Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Raw Food for Under $10 a day! Carrot Raisin Salad with Aioli

This is a childhood favorite of mine. Creamy, sweet, and a little salty its a perfect summer time treat. I haven't made it for a while as one of the main ingredients was Mayo. After scoring big on 20 pound of carrots this recipe came to mind and I had to come up with a raw version. The Aioli in this recipe is amazing on raw salads and sandwiches or oadded to dips.




Raw Vegan Garlic Aioli

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tsps lemon juice
1 clove small/medium garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp Agave or 1 date
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard seed
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

iBlend all ngredients above except olive oil. Once combined with your blender on drizzle in the olive oil and blend on low until smooth and cream and the color hast lightened. 


Carrot Raisin Salad with Aioli 

2 cups grated carrots
1/3 cup raw raisins
Aioli (Recipe Above)
Pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together and serve

Total Calories per serving 405
Total cost $1.65

Raw Food for Under $10 a day .... Simply Strawberry!

I love simple. Sometimes all you need is a sweet bowl of berries to sink your teeth In to, today it's simply strawberries.
2 pounds raw fresh strawberries 290 calories. 
Total cost $.50 (purchased on sale at Kodiak Produce Wholesaler)

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Raw For Under $10 .. Soup and Salad, Filling you up for only $2.15!

                                

Some seriously good eats all for only $2.15 a serving! Kid you not! After our bountiful trip to Kodiak Fresh Produce I knew I had to whip up something amazing with all this fresh and fruity bounty we pillaged bought. While I am not advocating counting calories, I will post the calories so you have an idea what your getting.

Raw Soup and Salad

Salad
Mixed Salad mix 
Sliced baby bell pepper
TBS of Hemp Hearts
1/2 sliced Mango
Cold pressed Olive Oil
Total Calories 303
Total Cost $1.33 per serving
Soup
Makes 4 Servings (freeze extra portions and defrost by placing in the fridge the night before you want to use)
10 Roma Tomatoes
1 Large Red Bell Pepper
1/3 Sweet Onion
1 TBS Hemp Seeds
1/4 tsp fresh rosemary ( I plucked mine from my plant for free)
1/2 tsp of mixed Italian herbs dried
Salt to taste
Total Calories 127 
Total cost $ .82 per serving 

Grand Total $2.15






Raw food For Under $10 a day... Shopping Part 1 Kodiak Fresh Produce



  In order to eat Raw on a  budget you need to make every penny count. While I love Whole Foods, there is a reason why it's jokingly referred to as "Whole Paycheck" It is really easy to walk in there with a budget and blow it up like the coyote when he's trying to catch the road runner with a stick of dynamite.

So when you save money when you shop you eat better, because you have more food.

Today, just for my awesome fans I packed up my crew and we headed out to Kodiak Fresh Produce in Phoenix,AZ.  Now wait you say, I don't  live in Phoenix!
Arnold says it best...


This can be done pretty much anywhere. What I did is I googled my local produce wholesalers and I found one that is more than happy to sell fresh yummy organic produce to me and the rest of you! So open up google and search! You should be able to find one in your area! Or even ask your local grocery store where they buy your produce, if you make friends with them, they might just tell you.

On to Kodiak Fresh Produce!

As a raw fooder, we eat tons of fresh produce, so buying in bulk is nothing when we polish off pounds in one sitting. But those pounds can get expensive, buying in bulk solves that problem!

Kodiak Fresh Produce sits right off the 17, so it's pretty easy to find and it's centrally located so it's not too far of a drive for most of us in the Valley of the Sun.
Kodiak Produce is located just off I-17 and 7th St. in Phoenix.
1033 E. Maricopa Freeway
Phoenix, AZ 85034



We visited in the early afternoon, which is the best time of day to visit for a couple reasons.

1. No traffic, come on do you really want to sit through rush hour?
2. They are less busy. With morning deliveries heading out its a bad time to drop in. Come by after noon and you get the awesome help of the staff at Kodiak!


When you head in you make your way to the window where you sign in and your given a price list. While you may be tempted to order all the deliciousness on the list, take a second to ask about any special prices they might have going on.

They had some great deals the day we went in!

A tower of strawberry goodness! Yes those are all strawberries! I died and went to strawberry heaven!



Strawberries ripe and ready to freeze and juice, for $2 for a flat!!! 8 pounds of yummy strawberries for smoothies and what ever your little heart desires! Umm yes please! I bought 24 pounds for $6!


I scored big on all my produce today! Feeling like a pirate raiding a ship for treasure, I almost felt guilty as I walked out with nearly 120 pounds of fruits and veggies for just over $65

I now have enough strawberries for smoothies, tomatoes for soups, dressings, sun dried yumminess, oranges to eat and juice for a month. (yes those are beagles, not all my family is raw)


Yes you can freeze tomatoes or sun dry them too!



If your still worried about your abilities to consume all this food, have no fear! Kodiak has a farmers market each Saturday when you can stop by between 6-12 in the morning and buy all sorts of yummy things. Oh and they will special order too, just email them for a price list! I'm placing an order for some young coconuts today!