Thursday, March 12, 2009

More of Angela Elliot's Alive in 5

With some olive tapenade in the fridge and a luscious nut pâté at the ready, lunch was truly on the table in five minutes.

To the uninitiated, I'm sure looking at the image above will bring comments of "yeah, right!" when I declare that the delicious veggie combinations depicted are not only filling but flavor packed. Why even mention the nutritional value?

I followed Angela Elliot's directions for nut pâté using the pulp from a batch of almond milk as the base. I added a few soaked sun-dried tomatoes and a clove of garlic to her suggestions for a little added WOW.

The red pepper is stuffed with pâté, as well as the romaine leaves. Both are topped with spicy mixed sprouts grown on my kitchen counter. The cucumber slices sport a bit of zingy raw olive tapenade.

Making the pâté and the tapenade is neither difficult nor time consuming. Angela's directions are clear and easy. Planning ahead, and having these little extras on hand makes eating raw food fast, easy and satisfying. Did I mention — lots of fun, too?

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Raw and Well

Armed with Angela Elliot's nifty little guide book, Alive in 5, I've been eating very simply lately. No pots or pans involved. Plating up fabulously fresh, full-flavored meals prepared in record time. Most meals have been mainly raw. All veggies and so simple, they defied posting. But perhaps not. Some of you might like a few raw food suggestions. Take a look at some recent endeavors:



Sweet Red Peppers Stuffed with Nut Paté



Zucchini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Salsa and a Dehydrated Lentil Burger.




Green Cabbage rolls with Nut Paté, Sweet Onion and Mixed Spicy Sprouts



Formed Cabbage Rolls




Using Romaine Instead of Cabbage

With some zingy raw Satay sauce for dipping

I've been exploring and sampling raw food ideas for quite some time. It's an interesting journey. Angela Elliot's book, Alive in 5, offers examples of quick, easy to prepare offerings that should appeal to almost every palate.

Using fresh, raw ingredients, prep to plate takes no time at all. The 5 in the title refers to five minutes. Five minutes in some cases, a bit longer in others. Raw food prep does include having soaked seeds or nuts on hand. With some forethought and a bit of planning, it really is easy to whip up a plate of fresh, attractive, tasty food in five minutes.

From a health standpoint, eating live food not only delivers great taste and ease of preparation but most importantly provides the building blocks for health and super energy.

The nut paté used above was made from the pulp of almonds used to make a batch of almond milk. In the past, I would have tossed out the pulp after straining the nutmilk. Now, I look forward to making a fresh batch of almond milk each week. I love experimenting with different herbs, spices and aromatics to make a nutritious paté. And better yet—no waste!

Check out the book from the library or buy it from your bookseller or order online. It's a great little resource bursting with clever, easy, delicious ideas. I'm eager to try a few more.

Learn more about Angela Elliot at her Celestial Raw Goddess website.