Raw Mexican Tacos

Now that I’m trying to get more raw meals into my diet, I felt I needed to start to look outside the old school salad ideas, don’t get me wrong I love a good salad, but variety is the key for me. I need to keep my taste buds guessing, otherwise I get bored.

So I was craving Mexican, I though ok can this be done raw, & low & behold after a little googling I found this recipe.

This recipe is just seriously delicious, it's perfect on a balmy day where you want a meal with flavour that leaves you feeling nourished & satisfied, yet you don’t feel heavy as you might with the old cooked meat/beantype taco meal.

What I adore about eating raw is I feel so much better physically once I’ve eaten.

I have all the energy & nutrients I need to function to my peak, without compromising on flavour  and my favourite foods. Of course that totally includes desserts..stay posted as I will soon be posting a raw dessert recipies.

Ok back to the taco,the cashew “Sour Cream” is super, I’m thrilled I’ve found a dairy free sour cream option, as I used to be a mega dairy girl, & sour cream was one of my weaknesses. Yay for finding raw healthy dairy free alternatives!

The taco filler (mince) is walnuts, yep I know what you’re thinking how does that work, ah but it SO works, I find it SO much more enjoyable than its meat/bean version. The texture is perfect & soaked/ (activated) walnuts absorb the taco seasoning beautiful.

A quick lowdown on walnuts,They are a  great source of those all-important omega-3 fatty acids.
In fact, a tiny ¼ cup serving is 94% of your daily recommended intake. So drop the supplements & grab some walnuts.

 Recipe inspired by My new Roots

Walnut Taco Mix
Ingredients:
1 cup raw walnuts- soaked/activated for 7 or more hours (can soak overnight)
2 Tbsp I used Brags all purpose seasoning, you can also use nama shoyu or tamari or coconut aminos.
1 tsp of Herbies Mexican spice blend
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Walnut Taco Mix Directions:
1. Put all ingredients in a food processor/vitamix on low, and just pulse to mix, roughly chop the walnuts. Be aware not to over-blend.

Cashew “Sour Cream”
Ingredients:
½ cup raw cashews (soaked/activated 1 hour)
juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp Braggs apple cider vinegar
5 Tbsp. water (approx.)

Cashew “Sour Cream” Directions:
1. Put all ingredients except water in a high speed blender/vitamix or food processor and blend, adding water one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. If you want a thick cream, use less water, for a thinner sauce, use more. (It’s unlikely to come out perfectly smooth, but a little texture is ok it still tastes incredible!)

Salsa, Ok I admit I cheated here, for those of you time restrained you could use  Spiral organic pre made salsa, as I did, but if you have the time please make your own salsa.

Salsa Ingredients:
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
½ red bell pepper, chopped fine
½ orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped fine
½ red onion or 4 green onions, minced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
½ clove garlic, minced
juice of ½ lime
1 tsp. raw honey
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt

Salsa directions:
1. Whisk the garlic, lime juice, honey, olive oil and sea salt in the bottom of a bowl and set aside.
2. Cut up the veggies into rather small pieces, chop the cilantro and add everything to the dressing bowl. Fold to combine and let sit for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavours to meld.

Taco elements:
2 ripe avocados (about ½ per person, I’m a big avocado fan so the more of this the merrier)
Leaves from a romaine lettuce, you can also always use Tuscan kale leaves.
1 x lime for squeezing
coriander for sprinkling

Bon Appetite!

Raw Pad Thai.

I really wanted to  share this super scrumptious recipe with you all as I really loved it.

Hmm I first thought raw Pad Thai, but this is SO much better than the cooked version.

I find cooked Pad Thai takeaway always feels a little too greasy & heavy, where this is lovely fresh  & light.

I used Jens Kelp noodles fettuccine type & they couldn't be better for this recipe & Jens noodles require no cooking & they are gluten free, they are made  from the Konjac plant. Konjac is highly nutritious, low in calories and fat and high in fiber. Contains protein, essential amino acids & is a good source of several important minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, manganese, chromium and copper.

I’d also like to give credit to Just Eat Love as I followed her adapted recipe.

 

(serves 2)

Noodle Ingredients

1 packet of Jens kelp noodles, rinsed in warm running water
4 or 5 baby carrots, washed and peeled into strips
1/2 cup of bean sprouts
2 shallots, finely chopped, extra for garnish
1/2 a large chilli, finely sliced, extra for garnish
1/4 cup cashews, crushed (for garnish)
1/4 cup coriander leaves, extra for garnish
1 lime, quartered (for garnish)

Sauce:
1/4 cup nut butter (I used almond butter)
1/2 cup raw liquid coconut oil
2 TBSP tamari
1/4 cup lime juice
1 TBSP chopped chilli
1 tsp ground coriander
3/4 cup filtered water

Combine all of the noodle ingredients into a large bowl. 
In a small bullet blender add all of the pad Thai sauce ingredients, blend until smooth.Pour about half of the sauce over the noodle mix (store remaining sauce in the fridge for few days, throw it over a salad, it works). 
Toss & arrange your Pad Thai salad, either eat straight away or leave the flavours to infuse for about an hour. (Believe me once its prepared you’ll want to eat it right up. 
Before serving, divide contents onto plates and garnish with extra coriander , chilli and cashews. 
Bon appétit, this recipe is so quick & easy you’ll find it a summer favourite.