Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

I made these with my friend the other day. Got the idea from Happy Healthy Life. They are delicious, nutritious, and liable to get you buzzed... or not. It's up to you. Either way - aren't they just perdy?

The legal drinking age in Mexico is 18 sooooo I'm rather excited. The subject of alcohol for raw vegans is an interesting and controversial one. For me - wine is totally acceptable, especially red wine. We get ours from a local U-Brew. Also, sake is raw and quite tasty! But wine is the drink of choice here normally. When the occasion strikes, a cooler or a beer might be alright too.

Maybe later on in my life I'll become more strict but for NOW, my attitude about it is that life is meant to fun. You gotta live a little! Just be responsible, keep health in mind, and have a good time!

I, personally, like to party. Methinks my diet in Mexico will be TONS of tropical fruit, a bit o' booze, and lots of sunlight.

Super easy, super healthy, super delicious. Trust me. Actually - don't trust me! Make it yourself and see. I am going to assume you won't be disappointed. My friend Amanda was here yesterday and was feeling a little down. What could possibly fix this?


I had been wanting to make a coconut cream pie for some time, because I'd seen a recipe that showed whipped coconut cream - it looks identical to dairy whipped cream! Whatta miracle. There isn't anything I could possibly want or need that doesn't have a superior vegan and/or raw alternative.

This pie made everyone happy, and helped Amanda feel better =) It's full of whole foods like fruit, nuts and coconut. Eat it up for breakfast, dessert, or both!

I don't know why I haven't made a pie like this before. I guess I'm just lazy. Also, there's always other recipes I want to try, and things to do, so the perfect opportunity never struck. Til yesterday! We both wanted to make food (I always do so that's not saying much), I had been waiting to make a banana cream pie, I had chilled coconut milk ready in the fridge, aaand! - oh. Wait.


So it was off to the grocery store. Not exactly what me or Amanda wanted to do in our PJ's on a super-windy, cold Saturday afternoon. But we took it as a challenge. We were successful. So we had all the ingredients (including love) to make this wonderful creamy treat.

Here it is now for your viewing pleasure! And mine.



Right before serving, CAREFULLY take out coconut milk from the fridge. Spoon off the thick fat from the top - you want this. (There was about 1/2 a can left of milk when I got all the thick stuff.) Put the milk you spooned out into a mixing bowl (Kitchen Aid) with the sugar and beat until thick and fluffy! Spoon onto your pie and voila! Enjoy.

Raw pasta is so satisfying. You think you won't be full after eating it, but you always are! Well, maybe I shouldn't use the word "full" in it's conventional way. I mean you feel like you don't need to eat anything else. You feel satisfied! Probably because of all the fiber and water in veggies, plus the delicious sauce on the noodles.

The second easiest way to make raw pasta is on the mandoline, which I've been doing since I went vegan. It works well enough, but it wasn't made for making raw noodles. The EASIEST way to make raw pasta? With a Spirooli. Guess what.

I HAVE ONE NOW! Thanks to my lovely and too-nice vegan, non-biologial sista, Eva.

She is the most compassionate, caring and selfless person I know. So of course, she spends way too much money on other people. Me included. She justified buying this wonderful new toy as a "late Christmas present". Who am I to deny her generosity!? I'll take a free Spirooli any way I can. The first thing I made was pretty simple and also simply delicious.


I made pasta out of carrots, put on some creamy cashew sauce and sliced avocado REALLY thin to add to it. The spiral slicer worked great! I'm gonna be eating so much zucchini pasta from now on.

Sorry, salad.




































In other news: my friend Alex wants me to mention how insanely attractive he is. Now you know.

Also: I'm leaving for Mexico SOON, people! So stoked. I'll post more about it tomorrow.
Until then, enjoy your pasta! Have the best day ever.

*Strictly speaking, the sauce isn't totally raw. But c'mon. What're ya gonna do. If you really want a 100% raw sauce, make a blend of tahini (or other nut butter), chili, tamari, garlic and ginger.

The pasta of course, is just zucchini, sliced on le mandoline. Good news! Soon I will be purchasing one of these puppies from Organic Lives. Yippie! However, if you can only afford a mandoline - no worries! As you can see, they work just as well.

The sauce is a lot like authentic Pad Thai sauce, just healthier and vegan. I had my mom to guide me; she and my dad lived in Thailand for years before they had kids. That's probably a reason I love Thai food so much. It may be my favourite kind of cuisine.


Real Pad Thai is made with rice noodles, a tamarind-, chili- and fish sauce-based sauce, and topped with cilantro, chili paste, peanuts, bean sprouts and perhaps other veggies. Not a lot of meat in Thai food.

To make the pasta, slice the zuc on a mandoline or spiral slicer. Add enough sauce to evenly coat the noodles. Garnish. Eat! The heat of the chili makes this dish perfectly warming on its own - no heating necessary.

Do you know what a Dilly Bar is? It's a classic DQ ice cream treat; a circle of vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate. Looks like this.

Well. The other day we were driving home and we passed a DQ when my mom remembered that me and my brothers used to love Dilly Bars, so she told us. I guess I remembered them in my subconscious because I hadn't heard, seen or thought of them in years - yet I instantly knew what they were!
-


And so the idea was born. Honestly, these are pretty darn easy. You just need to get your fave ice cream (I recommend my raw recipe) and cover it in melted dark chocolate, or raw chocolate. These are full of nutrients and whole foods, not whatever the heck is in a DQ Dilly Bar... because frankly I don't even WANT to know.



They're really yummy. I mean, you have ice cream covered in chocolate. Need I say more?
No. But I will anyway.

I suggest making several of these so you can share them with your family for a fun and special dessert or snack. Or perhaps make just one and share it with your significant other, for a romantic time... ?
They're a bit messy, so it'll be an entertaining meal. These are literally finger lickin' good! I got chocolate all over my face =)

I hope this is a refreshing and delightful treat for you! May it get you through this dreary day; it's been pouring all day here. I suppose I don't mind it, because I don't have class today. But still, the weather definitely regulates my daily mood.




Oh goodness gracious. I try to think of perfect things the planet has NOT provided for us... and I can never come up with anything. We truly live in a miracle world, and I thank the universe every day for the grace and fortune I'm blessed with.

Like, hello!? Look at these gorgeous ice cream treats. These are good for you; that says it all. Mother Nature loves us. Yes, there's still suffering in the world, but I happen to believe humans are gonna be just fine. We're still so young, we've got a lot to figure out. Just give us time and we'll find our rhythm in the global ecosystem.

Howdy folks. So for the past 4 days I have been plagued with sickness =( It's just a cold, but that doesn't make it any more enjoyable. What's worse? I virtually never get sick anymore since I've become vegan and predominantly raw.

Thus, I don't really GET colds anymore. Except this week, apparently.

It's my dad's fault! He brought the cold into the house and it was promptly caught by my big brother and myself. Luckily my dad recovered in about 4 days, so he's fine now. My brother and I got sick about 4 days ago... and today we're both feeling better! So it looks like this cold has run it's course.

On top of me never getting sick anymore, plus the crappy-ness OF being sick, this is was an unusually worrisome cold because we are leaving for Tofino soon! I don't wanna be sick on vacation. No one does.


First of all, you need the common-sense basics: LOTS of water and sleep.
















(Yes, my bed is awesome.) I was drinking about 4 of those mason jars a day, and sleeping 10-12 hours.
You will also want to get TONS of vitamin C in your diet, I ate mostly grapefruit and kiwis the past 4 days. You can also take vitamin C pills, but getting it in whole foods is a much better idea.


Along with vitamin C, which helps fight colds and sickness, you'll want to eat some spicy foods. Another good idea is garlic, ginger and onions, they are great for strengthening the immune system as well. I had some delicious veggie curry last night and it helped LOADS. Not raw, but honestly, at this point you just want to get better.

The spices in the curry, along with the hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot or Sriracha work great, they're basically liquid chili pepper) cleared my nose, my throat, and made me cry!

Okay here's something that that you may not hear about much, and it seems really weird.
BUT I swear - it's a miracle worker. I was skeptical about it for many years, even though my mom kept urging me to try it, before I finally DID try it last year. It is amazing. It clears your sinuses like nobody's business. Just don't do it in front of people. It is called the Neti Pot.


Okay, I'm just about done giving you my cold-fighting strategies. To finish up, drink lots of tea; peppermint and green tea are great for headaches and flu-fighting antioxidants. And lastly, I hadn't used them until now, but they practically saved my life. Fisherman's Friend. Wow. I did not think they'd work so well. And surprisingly, they're fairly natural!