MUSHROOM ONION YAM BURGERS: KEEPIN' IT REAL YO

I don't feel like I am missing anything when I eat a good veggie burger; all I want is something dense, flavourful, and hearty to bite into and it's really easy to get that with fresh ingredients. Plus you're getting multiple servings of vegetables in for the day, as well as - with this recipe - some super foods like chia and hemp seeds. But to be honest, I think any edible raw plant can be seen as a super food. I don't miss one thing about meat burgers. A round of rotting, ground-up flesh that was once a sentient being who had a mom? Sorry I'm not drooling... I'll stick to eating veggies.

There is ALWAYS a new study excitedly telling us Westerners that a previously unheard-of herb recently found in the jungle has an antioxidant level off the charts and has a specific nutrient that fights cancer so we should all be sure to include this specific plant in our diets from now on. I feel like no one is getting the broader picture: we should just eat more plants, they are powerful medicine. Like the brilliant Michael Pollen wisely advises in his best-selling book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Bam. Also get in some sunshine, lots of clean water, plenty of z's, a few laughs and a good workout - that is health! There is nothing complicated about it, nor should there be. The simplest solution has the highest chance of being the right one.

Okay getting completely side-tracked but my mom just came in here and handed me a bag full of raw macadamias! Oh. My. Nuts. I am so excited. It's not a huge bag but it cost like $25, so I will savour every macadamia as if it were gold; actually gold probably tastes gross and macadamia nuts are more valuable in any case so scratch that - I will savour every one for the delicious, creamy, crunchy, wholesome treat it is.

Aaaaaanyways - back to burgers. These babies are keeping things juicy and satisfying with only the freshest ingredients and mind-blowing flavours. If you like yams, mushrooms, onions and tastiness then you will love these. I know a lot of you like to keep fat to a minimum (I'm with ya) so these are very low-fat. You're welcome. Hehe.

Of course... we all need fat in our diet so when you ARE looking to get your daily intake, go no further than this chocolate buttercream tart (or any dessert recipe on my blog). Hurray for omega-3's and all the other vital nutrients nuts, avocados, and coconut oil give us! Life is goooood and this song makes it better. So do raw vegan burgers. Let's dance and live long.

yam mushroom onion burgers: makes about 12

Burgers:

1 peeled yam

3-4 chopped white mushrooms

1 peeled, chopped onion 

Salt, pepper and coriander, to taste (and whatever other spices you like)

2 tablespoon chia seeds

2 tablespoons hemp seeds

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup raisins 

Toppings:

Sliced onions, tomatoes, avocado, nut cheese, lettuce, cilantro, ketchup, hummus (all optional) 

Buns:

Swiss chard leaves or chickpea bread

To make the burgers: pulse all the ingredients in your food processor until it becomes an orange-y mush. Not the most pleasant-looking but it should taste yummy. Form the mixture into patties (mine were about 1/4 cup) and dehydrate for 5-7 hours, or until they are dark and hold their shape. I put mine in the oven at 200 degrees because I'm not too picky about specific temperatures. 

Top off with your condiments and wrap up in green lettuce goodness! Chomp chomp chomp. I eat like a dinosaur. Or a cow. 

RUBIES {what my regular cooked dinner looks like}

For whatever reason, I was having trouble titling this post; should I name the recipe that is included? Should I call it "What I Ate For Dinner"? Em was stumped. Then she remembered that while she was eating this giant bowl of colourful goodness (and inexplicably talking in third person), she couldn't stop thinking it was like she was eating jewels! Not in a "My Strange Addiction: Can't Stop Eating Precious Stones" way, but more in a "these colours are so vibrant it's like I am eating rubies or gems" kind of way... you dig? 

Anyhoo - the point of this post is to show you guys what an average dinner looks like for me these days. As most of you know - I do not eat a 100% raw diet anymore. I believe everyone should eat to feel their best and be their happiest; I've learned that a mostly raw diet does this for me. And no matter what, I always eat whole foods and vegan. 

So this recipe is a perfect example of what an "regular" dinner is for me right now. Sometimes I will go through phases where I just eat salad for dinner, or smoothies, or fancy raw meals or what have you; but generally-speaking it's a lot like this: steamed veggies with beans or tofu, and occasionally whole grains. 

I pretty much eat fruit all day, and then make sure that the majority of my dinner is straight-up vegetables (making my diet primarily fruits and veggies); I almost always steam my veggies, but sometimes I'll cook them at a low temperature in the oven. I aim to stay away from oils but occasionally I'll add a teaspoon of olive oil to soften up eggplant or tomatoes, etc.; and lately I haven't been making sauces either, instead just using a bit of Himilayan pink salt for enhanced flavour. I eat as many veggies as I want, but moderate the amounts of denser foods like whole grains and high-protein foods. Sometimes I'll just have a huge bowl of only vegetables like broccoli or potatoes; in fact, that's what I have been doing recently because I haven't wanted to cook brown rice or quinoa. Note: when I say "veggies" I am including non-sweet fruits in there too; like tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. Let's keep life simple, shall we? 

Summing it up: I eat raw all day, and basically all of that is fruit and greens in the form of juice, smoothies, or giant bowls of fruit. My dinner is a huge portion of lightly cooked vegetables, usually followed by a raw dessert since I always have one around (plus that's where I get my nuts and seeds in for the day). If you have any questions: please ask! I know many of you are new to this kind of lifestyle and could be confused about how and what to eat. I am here to help! *big smile*

Now onto the recipe. 

I used heirloom tomatoes from our garden and beets and yams from the farmer's market. I threw in some organic chickpeas - because why the heck not? The beets and yams were steamed. The tomatoes were drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, then cooked at about 200 degrees until they softened up and got juicy. They are LIKE CANDY when you prepare them this way. Also: tomatoes, when gently cooked with olive oil, have more absorbable lycopene. Boom!

slow-cooked tomatoes with chickpeas, steamed beets & yams

1 cup cooked or sprouted chickpeas

2-3 cups chopped heirloom tomatoes

1 large peeled beet

1 peeled yam

Spices, salt, olive oil

Rub the tomatoes with olive oil and salt and then cook in the oven at about 200 degrees until they start to smell amazing and get juicy and soft. You can take them out whenever you want but I usually leave them in for 30 minutes or so. Steam the yam and beet until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Toss the chickpeas with your favourite spices (I used cumin, coriander and turmeric) and salt, if desired. Throw everything together and sprinkle on salt, pepper, curry powder, peanut sauce, or whatever else you want. Now nourish your body and soul. 

baked yam & tofu with purple rice, kale pesto & sprouts

This recipe is super simple and super delicious! This a prime example of how to eat a whole foods, plant based diet with an emphasis on raw food. After working out, I enjoyed my regular green smoothie. An hour or so after that I was needing something heavier, with a fair amount of protein to rebuild my muscles. The perfect meal for this is some thing that has a vegetable, a grain, and a protein - top it all off with something green and your body will be praising you! 

baked yam & tofu with purple rice, kale pesto & sprouts: serves two

Kale pesto:
5 cups kale
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon walnut oil 
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Salt, to taste
Water, as needed

The other stuff:
1 yam, peeled
1 package of tofu
1 1/2 cups cooked purple rice
Handful sprouts 

To make the yam and tofu: cut them into bite size chunks and toss in a tiny bit of olive oil, tamari, maple syrup, liquid smoke, and salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until the yam is soft. 

To make the pesto: pulse all in the ingredients in your food processor until it becomes pesto. SO GOOD. Serve with the yam, tofu, rice and sprouts - enjoy!

raw yam burgers & daikon fries with ketchup

Oh MAN, these are yummy. Fun and easy to make - what else is new? - and equally fun and easy to eat. They do get a tad messy but I trust you can handle this. It's family pizza and movie night at the von Euw household but this week I'm skipping the pizza and snarfing down one of these babies. (I don't literally mean an infant - I don't eat kids.) 

All that's in these burgers and fries is a whack load of vegetables and spices. Goes like this: throw stuff in the food processor, rub things with your hands, toss something in the dehydrator and you'll get a gourmet raw food meal in no time! (Okay, I may have simplified that process a little.) But seriously - it's pretty much that easy. Look at the colours of this food.

It's alive. I'm alive. Let's boogy. 

I didn't actually mean to get daikon for the fries - I was looking for jicama but the grocery store didn't carry it so I went with what there was. The fries turned out great, nonetheless! They have a fresh crunch and are superb with the ketchup. I should say this though - if you are new to raw food and the flavours that go with it - you may want to use jicama for the fries. The burgers are bursting with flavour and when you pile them up with fixing's and lettuce - there ain't no better option for dinner. 

yam burgers & daikon fries with ketchup: serves 5 or so

Burgers:
1 yam 
2/3 cup green onions (or onion)
1 red bell pepper
4 dates
5 tablespoons ground flax seeds
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
4 large mushrooms
4 garlic cloves 
Salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, basil, turmeric, paprika (to taste)

Fries:
1 jicama root or daikon radish (the size depends on how many you're feeding)
1 teaspoon veg oil (optional but recommended)
Salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, basil, turmeric, paprika (to taste)

Ketchup:
1-2 tomatoes
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
Salt (to taste)
3 dates
Water or lemon juice (as needed)

To make the burgers: prep the veggies as needed and cut them into chunks. Then pulse all the ingredients in your food processor until everything becomes a thick, wet-ish mixture, but don't pulse too long. You want pieces of the food still visible and you don't want it to be too wet. Adjust according to taste. Then form into patties and dehydrate for 3-4 hours, or use your oven at it's lowest temperature. You could eat them right away if you like, but they won't hold their shape too well. 

To make the fries: peel the daikon and slice into fries. Rub in the oil and spices. Dehydrate for 3 hours or in your oven at it's lowest temperature, (or you could eat them right away if you like).

To make the ketchup: blend all ingredients in your food processor or blender until smooth, adding liquid as needed. Adjust according to taste. Serve the burgers, fries and ketchup with lettuce, tomatoes, marinated mushrooms, onions, sprouts, avocado, and anything else you like. Enjoy!

yam noodles with sweet sauce, marinated mushrooms & sesame seeds

This was a quick dinner I just whipped up after a (strangely) long day. The recipe needs no pre-planning because I didn't even know I was going to make it until I stepped into the kitchen and noticed we had yams. I was going to make a salad but then I'm like... "Hey, yams, you be lookin' pretty fine today. Imma spirooli you up and cover you in sweet miso sauce then put you in my mouth. Whaddya think?"

And so, my dinner was born. 

My favourite type of plant to turn into noodles is (probably expected, sorry) - zucchini. It is PERFECT for pasta. It has the right texture, taste and appearance to fool all your complex-carb-inclined friends. Having said that, I still love turning yams, bell peppers, carrots and other willing veggies into spiralized goodness. It's just so fun and you can be uber creative. 

yam noodles with sweet sauce, marinated mushrooms & sesame seeds: serves one

marinated mushrooms:

4 mushrooms

1 teaspoons sesame oil (optional but recommended) 

1 teaspoon tamari

sweet miso sauce:

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon agave/maple syrup/raw honey

1 tablespoon miso

1 tablespoons hummus (not raw, too bad)

1 peeled garlic clove

2 tablespoons mustard

3-5 tablespoons water, as needed

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Yam noodles:

1 peeled yam

To make the mushrooms: slice them really thin then rub in the oil and tamari. Put them in a warm spot (I put them in my oven at its lowest temperature) and forget about them for a minute. 

To make the sauce: blend all ingredients except sesame seeds together until smooth. Add whatever else you want. Then toss in the sesame seeds by hand. Set aside.

To make the noodles: put the yam through your spiral slicer (spirooli) or slice on a mandolin  Then cover them with the sauce and them get to know each other for a few minutes. The noodles will soften and pick up more flavour. Now remember your marinating fungi friends being warmed somewhere? Add those on top, and sprinkle on some more sesame seeds and raisins. Yum. Yams, man. 

yam noodles with miso sauce

holy yams! you might be skeptical about using raw sweet potatoes (yams) for food, but as soon as you try this, all your doubts will be vaporized. it's so satisfying. i don't know WHY you'd want or need white pasta with meatballs when you can eat THIS living, raw, cruelty-free meal. i took lots of photos, i hope you don't mind. 

nah... you don't.

hopefully you have a spiral slicer, but if not - a mandoline will do. and if you're REALLY ambitious, you could try to make the noodles manually. good luck.

i've been wanting to make these noodles with some kind of sauce and veggies for awhile, and the plan for this sweet potato (organic!) was to make this recipe then give it to a curious friend who had wondered whether you could raw potatoes. but um... i'm greedy. i ate it all at my house. don't judge me. i promise i will make this again and actually share it. it will be difficult, but i can do it.

 yam noodles with miso mustard sauce, avocado, cucumber & raisins: serves 1-2

noodles:
1 yam (sweet potato)

sauce:
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon agave
1 date
vegan milk/water, as needed (about 1/6 cup)
3 chopped garlic cloves

to make the noodles - slice the yam on a spiral slicer or mandoline. mix with a bit of tamari in large bowl and set aside.
to make the sauce - blend all ingredients together. if it's too thick, add more vegan milk/water. if it's too thin, add more miso, dates or mustard. pour the desired amount of sauce onto the noodles and mix in. you don't need that much.
i added chopped avocado, cucumber, beets from our garden, raisins, and parma... of course. i bet this with sesame or pumpkin seeds would be great too.