cookbook:  Happy Herbivore Abroad

Back to our Coconut ‘No-Bake’ Snowballs …. This recipe is featured on The Kitchn website/blog.

Make sure to email your Gluten Free Vegan Holiday Cookie recipe to me before December 24 to get your name in the drawing

Since salads are my favorite foods, I am constantly taking old recipes and reworking them to fit my Gluten Free Vegan diet and my tastes for that day.

That is how I created this Apple Coconut Waldorf Salad recipe.  I had most of the ingredients on hand, but I wanted something a bit different than the traditional Waldorf salad.

Creamy Coconut Waldorf Salad

1 cup sliced celery
2 cups sliced apple
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts and/or cashew
½ cup raisins
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup of grapeseed oil vegenaise (or more if needed) thinned with 1 – 2 tablespoons of coconut milk

Mix the celery, apple, nuts, raisins and coconut in a medium bowl and set aside.

Pour vegenaise and coconut milk in a smaller bowl and mix until well blended.  Add coconut milk as needed until you reach the consistence you want for your salad.

Mix the dressing into the prepared veggies, fruit and nut.

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I love the different textures in this recipe:  sweet, crunchy, creamy.  The raisins sweeten the salad; the extra coconut and coconut milk give it a wonderful creamy texture; and the nuts and the celery gives the salad an extra crunch!

So simple to make — Great tasting and healthy as well!

Nothing sounds better for breakfast (or lunch or dinner for that matter!) than Organic Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes!  The author gives detailed instruction on making the homemade almond milk — but did not include the instructions for the pancakes.  So, I guess we are on our own …. but I think, maybe, we can figure it out!!

Ingredients for the Organic Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes:
– 2 cups homemade almond milk from organic almonds
– 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
– 4 tablespoons GoodBelly Probiotic Coconut Water
– 4 tablespoons cup of organic dried currants
– a little bit of Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to “butter” the skillet
– no salt, no sugar necessary!

READ FULL RECIPE

When I makes these Organic Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes, I think I will use coconut milk rather than the GoodBelly Probiotic Coconut Water.  And coconut nectar is my favorite syrup!  If you are not familiar with these coconut products, here are some links: