Vegan Poutine!

VEGAN POUTINE!

Serves 3-4
On baking sheets:

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into fries
dressed with :
oil (mustard, grapeseed, olive, etc.)
1 small Spanish onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
paprika, cumin, sea salt and pepper,
dash of cayenne pepper/chili powder
Bake at 350 for 25 mins

1 large zucchini, cut into halved disks
1 can of white beans
1 large beet, shredded or cut into small cubes
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
Bake at 350 for 15 mins

Prepare a bowl of 5-6 med-large carrots, shredded
Serve as topping or mix with creamy curry sauce and serve as "gravy"

Creamy Curry Sauce
4 tbsp vegan mayonaise
1 tbsp rice milk
1 avocado
1 tsp mustard
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp curry powder
add crumbled tofu for desired consistency
mix in a blender, especially for larger portions!

Serve with option of balsamic vinegar dressing, chimichurri sauce, or ketchup!

Serve sweet potato fries as the base, the zucchini and bean mix as a "cheese curd replacement" topping and the creamy curry sauce with carrots as the "gravy". I suppose another option could be to use vegan shredded cheese and vegan gravy of some kind. Of course, not the traditional French Canadian poutine you'll find available to your average Francophone! This is a dish my friend and I experienced in Nova Scotia at the annual Evolve Music Festival. They serve a vegan poutine dish which inspired this one, in a place in the green hills dubbed "Sunflower Valley": hence, "Sunflower Valley Vegan Poutine"! Find another variation from my blog here. Thanks so much for reading about this dish which is very special to me to serve. Can be made as a small side dish or cooked in large quantities, like for London Food Not Bombs! It is a great option for festivals and camping in nature, as ingredients can be easily accomodated and
CAN BE SERVED ENTIRELY RAW!

Thanks to Reduce Footprints for helping to share this glorious feast for veggie eyes!

Raw-volution!

Raw foodism is a choice to eat whole foods that are unprocessed, unrefined and in their original and natural form. You may have guessed that this is a vegan or at least a vegetarian lifestyle choice since one can't really mow down on uncooked meat! So yes, by raw food I mean chomping on a celery stick or biting into a tomato. Though having its own health and eco-minded culture, raw menus are as diverse and elaborate as you can imagine!

I knew about and was intrigued as a vegetarian with the raw diet craze that had erupted out West, the most so in California from what I understand. But not anything about the hows or exactly whys. I visited these sites and found out alot of unbelieveable information. It always amazes me how little so many people know about how food choices affect our lives and lifestyles! I'm really exited about this raw food revolution and I definetely want to make at least some effort to try and contribute to it. It's better for our bodies and the environment, and promotes a veg diet which as I wrote about in a previous post about how it is crucial to ecological health.

The Best of Raw Food.com answers the question of "why not eat cooked food?" By cooking food it terminates the enzymes that promote health towards metabolic and digestive functions. Here I also found out the specifics to what exactly constitutes a food as raw. "Raw food" is:

a) uncooked - never heated above 42C/118F

b) unprocessed - as fresh (and wild) as possible

c) organic - no irradiation, preservatives, pesticides

Raw Food, Right Now! is an extremely helpful blog that contextualizes pretty much everything you need to know about Raw Food. I learned that people also turn to raw diets for health reasons and weight loss as well as the vegan and vegetarian aspect. It examines a plethora of issues including that going raw encompasses not just a food diet but everything you put into your body which of course includes beverages. Think of "raw beverages" as liquids that do not contain additives or extensive processes such as pop. In terms of alcohol, if any at all wine is usually preferred among raw foodies. The least desirable is hard liquor as it is distilled. I really learned alot about raw foodism from this blog including a new term:

Raw-ish: the act of eating something as raw as possible in a cooked food environment

To me this is a concept that also best describes the sentiment of striving towards a raw diet and lifestyle without necessarily being a strict vegan raw foodie. I have decided to make the effort so wish me luck! I got many ideas from the Oregon blog Big Raw Vegan which you should visit for more info and for a window into the dynamic menu and recipe options of raw foodism! One great idea is using lettuce leafs as a bread replacement which is way yummier and filling than it may appear. Already I have experienced the benefits of eating whole, raw foods and I haven't even come close to making it the majority of my diet. Delve in and discover fruits, vegetables, seeds and other edible items that you did not know existed!

What do you think about the raw-volution?