Sunflower Walnut Pate (TuNo) on a bed of sprouts

I love this pate, it’s so tasty, nutritious and versatile. It can be used in sandwiches and wraps, as a spread or dip or simply drop a scoop on top of a green salad. It’s also called TuNo because it tastes and looks very similar to tuna salad, but it’s vegan, in fact it’s a super-healthy raw vegan dish. Now if you’re one of those vegetarians or vegans who hates the taste and smell of tuna, you’ll still love this no fishy taste or smell. I suspect what most people really love about tuna salad is more to do with the added ingredients than with the tuna itself. But the tuna provides a vehicle and texture that holds it all together and gives you that high-protein full feeling. Well, the walnuts and sunflower seeds do the same in this case, and the taste really comes from the spices and other added ingredients.

Great dish to serve to your non-vegan friends – see how many of them can guess that it’s not actually tuna.

Ingredients:

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked
1 cup walnuts, broken into pieces, soaked
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup sauerkraut, finely chopped and juice to taste (can substitute pickles instead)
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teas kelp or wakame flakes
2 tbsp tamari
1 teas apple cider vinegar (ACV) or kombucha vinegar
2 teas ground cumin
1 teas paprika

Instructions:

Soak the sunflower seeds and walnuts for 4-8 hours. Drain and throw away the soak water. The soaking neutralizes the natural enzyme inhibitors in nuts and seeds making them more nutritious and easily digestible.

Add the sunflower seeds, walnuts, lemon juice, garlic, kelp, tamari, cumin, paprika and apple cider vinegar to the blender. Blend until smooth. If you have trouble blending it, add some of the sauerkraut or pickle juice. You don’t want it too runny, aim for the consistency of tuna salad.

Transfer to a bowl and mix in the chopped celery, parsley and sauerkraut (or pickle) by hand.

This will keep for several days in the fridge stored in an airtight container.

Sunflower Walnut Pate on flax crackers with sprouts and arugula

Serving suggestions:

• Eat by the spoonful
• Add a scoop to top off a salad
• Use as a dip with crudites
• Eat with flax crackers and sprouts
• Use in place of the rice, and add other raw vegetables for raw sushi
• Serve a as a spread on bread, in a pita pocket, or wrap with lots of salad vegetables

Let me know how you like it, and what other creative ways you invent to serve it.

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Green Smoothie

Today’s green smoothie (breakfast of Champions!) came out really creamy. I’m not sure why, but I’m sure enjoying it. I’ve got 2 superfoods packed in this one, goji berries and goldenberries (a.k.a. Incan Berries and Golden Inca Berries). Just for a change I decided to add some spice – cinnamon and ginger, it’s a subtle but nice change.

Ingredients:
4 kale leaves (stalk removed)
bunch of curly parsley (any kind will do)
4 sprigs apple mint (alternatively any other fresh mint)
2.5 cups kombucha (alternatively use filtered water)
3 frozen bananas
1 handful frozen goldenberries
1 handful dried goji berries
2 good shakes of powdered cinnamon
pinch of celtic sea salt
pinch of powdered ginger

Instructions:
Put all the greens into a blender. Add kombucha up to the 2.5 cup mark on my blender jug. Blend, starting on slow and gradually turning up the speed until the liquid starts turning green (at first the liquid is still clearish, with green leafy bits in it, but I keep blending on high until the bits start liquefying).

Add the rest of the ingredients, breaking up each frozen banana into about 3 pieces. You probably don’t have to break the banana if you have a super-blender, like the Vita-mix.

The banana and goldenberries will thicken the mixture, so add more kombucha or filtered water until you smoothie is the consistency you like.

This will make several large glasses, and will keep in the fridge for the rest of the day if you want to drink it throughout the day.

Tip: The quickest way I’ve found to de-stalk the kale is to grab hold of the thick end of the stalk with one hand, wrap my thumb and index finger around the stalk near my ‘holding’ hand with my palm facing toward the leafy part and then just sliding my thumb and index finger up the stalk to pull off the leafy part.

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Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Brown Rice
3 T oil
1/2 cup each of any of the following: chopped onion, capsicum, parsley, courgette/zucchini, mushroom
2x cloves garlic (finely chopped or pressed)
1/2 teas. each of salt, paprika
3 cups boiling water

Instructions:
Wash the brown rice well and drain through a sieve. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chopped vegetables and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the herbs and rice. At a very high heat get the rice sizzling. Pour everything into a casserole dish with a lid, add the 3 cups boiling water.

Cover and place in oven at 180C / 350F for 35 minutes. You’ll get a nice potful of tasty, fluffy rice.

Eat on it’s own with a side salad, or serve with enchiladas or burritos.

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