Tapenade and Candied Onion Stuffed Red Cabbage

One of my favorite foods is cabbage because it’s super versatile, has hardly any calories, is free of wheat and gluten, is great for digestion, and is beautiful in color (purple and green). It tastes awesome in salads, gives us valuable probiotics as pickled sauerkraut, plus it works perfectly as a “shell” to be stuffed with yummy fillings to make a delicious hand held treat. I’m currently reintroducing heart-healthy fats into my diet from flax and chia seeds (omega-3), some nuts (vitamin E and antioxidants), and olives to keep my skin supple and moist, especially now that autumn is upon us. I picked up a bunch of avocados at the Farmers’ Market, but am disappointed they didn’t make it into my bag!

Today, I filled up a red cabbage shell with Chiffonade green cabbage. Watch our “How to Chiffonade” video I shot for Vegetarian Times Magazinehttp://www.vegetariantimes.com/video/10). Please watch on the Vegetarian Times website to help generate viewer numbers. Thank you!

I’m also embedding it below from my own YouTube channel:
Ani’s Raw Food Asia + Vegetarian Times Magazine: How to Chiffonade

I first filled up my purple cabbage shell with Chiffonade green cabbage. Next, I layered on a Black Olive Tapenade, from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen, page 155,  and Candied Onions, inspired by my Buckwheat-Battered “Fried” Onion Rings, from page 116 of Ani’s Raw Food Essentials, plus I added maple syrup to sweeten the onions. I then topped it all with artichoke hearts, and would have added avocado, if I had some on hand.

Black Olive Tapenade
makes 4 servings

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced, about 1 clove
  • 1/2 cup black olives, […]

Ingredients From Our Local Farmers’ Market

Ani’s Raw Food Certification courses are held a couple blocks from the Saturday morning Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, where local farmers bring us seasonal produce that’s been picked just a few hours before. Sometimes, we’ll find heirloom ingredients available for only a week, or better yet…..dry farmed produce. That’s when the plants just thrive on their own, without watering nor chemicals! Fresh, local, seasonal, gluten free, vegan, and organic…what better way to detox and cleanse from urban toxins?

Ani_058

Chocolate Collard Leaves

This recipe offers another great way to enjoy greens, and boy do I love dehydrated salad! As a matter of fact, that was exactly how I first discovered Kale Chips, back in Portland, OR, in 1995 or so. After a big catering gig, I had so much marinated kale salad remaining, it would have been a shame to throw it out. Usually, I feed leftovers to Kanga, my pooch, but too much kale’s been known to make her poot (stinky!). Instead, I put all the salad into my dehydrators, and was stoked by what I found the next morning! Kale Chips!! It makes me happy to see Kale Chips have gone mainstream today. Finally, a healthy snack enjoyed by the masses!

The texture of these chocolate coated collard leaves is much like the texture of dried cashew cheddar, from my traditional Kale Chips on page 110 of Ani’s Raw Food Essentials. (Signed copies of Ani’s Raw Food Essentials are available at GoSuperLife.com). Delicate mouth feel, and amazing flavors.

Thanks to everyone for being patient with me, waiting for me to post this recipe after I’ve completed my next book! Enjoy xo

Chocolate Collards

  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 1/4 cup cacao powder
  • 2 Tablespoons agave syrup, or your favorite syrup sweetener
  • 2 Tablespoons mesquite
  • 2 TTablespoon cacao nibs
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 bunch collard greens, destem, cut each leaf into 2 halves
In high-speed blender, blend all ingredients (except collards) until smooth.
Place collard half leaves into a large bowl, pour chocolate sauce over leaves. Coat each leaf completely.
Place leaves in dehydrator at 104 degrees. Dehydrate for 4 to 6 hours, until dry.

 

Kale, Avocado, Sprouts

A super easy salad to make, this is my go to when traveling. Made by massaging avocado into torn leaves of kale and then adding a squeeze of lemon to soften the leaves, and then tossing in sprouts.

Full of vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, and antioxidants to combat travel stress (including time zone changes, sitting on airplanes, and living in hotel rooms) while boosting my immune system. I carried this yummy creation onto my last flight from NJ to LA, and took it with me to Las Vegas for my raw food debut at ACAM’s medical conference at the Paris Hotel last week, where they served up 5 of my raw food vegan recipes to over 500 doctors!

Kale, Avocado, Sprouts
Makes 2 servings

  • 1/2 bunch of kale, de-stem, and tear leaves into bite sized pieces
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 lemon’s juice
  • 1 container of sprouts, any type
  • sea salt, to taste

Into large mixing bowl, place kale and massage with avocado. Squeeze lemon juice, and massage. Add sprouts and salt, if using. Massage and toss to mix well.

Will keep for several hours at room temperature. Store in fridge for a day or 2.

Delicious Living Magazine, Ani’s Raw Asian Power

delicious living magazine, raw food, raw power, ani phyo, recipe, article, feature, cover

Grab a copy of the April 2011 issue of Delicious Living Magazine and enjoy my Raw Power cover feature with 6 raw food recipes for a preview of the flavors I’ll be bringing you in my newest East West Fusion raw food book Ani’s Raw Food Asia, available everywhere May 10, 2011.

Ani's Raw Food Asia, Ani Phyo, raw food, feature, article, recipes, delicious living magazine

Ani's Raw Food Asia, Ani Phyo, raw food, feature, article, recipes, delicious living magazine

Ani's Raw Food Asia, Ani Phyo, raw food, feature, article, recipes, delicious living magazine

Ani's Raw Food Asia, Ani Phyo, raw food, feature, article, recipes, delicious living magazine

Mexican Style Jicama ‘Rice’ & Kanga’s Birthday Cake:

It was Kanga’s 8th ‘birthday’ and also our anniversary on Labor Day. Each year, I make my darling pooch a heart shaped cake (you may have seen the photo from last year’s birthday on page 301 of Ani’s Raw Food Essentials). This year, the cake was made with sunflower seeds and a few Medjool dates. Kanga was so eager to eat it, she got green birthday candle wax on the tip of her nose….so cute!

In a blink of an eye, the cake was gone! And, I wonder if you can guess who’s in the background with her ‘magic’ tatoos….hint….London and the UK.

For our birthday ladies’ luncheon, I made Jicama Rice, Mexican style by processing Jicama, then adding chopped red bell peppers, onion, corn kernels, cilantro, and a pinch of sea salt. Recipe below…. It was a lunch of British guests, one of whom is a celiac. That means she needs to avoid wheat gluten. I love that about the raw food diet, it’s free of wheat, gluten, refined sugar, dairy, and guilt!

I had made myself a beet, parsley, lemon, and cucumber juice earlier that morning, then mixed in the beet pulp with a sunflower pate. I used this pate to stuff poblano peppers, then dehydrated them for a few hours to soften. For a sauce, I blended a simple […]

Almond Buttered Banana Freeze + Acai

I made several smoothies in San Diego on FOX TV including an Almond Buttered Banana Freeze.

Watch my 6-minute video segment here.

Almond Buttered Banana Freeze + Açaí
Recipe (adapted from Ani’s Raw Food Essentials)
Makes 4 servings

Almonds provide calcium, protein, and vitamin E, bananas are loaded with potassium, and açaí is full of antioxidants and healthy omegas. This easy smoothie is a great post workout fuel – it helps increase circulation and blood flow to stressed muscles, while building lean tissue.

  • 2 bananas, sliced
  • 1/4 cup raw almond butter
  • 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
  • 3 to 4 cups Organic Sambazon Açaí Juice

Combine the banana, almond butter, and organic Sambazon Açaí Juice in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Best served immediately, but will keep for a couple days in the fridge.

I’m using my favorite blender, the Personal Blender. It costs about $69, and you can find more about the Personal Blender and find organic ingredients at www.GoSuperLife.com.

Ani’s Raw Food Essentials: Water Kefir Recipe

A book trailer for Ani’s Raw Food Essentials for a naturally effervescent probiotic drink called Water Kefir from page 56.

This healthy drink is simple to make using water kefir grains that you can purchase online. I include resources in my book, and recommend going straight to the source for the living grains. Avoid the processed, dried, packaged grains because they are not as vital as the living grains. Plus, the dry grains only brew maybe three batches before you have to go and buy more dried grains again.

It takes just 48 hours to brew Water Kefir, and it’s full of friendly bacteria for building healthy intestinal flora. It helps me with digestion, assimilation of nutrients, and elimination. I enjoy Water Kefir with and after meals to help with digestion. I drink a cup on an empty stomach before bed to balance my intestinal flora.

In this video, I use a variation of the recipe in my book.

Water Kefir
Note: avoid metal. Metal damages probiotics and water kefir grains. Use only plastic spoons, measuring cups, and glass jars.

  • 4 cups filtered water
  • 1/3 cup organic cane juice crystals (sugar)
  • 1 Tablespoon turbinado (brown)
  • 2 pieces ginger
  • 3 slices dried pear (unsulphured)
  • 1/4 cup water kefir grains

Place water into a glass jar. Add sugars, ginger, pear, and stir. Add grains. Close lid, and store in cabinet for 48 hours to brew.

Pour brew through a plastic sieve to catch the grains. Remove ginger and pear. Store brew in glass bottles at room temperature to increase vitamin B levels. Or, store in fridge to chill.

Start […]

SF View from the Bay – 2 Recipes

spencer christian ani phyo janelle wang san francisco california

On Day 3 of my SF book tour, I visited the vibrant Spencer Christian and beautiful Janelle Wang for a return appearance on their afternoon talk show The View from the Bay. Spencer already loves raw vegan foods, and this visit, we may have won Janelle over to our side with my Jap Chae Korean No-Cook Stir Fry Noodles and Berry Kream Tartlets. (The recipes follow below).

Watch video of my TV appearance here.

makeup ani phyo raw food essentials

It’s always fun to be made up by a professional make up artist. Skye said she’s been working weeks without one day off. A perfect candidate for the raw vegan diet. ani phyo raw food

Abbeba kicked off this show with her dehydrated crackers and salsa. I like to remind folks raw dishes like guacamole, salsa, gazpacho, and salads are already popular, so raw foods really aren’t that much of a stretch from what we’re already eating.teen ani phyo raw food

I met this pretty teen last year on my Ani’s Raw Food Desserts tour. She seems to have grown a foot or more, and has the coolest parents. Her pops brought her to the Ferry Building for my talk on Saturday, […]

Sprouted Wild Rice with Corn and Tomato

wild rice ani phyo raw food essentials

Wild rice is actually a grass, not a grain. It’s an aquatic seed that’s found mostly in the upper fresh water lakes of Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in North America.  It’s a great source of protein, minerals, B vitamins, folic acid, and carbohydrates. I enjoyed wild rice the other morning to help fuel my cardio workout later that day.

I like to soak wild rice in at least double the amount of water for 2 or more days. Rinse and change soak water at least 2 to 3 times each day. Soaked wild rice will never get as soft as when it’s cooked, but that’s what I love about it. It has a chewy, hearty mouth feel that’s really satisfying, especially when my body’s craving some complex carbs.

This simple, quick, delicious recipe is made with just a handful of ingredients. Personally, I leave out the oil and salt. But it will bump up the flavor profile if you choose to add it in.

Sprouted Wild Rice with Corn and Tomato
Makes 2 servings

  • 1 1/2 cup soaked wild rice (started with 1 cup + 2 cups soak water)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup corn kernels
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, deseed, dice, to taste
  • 3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, optional

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Toss to mix well.

Will keep for 3 days in fridge.