The Most Delicious Dressing Ever - The Golden Elixir For Salads & Veggies

This delicious dressing, often called the "Golden Elixir" is to live for. People often say they want to drink it. Full of Essential Fatty Acids, fresh lemon, tahini, sea kelp, and ginger, this dressing is a must for salads, fish or grains. Yum!

This is the dressing that started my cooking career. No joke.

Early on in my nutritional foodie career I understood the difference between good and bad fats. Bad fats are as inflammation causing as sugar. Deep fried everything, and dressings made from cheap olive oil, canola and sunflower oil are all lumped into a category that include Omega 6’s.

Not to get too technical, but the Omega 6’s are the omega’s that you want to avoid. I know, it is hard if you are eating out. Most all of your food service establishments buy poor quality oils because that is all they can afford. By poor quality, I mean that they are not fresh. They have most likely been bleached and deodorized so they they remain shelf stable. Food producers must do this for nut and seed oils because they are tinder and go rancid easily with heat and light. Even though food is not always deep fried in many of the restaurant food, the poor quality oils are also used for everything else like cooking and for sauces. Many people do not realize this.

Other than olive oil, the only oils that are of any substance of quality are cold pressed oils made from nuts and seeds. They are few and far between in your local stores, so you usually have to purchase them online. But, even then you must use them quickly so they do not go rancid.

I believe, in part, one of the reasons “raw food” culinary methods are so healthy and satisfying is because of the methods (soaking and sprouting) of nuts and seeds, which makes the valuable nutrients them available for your cells and joints. This is why I produced the “Raw Food Series”. Learning raw food methods are one of the most powerful ways you can put nutrient dense food into your precious body. The course is still available - check it out HERE.

Think about it. If you are not eating a bunch of nuts and seeds (walnuts, pumpkin, sunflower, flax, and chia) then you are most likely starving for good fats. This is the reason to make delicious sauces and dressings from excellent fats. I love Barlean’s Flax oil because they press it and ship it straight to your door, or the store. It does not sit on a distributor shelf somewhere for months on end. But, the best part is that they are slam dunk delicious. Of course, a high quality olive oil is always wonderful, but it is limited in its nutrient value and flavor. It is nice to mix it up now and then. Those of you who have my “sauces and dressings” course know how I mixed up the raw and cooked foods together to make them super delicious and nutrient dense.

Knowing this early on my career had me in the kitchen making delicious dressings for salads and cooked and raw vegetables. We named this one the “Golden Elixir”. Enjoy!

Tip: If you eat out a lot, you might consider making some delicious dressings at home and then taking a small amount out when you go out to lunch. Then you can get a great salad - hold the dressing, because you will have your own. Make sure it is in a leaf proof container.

Recipe for the Golden Elixir

Ingredients

1⁄2 cup        Flax Oil - Barlean’s High Lignan is best (Olive Oil can be replaced if preferred, but will have different taste)

1⁄4 cup        fresh lemon juice (or juice of a whole lemon)

1⁄4 cup        water

1⁄4 cup        low sodium Tamari (use a little less if it is regular)

2 tbsp          Sesame Tahini (raw or toasted)

2 tsp Sea Kelp Powder (this will provide flavor and also thicken mixture)

2 tsp fresh ginger juice (grate fresh ginger and squeeze out juice), or add small piece of ginger.

1 garlic clove (if wanted - peeled) - optional dash of cayenne

Blend all the ingredients except the oil. Once the ingredients are blended, add the oil slowly while the blender is on low speed.

Enjoy immediately, or chill before serving.

The dressing keeps up to several days in the refrigerator, however, for essential fatty acids to remain in integrity from the Flax Oil, (or dressings) it should be consumed within 6 weeks.

Note: The dressing will thicken a little over time because of the thickening quality of sea (kelp) veggies.

Raw Creamy Mint Dressing

This dressing is to live for. It is full of nutritious power and really refreshing and delicious. You can use it on any raw veggie salad or cooked veggies, grains or whatever sounds good to you.  I find it lasts for about 4-5 days when kept chilled!

Creamy Mint Dressing

½  cup     sunflower seeds (soaked - 3 hours or longer)

⅓  cup     olive oil

½  cup     filtered water

¼  cup     lime juice

2         garlic gloves

¼  cup     fresh mint leaves (use dried mint if fresh is not available)

1 tsp         onion powder (or a chunk of onion – green onions are good)

¼  tsp     celtic sea salt

Blend all ingredients into creamy consistency. I love this dressing. It is awesome with mixed greens, chopped cabbage, sliced cucumbers, and tomatoes.

Keeps when chilled for about 4-5 days.

Hemp Coconut Supreme

OK, so I am not the best photographer. But, I make up for it by making food that is easy and nourishing and tastes good.

My method is often just finding the best products that can be turned into quick and easy meals. Coconut Butter is a must to have in your pantry. If you have not tried it, let me tell you a few things you will want to know about it, and then give you some ideas on how to enjoy it.

1. It is made up of sun dried coconut ground up into a butter. Simple. Just like peanut butter or almond butter.

2. You do not need to refrigerate it after opening, but you must be careful not to contaminate it with any food particles. If you do refrigerate it, it gets as hard as a rock and is not as easy to use.

3. When you first open it, the oils might have separated from the meat, like many nut butters do after sitting for a period of time. Just stir it up with a butter knife or spoon and blend until creamy.

4. Now for the good part. Try eating one teaspoon of this rich yummy on it's own. Amazing, right? For many this is a quick fix for a satiating sweet fatty dessert or bite to give them extra energy or just a thrill.  It works great for anyone wanting to get off sugar as it can substitute for sweet and creamy and is so very satisfying. I dare anyone to eat more than two teaspoons at a time, although you may want to. Take it slow and savor it. 

5. Uses may include spreading on it toast, adding to smoothies or adding some water to make a creamy sauce. I use this ingredient in my cocoa truffles. It is what sets them apart from others. Yum. You can also blend some with water for a sweet sauce over your fruit.

6. In the recipe above, I blended about a cup + of water to a heaping tbsp of coconut butter. I added about 1/4 cup of Hemp Hearts and a a tablespoon of flax meal. The result is a thick and creamy sauce. I pour it over my papaya (shown here with a sliced banana and cinnamon) for pure enjoyment and nourishment. Refrigerate the remaining for the next day or later in the afternoon. Play with these ingredients as they can be turned into a variety of beverages and sauces.

7. The Hemp Hearts can be used alone to make a quick hemp milk for smoothies or just a refreshing drink.

8. The flax seeds can also be used to sprinkle on top of the fruit salad. Remember they create a thickening to whatever liquid you add them to, so be prepared if you store some for a time, because it will be much thicker after it has sat for awhile. This is why I often just sprinkle them on just before I eat my meal.

Try it out, tell me how you like it. What amazing concoction did you come up with?

The Best Way To Eat Carrots

This may just seem so simple and trivial for a post, but, let me tell you that making carrots this way is a huge benefit, particularly for kids. 

When the carrots are grated on the very small (slanted) element of the grater, the carrot pieces fall into nice little pile that kind of sticks together. Put a pile on the side of a bowl of soup, on salads, top on avocado toast, in a wrap, or just on the side of a plate as a garnish. 

Grating it in this way makes the carrot juicy. This is the key. It will juice up a sandwich or wrap with sweet flavor. The reason it works so well with kids, is that the carrots are juicy, which means sweeter. It is also easier for them to chew.

In a salad, you might think that the little pieces will spread around, but they don't. They seem to stick together in a clump. If you use a delicious dressing like the The Golden Elixir, or the Maple Lemon Miso, you will delight in the way that you will get a bite of juicy carrot with the dressing infused in. Try it! 

If you use them on a sandwich, wrap or toast, add a little salt, perhaps some Tamari, olive oil, or any salad dressing you want to top them with for another flavorful dimension. You can also grate a beet in the same way.

If you want more handy hints of how to eat some foods raw, get my Raw Food Basics course. This course it great for learning how to make sauces and dressing, and use nuts and seeds in the most healthy way. Some have called it the best Raw Food Course available.

Visit my Indigogo Campaign if you would love to support my upcoming book, Eating As A Spiritual Practice. Support offers perks for courses, private coaching, and so much more. Go HERE for more info.

Cauliflower Almond Meal

yum yum yum yum. This recipe is so easy and can actually be made with any vegetable (broccoli, squash, yams, green beans, chard). The sauce can be made on its own, then top on your veggie of choice.

Here is how I do it with cauliflower.

Almond Meal Sauce (this is a very basic recipe that could be more diverse with spices)

1/2 cup Barlean's Coconut Oil or butter or ghee

4-5 cloves of garlic (chopped)

1/2 cup Almond meal

water to blend

salt & pepper (a little cayenne if you like)

Warm a sauce pan, and put in the coconut oil/butter until it is warm wan bubbly. Saute the garlic gloves until almost golden. Add in the almond meal. This will make the mixture get very dry. At this time, add in the water to make a paste. Turn down the heat and cook the mixture for a few minutes. You may need to add more water until you get the consistency you want. A thick sauce is what I like.

Prepare the Cauliflower by washing it, and it breaking apart. The smaller the pieces the faster it will cook. Place the cauliflower pieces in a baking dish. Top the almond meal sauce around the top, and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft.  Don't over cook it and let it get mushy. I like to broil it for a couple seconds just before serving so that the top gets nice and tan and crispy. It also tastes better when it is crispy!

Serving suggestions: On a bed of salad greens, rice noodles, or other steamed veggies.

Enjoy. Remember to use Barlean's Organic Coconut oil. It is the best!  Ghee is quite scrumptious too.

Sunflower Cocoa Ashwagandha Smoothie with Barlean's Chocolate Silk

This morning our sunflower milk, made with fresh sunflower seeds soaking over night, was turned into a rich powerhouse of a smoothie with Barlean's Chocolate Silk Greens. Whoa! Many of you know that I am a huge fan of making your own seed milks. They are so simple and provide you with so many nutrients when made fresh. Here is how we brought this smoothie together. Make your own version if you like!

Ingredients

1/2 cup sunflower seeds soaked and rinsed.

1 quart of filtered water

1 scoop of Barleans's Greens (Chocolate Silk flavor). This is Barlean's antioxidant blend of cocoa, fruits and vegetables, probiotics and enzymes to aid in digestion. Can you belief all this in one scoop of delicious flavor. No wonder they call it slik!

2 tbsp of cacao powder

1/2 tsp of Ashwagandha powder

1 tsp Maca

1 tbsp of coconut cream/butter (you could use coconut oil as well)

The above ingredients made a great foundation. From here we added:

1/3 cup of organic cold pressed coffee concentrate (if you don't have concentrate, which I believe is rather scarce now) and you really want caffeine, just cut down on the water and add some strong coffee.

2 dates

sprinkle of cayenne

Blend all of the ingredients. Add ice if you want it thicker and cold.

Basically, the Barlean's Greens will give you the base of flavor and sweetness. We merely wanted to get more decadent, and wished to add the Ashwagandha powder and Maca. Along with the cacao powder, Ashwagandha powder and coffee concentrate, which added extra bitterness, we were able to get away with adding the dates. If you are sugar sensitive you may want to use more stevia or perhaps it will be sweet enough.

Enjoy!!

Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread - Radically Good!

Are you ready for the bread of a lifetime? This vegan banana with millet is what makes this moist bread have a nice crunch to it. Make this for your friends for the holiday. Or, just for you. Hide it somewhere you can find it for a late night snack, or first thing in the morning. Such a yummy!

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 cup)

3/4 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 2 1/2 cups water for about 20 minutes (use flax as well)

3 tbsp melted coconut oil

1/2 cup of brown sugar

3 1/2 tsp double acting baking powder

3/4 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup sesame milk (blend 1 heaping tbsp of hulled sesame seeds with 3/4 cup water)

1 1/4 cup almond meal

1 1/4 cup gluten free flour or gluten free pancake mix (organic, of course)

1 1/4 cup millet (un-cooked)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line pan with a little coconut oil, the a sprinkle of flour of choice.

Mash bananas and combine all ingredients together, and blend thoroughly. Bake for one hour and 12 minutes, depending on your oven. Cool slightly before serving.

When ever I make this, I can hardly stand waiting till it cools. I go for it as long it is not too hot to hold. Notice it may be very moist at first, but it firms up after it cools. Yum, Yum, Yum

Happy Holidays! Chef Teton

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Eating As a Spiritual Practice will awaken you to:

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“Today, we know more about health than ever. We have the most advanced medical systems as well, and yet, we have alarming rates of chronic illnesses. We also have problems with feeding the world, and sustainable food security. What is really going on here?
Author and chef, Susan Teton, says, “It’s all about the food,” but not about diets, proteins, carbohydrates or fats. Eating As a Spiritual Practice inspires a brave new way of eating: dropping diets, and enjoying the bounty of food from the Earth (and not the factory). Adopting a “spiritual practice around food” provides profound personal and global benefit for our present and future generations. Plus, Susan’s story will touch your heart and soul, in ways you may have never considered, as she inspires you with a lively, mouthwatering combination of raw, cooked and cultured foods.”

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