Kimchi is one of my favorite dishes ever! I think I can eat it almost everyday. Here is my way of making raw vegan kimchi.
1 Napa cabbage or Chinese cabbage
Real Salt (first to salt the cabbage and then to salt the whole recipe)
5 to 7 cloves of garlic
Peeled Ginger to taste (I use about 1 inch square of a ginger root)
1 red pepper
1 jalapeño pepper or cayenne pepper (not powder)
1 yellow onion
1/4 cup Bariani Olive oil
Chili flakes and pepper flakes to taste
10 Scallions julienned or cut in long strips (lots of scallions is what makes this recipe)
Wash the cabbage and separate the leaves. Let the water drip off the cabbage and get a container ready to place the cabbage for the salting part of the recipe and another container to press down the cabbage. Line up some leaves on the container put salt all over. Add another layer of leaves on top and add more salt and repeat until you use all the leaves and salt every layer. Use the other container to press down the cabbage. Let sit for 8 hours or overnight until all the cabbage is soaked in the salty water. You can let it sit more time to ferment more, but it won’t probably be raw at that point. You can also choose to let it sit less time, but I find that 8 hours is just perfect. Taste the cabbage and if it’s too salty for your taste, rinse it, but if it’s fine, just dumped the residual water.
Cabbage and salt in layers
To make the paste, I like to use my juicer to mince all the ingredients for the red paste. However, you can use a vegetable chopper or a food processor for this part. So mince or chop or process the garlic, ginger, red pepper, onion, and some of the red pepper flakes or jalapeño pepper or cayenne pepper. When I put this thru my juicer using the mince blades, there is also some juice that comes out which will make the paste a bit more liquidly and that’s why I don’t have to add water to this recipe. If you use a food processor or a chopper you may have to add a few spoons of water and the olive oil. Mix this paste and taste it for flavor. Depending on the saltiness of the cabbage and of the paste, you may want to make sure they will balance each other.
Peppers and Garlic for Kimchi
Using the same washed container, spread some of the paste at the bottom of the dish and take some of the scallions and spread them over the paste… you are going to layer the cabbage and paste like a lasagna. Take some cabbage and cover the first layer of the paste, and then add some more paste and scallions over the cabbage and keep layering in that order. Once you used all the cabbage and paste, cover the container and refrigerate for a few hours (4 to 6 hours). If you have cabbage or paste left over, just add it to the sides or try to fill in every space in the container.
I get about 6 to 8 servings out of this because I use a lot of it in different salads. I like to take a cucumber and chop it small cubes to add to the kimchi.
One of the hardest things to give up for me was Asian food such as Japanese, Thai, and Korean. So I’ve created several recipes to make up for my favorite dishes and flavors I miss. Hope you enjoy them too!
Miso Soup
Serves 2
Water
1 inch cube ginger
2 carrots
1 Tbs. brown miso paste (unpasteurized)
Garlic, olive oil, and salt to taste
Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until mixed. Serve immediately and add cilantro to decorate.
Decorating tip: Add some avocado, sprouts, and pour some olive oil.
Cucumber Spicy Noodles
Serves 2
3 medium size peeled cucumbers
¼ red peppers sliced or julienned
½ romaine lettuce
½ jalapeño pepper or cayenne pepper (or powder)
2 Tbs. of Nama Shoyu or Braggs
Olive oil
A handful of cilantro
Sesame seeds (black if possible)
Using a spiral-slicer cut the cucumber to make noodles and put aside. In a bowl, mix the Nama Shoyu or Braggs (or both) with the olive oil, cayenne, and chopped cilantro. If using jalapeño peppers, mix in food processor. Cut the romaine lettuce and make a bed of lettuce in each plate. Put the noodles and cut red peppers on top of lettuce. Pour the dressing on each plate and sprinkle some sesame seeds and more olive oil.
Decorating Tip: you can also cut some fresh tomatoes and add to dish.
Tuna Fish Salad w/ Organic Dressing and Vegetarian Taquitos
When we began our transition to health, we started taking small steps. I strongly believe in transitioning slowly is the best way to achieve being a vegetarian because it eases the body into your new lifestyle. I’m not a believer in changes overnight… or cold turkey! At least, it didn’t work for us! So here are five easy ways to begin the transition to a healthy vegetarian lifestyle.
Start fading red meat and pork from your diet
One easy way to accomplish this is to find how many times do you eat red meat and pork and fade both gradually. For example, if you eat red meats 2 times a day 5 days a week, start by eating it once a day for three weeks. After three weeks, eat red meat 3 times a week only and so forth. Calculate how many times a week you eat pork and apply the same principle. In addition, after the first two months, stop buying pork and red meat at restaurants. Only eat it if you buy it to prepare at home. If you go out very often, order poultry only, chicken and turkey. After six months, eat meat and pork only once a week, and after that every other week. Very soon your body won’t even remember what flesh tastes like! After a year, say goodbye to flesh!
Increase amount of vegetables and whole grains
As you eliminate the amount of red meat and pork you eat, begin to increase the amount of vegetables and whole grains in your meals. For example, if you eat two hamburgers a day, eat one and replace the rest with your favorite vegetable or whole grains such beans, chick peas, lentils, quinoa, or buckwheat to name a few. I suggest experimenting with frozen vegetables because they are less expensive and that way you can begin to identify what you like. Vegetable and wjole grains have lots of protein and vitamins that your body will need to begin the transition. Once you know what your favorite vegetable and grains are, buy them fresh and experiment with different seasoning, etc.
Decrease the amount of dairy and eggs you consume
I became allergic to dairy at 21, so it was very easy for me to give up dairy. You may find that you may be allergic to dairy too. The problem became learning to read labels. A lot of “vegan†and “vegetarian†products such mock cheeses and even crackers have dairy in them, so I had to learn to read labels when shopping. I was also allergic to eggs since I was 14, every time I ate more than one egg a week, I would get chest pains.
Apply the same rule as in eliminating meats, find how many times you consume dairy and eggs, and begin decreasing the amount slowly. Eggs have high amount of cholesterol. One easy way to start is by buying a carton of 6 eggs as supposed to 12 and make them last for two weeks. After a few months, make them last for three weeks until you reach a point in which you can eat one egg a week. In addition, start buying less milk, cheese, butter, and other dairy products. If you are able, replace milk with soy or almond milk. Start with small amounts, for example instead of buying a gallon of milk, buy a small jug, a smaller pack of cheese, and replace your butter with a vegetarian option that doesn’t contain hydrogenated oil.
Fish, your new best transitional choice!
I loved fish! This was the hardest thing to give up when I became a vegan especially because I loved sushi (don’t worry; we won’t go there in this list). But we didn’t always like fish until we started giving up meat, pork, and chicken. I come from a country where is very hard to buy fresh fish and what you get smells very bad… which as we all know, if the fish smells, it’s not good to eat anymore! So as we began eliminating meat, we began ordering fish at restaurants and buying to make at home. We started with salmon which was our favorite and later incorporated trout as well which is a great source of omega 3. I don’t recommend canned fish, but if that’s what it takes to begin eating fish, I’d say do it for the first two or three months until your body learns to like fish. Anything canned has tons of sodium and preservatives that the body doesn’t need.
Go to a vegetarian restaurant
This is a very easy step towards health. Going to vegetarian restaurants or even preparing vegetarian dishes is the best way to begin. Apply the same rule as eliminating meat, calculate how many times a week you eat out and begin replacing one restaurant with a vegetarian choice. For example, if you eat out 5 times a week, 1 time a week choose a vegetarian or vegan restaurant. Lots of restaurants have vegetarian meals nowadays, if you think you can resist from choosing the steak over the vegetarian meal of the day, then go ahead. But it may be hard to watch everyone else eat the steak while you eat a plate of grains and vegetables. In addition, vegetarian restaurants are more creative with their meals and they tend to taste much better than the “veggie†plate at the local steak house that usually serves canned veggies with only salt and pepper.
To find a vegetarian restaurant near you, visit Happy Cow, a directory of vegetarian restaurants in the country and even outside the U.S.
Fish Paella w/ Brown Rice and Romaine Lettuce and Tomatoes
Any transition takes time and consistency. After the first year we stop eating meat and pork completely, we lost between 20 to 25 lbs each without doing anything else. That was the most “visible†change we had in our lifestyle, but there were other changes as well. I also recommend visiting a doctor and get your blood tested before making any changes to your lifestyle. Some people may want to add vitamins and even a B-complex vitamin as they eliminate red meat and dairy. After you fade out red meat and pork, get your blood tested again and compare it with the previous test. Most likely, your health will have improved!
Recommended reading
Vegetarian Times Vegetarian Beginner’s Guide by the Editors of Vegetarians Times
Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman
Healthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World’s Healthiest and Longest-Lived Peoples by John Robbins
The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures That benefit You and the Place You Live by Nell Newman
The Great American Detox Diet: Feel Better, Look Better, and Lose Weight by Cleaning Up Your Diet by Alex Jamieson
The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weil (Andrew T. Weil, Rosie Daley)
The Chopra Center Cookbook: A Nutritional Guide to Renewal / Nourishing Body and Soul by Deepak Chopra M.D. (Deepak Chopra, David Simon, Leanne Backer)
10 Zucchinis sliced in a mandolin slicer (for two people use 2 or 3 zucchinis and reduce the marinade)
1 cup of your favorite marinade (see recipe below)
2 cups of your favorite pate (see recipe below)
Slice zucchini using a Mandolin slicer and marinate the night before (I place them into a lasagna pan as if they were lasagna noodles and pour the marinade over each layer). When ready, prepare the pate to fill the rolls. Line up the zucchini slices and put a spoon of pate at on the slice and roll the zucchini and put in the dehydrator sheet. Repeat process to use all slices and pate. Dehydrate for 2-3 hours.
Marinade I recommend
Namashoyu
Braggs
Olive Oil
Italian Herbs
Pate I used for party
1 cup of hemp seeds
¼ cup of pine nuts
½ sun flower seeds
Olive oil
Salt to taste
2 Tbs. water
Italian herbs to taste
Crackers and Pate
White Crackers
1 cup sunflower seeds soaked for 1 hour
½ cup hemp seeds soaked for 1 hour
¼ sesame seeds soaked for 1 hour
¼ pumpkin seeds soaked for 1 hour
1 cup ground yellow flax seeds (I used yellow to make them light)
½ shredded zucchini
Any seasoning to taste (I often alternate between Italian herbs or Mexican Seasoning)
About 1 cup water
1 Tbs. salt
I soak all the seeds in the same container and after 1 or 2 hours I drain them and rinse them again with ionized water. I them put them in the food processor and grind. Put the grind mixed seeds in a bowl and add the flax powder and seasonings as well as salt. Mix well and then add the shredded zucchini. I add as much water as I want and continue to mix until I have the desired consistency and that way the crackers won’t have to dehydrate for a very long time. After mixing and making a “doughâ€, press them flat onto a teflex sheet and dehydrate for approximately 4 to 8 hours. Serve with any pate, salsa, or guacamole.
1 broccoli cut in mini florets same size as the other vegetables
1 cup of diced tomatoes
1 yellow zucchini diced small
1 cup peas
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. olive oil
Curry powder to taste (I use about 2 Tbs. of curry)
A pinch of garam masala
A pinch of cumin
Salt to taste
Curry Sauce (see recipe below)
Mixed all the ingredients in a bowl and let the marinade mix well. Transfer to a teflex sheet and dehydrate for 1 to 2 hours.
Curry Sauce
1 red pepper
1 cup of sundried tomatoes soaked for about 2 hours
Garlic to taste (I use about 2 cloves or more)
1 Tbs. lemon juice
Ginger to taste (I use about an inch cube)
½ cup of cilantro
Curry powder to taste
1 Tbs. Coconut oil
Salt to taste
*To make it spicy I add about 1 red or green jalapeño
Blend all the ingredients in the blender until smooth (you may want to add a little bit of water or oil to make it more liquid). Bring the vegetables out from the dehydrator and put in a glass container and add the curry sauce. Mix well and return to dehydrator for another hour or so.
The original recipe is from Get Fresh Magazine by Russell James
Salad & Raw Nut Tofu
I made a big salad and one of our friends brought another salad which everyone loved! I often use lettuce to replace rice and serve with any dish.
Raw Nut Tofu
1 cup Irish moss paste
¼ cup water
½ lemon juice
2 cups of Cashews soaked for 2 hours
1 Tbs. of unpasteurized light miso
Salt to taste
Blend in high power blender until smooth. Use a plastic wrapped container to pour the mix. Refrigerate for a few hours and serve. Another variation on this is to actually marinade the tofu in the kind of sauce you want until it soaks the sauce. I put the marinade in the blender from the beginning and refrigerate longer.
The original recipe is from Get Fresh Magazine by Russell James
Drinks
Ice Tea & Watermelon Juice
Ionized Water
Desserts
Chocolate Pudding
1 Avocado
¼ cup raw cacao
2 Tbs. maca powder
¼ cup raw agave
1 Tsp. of Mesquite powder
Salt to taste
Put all the ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth. Set in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Many of my friends and family members often ask us what is vegetarianism and veganism, difference between them, and the benefits of changing to these lifestyles. So I’ve decided to write about these three commonly asked questions and explain what I have learned in the subject of vegetarianism and veganism.
Definitions and Difference
Vegetarianism means to me to exclude all animals (meats and fish) from one’s diet. There are three subcategories within the definition of being a vegetarian. Lacto-Vegetarian includes dairy, Ovo-Vegetarian includes eggs, and Lacto-Ovo vegetarian includes both eggs and dairy. Veganism excludes all animals and animal byproducts not only from one’s diet but also one’s lifestyle. For example, vegan will not buy leather goods, or soaps that contain animals, etc. Therefore, the difference between being a vegetarian and a vegan is that vegetarians still consume some animal products (eggs, cheese, butter, honey, etc) even though they don’t eat the flesh. Vegans don’t eat, wear, or buy any animal products.
Benefits
Some of the benefits I found by transitioning to a vegetarian and later vegan diet included improvement in my health, increase in money savings, and decrease in environmental impact.
When I first started in the whole-foods/health journey, I was obese. Once I started fading out the amount of flesh I consumed, I started to loose weight. In addition, I saw changes improving my skin, energy level, mood swings, and productivity. I made sure to transition carefully and visit my doctor regularly to run blood tests to ensure that the process was not damaging to my body.
As we stopped buying animal products, I noticed that we were spending less money on food bills and eating out. We were also spending less money on energy drinks, extra vitamins, and restaurants as we found that vegetarian dishes are usually the least expensive in restaurant menus.
When we became vegetarians and later vegans, we were not aware of the impact that consuming animal flesh has in the environment. Always being an environmental conscious person, I was blinded about the effects that animal consumption has on our earth. I was glad to find months after the complete transition to veganism that we were helping save the planet by not consuming and not buying any animal byproducts. I strongly believe that one cannot be an environmentalist and still eat animal flesh.
I don’t judge people for what they choose to eat. I have many friends and family members who will eat a steak in front of me while I’m eating a raw vegan meal. I believe every person has the right to make their own decisions when it comes to their lifestyle, and therefore, only one knows what is good for one’s self. I do not recommend anyone to change their lifestyle without doing the appropriate research and getting the advice of experts. I strongly believe that every person is different and what is good for me may not be good for another person. So here are some resources that can direct you to find answers.
Books
Vegetarian Times Vegetarian Beginner’s Guide by the Editors of Vegetarians Times
The pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health by Robert O. Young
The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World by John Robbins
Healthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World’s Healthiest and Longest-Lived Peoples by John Robbins
The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures That benefit You and the Place You Live by Nell Newman
Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman
The Great American Detox Diet: Feel Better, Look Better, and Lose Weight by Cleaning Up Your Diet by Alex Jamieson
