Ani's Raw Food Essentials (45 page)

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Authors: Ani Phyo

BOOK: Ani's Raw Food Essentials
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To serve, place three leaves onto each of four serving dishes. Top each portion with the Coconut Bacon bits, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of Rawmesan.
 
SERVING SUGGESTION:
Serve with your favorite croutons.
8
WRAPS, SANDWICHES, AND BURGERS
THIS IS THE ultimate chapter for healthy, delicious, and versatile handheld recipes. Wraps are made by filling dehydrated Corn Tortillas or Tomato Wrappers, or your favorite leaves such as iceberg lettuce or romaine, with cheeze, pâté, hummus, sauce, and even salad. Sandwiches are made with flax flatbread filled with Coconut Bacon, cheeze, tomato, mock tuna salad, and even my raw version of lox with capers and onions. Vegetables and flax are mixed together to make my Sun Burgers, which are served with BBQ Sauce, Sun-Dired Tomato Ketchup, Aioli Mayonnaise, or Homemade Mustard Sauce for delicious, nutritious, soy-free, and gluten-free goodness.
Soy Story
BEING OF
Korean descent, I was surprised to find that my mom and I are both allergic to soy. This allergy had been appearing in my skin as inflammation that I mistook as acne. A friend recommended I try eliminating soy, and my skin cleared up in a matter of weeks. I had thought soy was part of a healthy Asian diet. To my surprise, I discovered soy is actually toxic.
In Asia, soy is fermented to eliminate the antinutrients and soy toxins in raw soybeans. It's eaten only in small amounts in the form of tempeh, miso, and soy sauce. Nama Shoyu is a raw, unpasteurized, and safely fermented soy sauce used in raw foods to add a salty, rich flavor to recipes. It's full of enzymes that make it a living food.
The soy in America, on the other hand, is processed and not fermented. Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of
The Whole Soy Story
, says, “Today's high-tech processing methods not only fail to remove the anti-nutrients and toxins that are naturally present in soybeans but leave toxic and carcinogenic residues created by the high temperatures, high pressure, alkali and acid baths and petroleum solvents.” In an attempt to eat more protein, Westerners eat ten to twenty times more unfermented, highly processed soy than is eaten in Asia. Ironically, this unfermented soy contains enzyme inhibitors, which block protein absorption.
What's even scarier is that almost 90 percent of American soy is genetically modified, and the soy crop grown in the USA contains the highest levels of poisonous pesticide contaminants. No wonder soy is among the eight most common food allergens and has been linked to thyroid problems, including weight gain, fatigue, hair loss, loss of libido, kidney stones, a weakened immune system, infections, and digestive problems, to name a few. And, since soy doesn't taste so good, manufacturers flavor it with sugar, MSG, and other artificial chemicals to make it palatable.
Dr. Mercola points out, “Dow Chemical and DuPont, the same corporations that brought misery and death to millions around the world through Agent Orange, are now the driving forces behind the promotion of soy as a food for humans. They are financing anti-meat and anti-milk campaigns aimed largely at those concerned about animal welfare and the environment, trying to convince them that imitations such as ‘soymilk' are not only healthier than the real thing, but better for the earth too.
“There is no evidence that consuming soy products can improve health, reduce environmental degradation or slow global warming. In fact, the evidence suggests quite the opposite.”
Soy, like all food, is best in its natural, whole, raw food form. The bulk of the soy consumed in the USA is highly processed, and not so good for your health.
WRAPS
Unlike most traditional wraps, raw wraps are typically made using a large leaf—a collard green, green lettuce, cabbage, iceberg, or a romaine leaf. The leaf is then stuffed with such fillings as cheeze, avocado, tomato, sauce, vegetables, and/or salsa.
There are many different raw wraps to choose from. When choosing a leaf to use as a wrapper, consider its texture, flavor, and color. A burrito shell made from a cabbage leaf gives it a light, crisp crunch when bitten into. And surprisingly, collard's flavor is mild, and this leaf makes for a great wrapper because it is large and flat; plus, its dark green color give a strong contrast to lighter colors. Romaine and green leaves are softer, not as crisp, and work well when you want the fillings to claim the spotlight.
 
In addition to lettuce wraps, I'll be introducing you to wraps made using my Tomato Wrapper or Apple Crepe. These wrappers have a texture similar to that of the rice paper used for Vietnamese spring rolls. I've also included Mexican-inspired recipes that use Soft Corn Tortilla (see pages 171 and 179 for those wrapper recipes).
IF YOU'RE FEELING
the need for something more than just a green lettuce wrap, you can always add on a whole wheat or spelt tortilla as the final outer wrapper layer. You'll still be eating up all the whole, fresh, raw food fillings, including the green wrapper full of minerals and chlorophyll. You're still nourishing your body.
CORN TOSTADA
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
A traditional tostada is made with a fried or toasted corn tortilla layered with lettuce, salsa, avocado, and olives, all of which are raw. In my recipe, I swap out the dairy cheese, cooked taco meat, and tortilla in favor of a spicy melted Chipotle Cheeze, my famous Taco Nut Meat, and delicious handmade Soft Corn Tortilla.
1 recipe Soft Corn Tortilla (page 172)
1 recipe Chipotle Cheeze (page 104)
4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1 recipe Heirloom Tomato Salsa (page 81)
1 recipe Taco Nut Meat (page 146)
1 ripe avocado, pitted and sliced
¼ cup pitted, chopped black olives
Place one Soft Corn Tortilla onto each of four serving dishes. Spread with a layer of cheeze. Top each with 1 cup of lettuce, then Heirloom Tomato Salsa, Taco Meat, avocado, and olives.
 
Serve and enjoy immediately.
 
Will keep for 1 day in the fridge.
 
SERVING SUGGESTION:
For a crispier tostada substitute, use your favorite cracker or flatbread instead of the Soft Corn Tortilla.
SOFT CORN TORTILLA
MAKES 5 TORTILLAS
 
Inspired by handmade corn tortillas, but easier to make, these tortillas stay flexible from the corn kernels and olive oil. Simply blend or process your ingredients and scoop ¼-cup rounds onto your dehydrator tray to dry.
Although fresh is always preferred, you can use frozen organic corn kernels for ease and availability. To make corn bread slices instead of tortilla rounds, spread the batter evenly across one lined 14-inch-square Excalibur Dehydrator tray.
1½ cups corn kernels (from 3 to 4 ears of corn)
½ cup flax meal
3 tablespoons olive oil
¾ cup filtered water
Place all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend to mix.
 
Form four ¼-cup circles on one lined 14-inch-square Excalibur Dehydrator tray. Spread the batter evenly with the back of a spoon. Place the remaining ¼ cup of batter on a second lined dehydrator tray, and spread evenly. Dehydrate for 5 to 6 hours at 104°F. Flip over and peel away the liner. Dehydrate for 5 to 6 more hours, to your desired consistency.

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