STRAWBERRY PORRIDGE

Hey guys! How are YOU all? You may have been wondering where I was this April and why there where no new recipes... The good news is, I am back! (from beautiful Tunesia). And the even better news, there will be tons of new amazing raw vegan delicious recipes this May! Are you ready? Let's start with this beautiful, rich, creamy, crunchy strawberry porridge recipe.

This recipe is for the mornings that you need loads of extra energy or after an intense workout. This dish is filled with healthy fats, plant protein and some superfoods (cacao, maca, gojis) and makes your tummy smile (believe me.. it is just SOO good). Plus, the recipe is super simple, made and ready to devour in under 5 minutes. All that you need is some nuts, seeds and fresh or frozen berries ( I used fresh ripe strawberries here... the first of this season...that's the sweet life!). Oh, and a blender or food processor. That's it. Easy, raw, vegan, healthy deliciousness from Raw,Fit & Happy. Let's get the blender running.

STRAWBERRY PORRIDGE

Serves 1

1/4 cup almonds, soaked for at least 2 hours

1/8 cup sunflower seeds

2 T unhulled sesame seeds

5 dates (less/more depending of the sweetness that you like)

1/2 t ground cinnamon

2 T raw cacao or carob

1 t maca powder

5-7strawberries (depending on size)

few whole almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds,goji berries and strawberries

Blend almonds, sunflower and sesame seeds together with dates into small chunks. Add strawberries (one after the other) until creamy. Blend again with cinnamon, maca and strawberries. Stirr in whole almonds, sunflower seeds, goji berries and strawberries and enjoy!

PB+J YOGURT

When I was a child and teenager, yogurt was the perfect mid-afternoon snack or breakfast-together with muesli and fruit. It honestly was always more a treat than a real meal for me, but I think such treats make life fun and colorful and that's why I created a rawified version. And since PB+Jam is always an amazing combination, I decided to make a peanut butter flavor yogurt with fresh sweet strawberry jam. All real, raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, processed stuff free, guilt free and I kept it relatively low fat. And the rest is healthy fats, which I at least need now and then on a raw vegan diet. Enjoy this special treat for yourself, with your beloved ones, on stressful days or relaxed Sunday mornings.

It is real easy to make yogurt from almond milk - it becomes creamy, thick and even firms up in the fridge like a pudding or quark if you want it to (I am German-I loooove quarks). This is for sure a special raw recipe and I enjoy it very much over different fruits or with different jams. You can easily create your own flavors and I think cacao, cinnamon, vanilla or red fruit would be awesome too! You can start making your own yogurt now :) Here is what you need:

PB+J YOGURT

Serves 2

PB flavor yogurt

1/2 cup almonds, soaked for at least 2 hours or overnight

1 ripe banana

1 T raw peanut butter or 2 T raw peanuts

2 pitted medjool dates

1 cup water 

Strawberry jam

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 T raw chia seeds (optional)

1/2 t pure vanilla extract

2 T water

For the PB flavor yogurt, process almonds into flour, blend almond flour with banana, dates and add peanut butter. Add water to desired consistency - the yogurt should be thick but still liquid. Blend until creamy. Pour into a bowl and place in fridge for at least 2 hours (better overnight) to let it firm up.

For the strawberry jam, soak chia seeds in water with vanilla for 30 minutes. Blend with strawberries and let the jam sit in the fridge until the yogurt is ready as it will firm up a little bit too. Mix some jam with your yogurt and 

enjoy !

MY GREEN BOWL OF HAPPINESS

This is one of my most beloved raw breakfast dishes. I call it my green bowl of happiness, because it gives me all I need for the day and is so delicious and rich that it makes me smile :) This dish is really awesome, because it combines all the health benefits of a green smoothie with the sweet flavors of fresh fruit. You can basically add every kind of fruit you have at home as well as top your green bowl with extras as some nuts for additional protein or shredded coconut for that special exotic taste. I just LOVE my green bowl!

Healthy beautiful food as in this recipe has become super important to me since I began the raw vegan lifestyle. Actually I think eating beautiful real food is the essence of living. I just love the idea of my body being made of fresh ripe mangoes, sweet strawberries, leafy greens and cute raspberries. Plus, real food makes me happy. And aren't happiness and health all we're looking for? On my journey for greater happiness I have already been taught several lessons. Here are my favorite TOP5 tricks and tips on how to be a happier you.

1. Love yourself

It is just really hard to be happy with your life, your job, or somebody else if you don't love yourself. There is no reason to criticize yourself all the time as it will just push you down and not change anything. For me it helped to ask myself what I don't like about myself and I have started to change these things. Although it is healthy to constantly want to improve, we must not forget that we are all equal. We are all a product of mother nature.

2.Exercise

On the most stressful days or in the most confusing situations, a good workout always clears my mind and relaxes me. Most often afterwards I have found a solution for a problem or at least put it in relation. 

3. Eat mindfully

Enjoying my meals with the TV turned off, the radio shut down and in a peaceful environment has helped me to become more aware of what I put in my body and makes me enjoy all flavors and textures. Eating is fueling our body and I personally think it is only possible to know what the body needs and wants if you're listening to it.

4. Sleep enough

Sleep was always my buffer on stressful days when I cut back sleep in order to finish school things. As I've learned, a good sleep routine is important to me to be really awake on the next day and profit from my sleep time as much as possible. Sleep is the time that your body needs to flush out toxines, clear your mind and reset several cellular processes.

5. Be open and let go

In my opinion, happiness has a lot to do with being tolerant and compassionate with other people and with letting go old problems and drawbacks. Life is very short and it should be beautiful.

I hope that my tips are in some way helpful to you and I would be very happy to learn about your ways to improve your life and I am here for any kind of questions. But for now, enough. Let's get back to our recipe :)

MY GREEN BOWL OF HAPPINESS

Serves 1

Green base

Handful of fresh basil (or one herb of your choice)

2 T spirulina powder (I used JumpUp and GoGo GO GREEN)

1 cup spinach (or any other leafy green)

1 small sweet apple

2 ripe bananas

2 pitted dates

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup water

Toppings

1/2 cubed mango, 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1 sliced sweet apple, 1 cubed persimmon, few almonds (optional), 2 T shredded coconut.

Blend everything for the green base. Pour your base into your favorite bowl and top with fresh fruit and extras. You can easily customize your green bowl by chosing your favorite herb and leafy greens and add your preferred toppings.

Enjoy!

BREAKFAST IN A JAR (orange caramel muesli)

For those times, when you crave something to chew on in the morning; for those times, when you need a quick to go breakfast/lunch and for those times, when you want to make someone a very special morning, this BREAKFAST IN A JAR is the answer. It's relatively low in fat (only some healthy fats from a little amount of nuts and seeds), contains all the fruit you need to get in in the morning and it amazes with its different textures and overwhelming flavors.

This special treat for YOU is made of a juicy, cinnamon and vanilla-infused apple and orange compote (soo good on its own too !!), a no-dehydrate muesli (for all of you who don't have a dehydrator, have little time or need this quick ;)), some fresh fruit and a low-fat caramel pudding. You can easily make this dish completely nut-free (I'll show you how) or use different fruit for your compote or even make a chocolate or vanilla pudding.

I was truely amazed how everything turned out. The compote is so rich in flavor and so juicy, the muesli is so crunchy and satisfying and the pudding is sweet, rich and got a real great texture.

Plus, you won't believe how much fruit you get in with this breakfast (everything you see in the pictures: 3 oranges, 2 tangerines, 2 medium apples and 2 bananas). So, this is a great alternative to my usual smoothie and I think I will bring it to a brunch next weekend. This is soo good! So here is what you need.

BREAKFAST IN A JAR (orange caramel muesli)
Serves 2

Apple orange compote
2 medium sweet apples
2 medium oranges
2 tangerines
1 T cinnamon powder
few drops pure vanilla extract
3 T lemon juice
1 t raw agave syrup (raw honey, or any other liquid sweetener you like)

No-dehydrate muesli
1/4 cup + 1 T sunflower seeds
2 T sesame seeds
6 almonds, soaked in water for at least 1 h or overnight (leave out for a nut-free version)
4 pitted medjool dates
1 T lemon juice
1 t raw agave syrup (or any other sweetener you like)

Fresh fruit layer
1 medium orange

Caramel pudding
2 small ripe bananas
6 almonds, soaked in water for at least 1 h or overnight (leave out for a nut-free version)
4 pitted medjool dates
1 pinch of cinnamon
1/2 t pure vanilla extract 
2 T JumpUp and GoGo Original or Vegan (the Classic one contains bee pollen) 
OR 2 T raw cacao/carob powder
1/4 cup water

For the compote, chop all fruits and mix in a small bowl with lemon juice, cinnamon and vanilla. Cover with a lid or wrap and let sit in the fridge overnight to let the flavors develop.
For the muesli, process 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds and dates until chunky. In a bowl, add lemon juice and agave syrup and mix well to get crumble.
For the fresh fruit, chop your orange.
For the caramel pudding, blend almonds in water. Add bananas, dates, cinnamon, vanilla, JumpUp and GoGo or cacao/carob and blend until smooth. Place in fridge overnight to let it harden (will be an awesome pudding the next morning, I promise - I could turn the cup around without the pudding moving a bit).
The next day, layer compote, muesli, fresh fruit and pudding.

Enjoy!

PURE LOVE BREAKFAST BOWL

On a regular Saturday morning, I sleep in a bit, take time for myself and relax to let all stress of the week go. Afterwards, I run all errands that I didn't have time for during the week and meet up with some friends or my family. Although I have a smoothie every work day morning, on Saturdays I mostly have a breakfast bowl. Today, I made this beautiful and delicious breakfast bowl, which I call pure love breakfast bowl, because it looks so pretty and combines everything I could wish for in one breakfast.

 

This breakfast consists of a base of raw vegan caramel pudding made of bananas and dates, all my favorite autumn toppings, which are shredded almonds, dried cranberries, apple, cinnamon and vanilla, and a fruity cranberry sauce swirl. This breakfast is super satisfiying and gives you power for the rest of the day and only consists of fresh, raw fruits and nuts. You can easily add your own favorite toppings or leave out the nuts to keep it super low fat if you want. This breakfast dish tastes like a dessert and makes a great alternative to my regular smoothie. Here is what you need.

PURE LOVE BREAKFAST BOWL

Serves 1

Caramel pudding

2 ripe bananas

1/3 cup pitted dates

1 t cinnamon powder

1/2 cup water

Cranberry sauce

1/3 cup raw dried cranberries

 2 pitted dates

1/4 cup water

1 t pure vanilla extract

Toppings

1/2 apple

1/3 cup shredded almonds

1/4 cup raw dried or fresh cranberries

For the caramel pudding, blend bananas, dates and cinnamon. Add water until you get a creamy pudding consistency.

For the cranberry sauce, blend cranberries, dates and vanilla. Add water until everything is mixed well.

Chop apple.

Spoon the caramel pudding into your favorite breakfast bowl, add cranberry sauce and use the end of your spoon to swirl both. Top your breakfast with apple, almonds and cranberries.

Enjoy!

RAW VEGAN SCRAMBLE

Today I was in the mood for some hearty lunch and thought about the scramble that I used to mix up when I needed something hearty and quick after working out and before learning. However, I remembered as well how tired I was after eating and that learning was only possible after a coffee-infusion. 
Doesn't that seem unnatural to you? Eating to fuel and having to sleep afterwards? Since I started to eat more fresh fruit and veggies, I feel fitter and this problem is history. The reason is that fruit and veggies are easier to digest than fermented food.
And why not make a raw vegan scramble that is prepared even quicker than the original one, is healthy and energizing without pulling you down?

For my basic raw vegan scramble, I mix almonds and sunflower seeds with curry powder, sea salt and some chopped herbs. Afterwards, I add fresh veggies and enjoy this creamy, rich goodness on a bed of fresh greens. You can either enjoy my recipe or vary it easily with the veggies of your choice :)

RAW VEGAN SCRAMBLE
Serves 2

1 cup almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup water
1 T curry powder
sea salt to taste

1 red bell paper
1/4 English cucumber
1 big tomato
herbs to taste, e.g. parsley, dill ...

Pulse almonds and sunflower seeds until flour. Add water and mix well (small chunks are ok). Season with curry and sea salt.
Chop red bell pepper, cucumber and tomato and mix scramble with veggies. Garnish with fresh chopped herbs.

Enjoy !