If you follow the recipes we post here with any regularity, you already know how crazy we are for zucchini. You might know the famous capacity for this undervalued vegetable to become noodles. Well, lasagna is a sort of noodle. And so here we are! Zucchini Lasagna! This amazing lasagna is lasagna without wheat and without cheese! It’s basically a magic trick. But unlike magic tricks, even you can produce it! It’s remarkably simple. All you need is a food processor. A mandolin is helpful but not required!
Lemons
Vegan Lemon Blueberry Parfait
t may not be blueberry season, but there’s all kinds of great things you can do with frozen blueberries! And what could be better than a guilt-free lemon blueberry parfait? The tangy lemon is a nice foil for the sweetness of the berries, and dates and agave round out the sweetness. All you need is a few minutes and a food processor to make this delicious, relatively healthful blueberry parfait.
Mini Apple Caramel Tartlettes
‘Apple caramel’ are two words that just belong together. Just seeing them side by side, all snuggled up together and cozy, is enough to make one feel nostalgic warm fuzzies. Of course, caramel apples are the prototypical way to enjoy this star-crossed combination of flavors, but it is equally irresistible in pies, tarts, and crumbles. And this recipe lets you get that lovely experience raw!
One of the start pieces in these apple caramel tarts is the pecan crust. Something stupendous happens when pecans are sweetened. It’s ineffable, it’s magical, and it’s perfect for the holiday season. Or any other time, really! You can’t go wrong with a crust made from pecans.
Lemon Ginger Apple Infused Water
Sometimes a smoothie is a little too heavy, but plain old water is just… a little too plain. Well, water doesn’t have to be plain! With a little bit of a planning ahead, you can make your very own ultra-delicious infused water. Of course, you can use pretty much whatever ingredients you like. But here’s a recipe that’s been tried and tested.
Not only is this infused water lovely to drink, but it’s full of antoxidants from the apples and lemons, it has the anti-inflammatory benefits of ginger, as well as all sorts of wonderful nutrients. And with ginger and lemon, it’s a great morning or after-dinner drink to help with digestion.
Lemon Raspberry Tarts
There’s nothing like lemon tarts. That bright tangy yumminess unique to lemons makes for just about the most delicious pastries and pies you’re likely to find. Combine that with some sweet raspberry jam and some apricots and you’ll never look back.
With this lovely raw vegan variation on the lemon tart, we’ve got macadamia nuts and almonds making up the chewy crust, along with some medjool dates — the raw “bakers” secret weapon. Dates can be used to make all kinds of surprising treats, and tart or pie crust is one of the best.
These tarts require a little bit of planning ahead, since you have to thaw the raspberries and soak the nuts overnight, and there is some assembly required. But the effort is well worth the delightful zesty tarts you come out with in the end. Can you imagine a better summer picnic snack than these awesome lemon raspberry tarts??
Rainbow Juice
A simple rule of thumb to make sure you’re getting a broad range of healthy nutrients is to make sure you’re eating lots of fruits and veggies of different colors. Lots of the disease-fighting and health-promoting properties of plants are related to the different compounds that produce the different colors.
Often times, the deeper the color of fresh whole foods, the richer they are in nutrients. So we should all try to keep our lives full of color. And what better way than by drinking it all up!
This Rainbow Juice takes all that to heart, and while it may look green once it’s in the cup, it’s made from a real rainbow of delicious fruits and veggies. This juice is full of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and all sorts of vitamins and minerals.
And it’s super tasty. With the spiciness coming from the jalapeño, ginger and cilantro, the kiwi adds some sweetness, and of course the tomato brings the umami. Truly well-balanced, this Rainbow Juice makes a great snack any time of day.
Lemon Drop Green Smoothie
Spring is a time of invigoration. Sleepy plants begin to wake up, and color returns to the landscape. This smoothie captures all the invigorating energy of springtime, and puts it in a cup for you to enjoy.
One of the simplest and best ways to make sure you’re getting your nutrients is to eat lots of differently colored foods. While this may be a green smoothie, like Springtime it’s actually full of colors.
Along with the green dino kale, we’ve got orange mangoes and yellow bananas. And of course, yellow zesty lemon. And to really bring it home, a healthy chunk of ginger.
Tangy and sweet like a lemon drop, this powerful smoothie will keep you healthy and glowing. And any smoothie with both ginger and lemon is bound to be exciting. A great breakfast smoothie to get you moving, or an enlivening snack to reward a day of hard work!
Lavender Nut Chevre Stuffed Apricots
One all time favorite is chevre stuffed apricots as an antipasto. Since this busy-bee does not indulge in animal cheese like this but once or twice a year, I decided to create a cashew chevre to stuff them with. It still has the smooth texture and tanginess that we all crave in an artisan chevre, but is made with raw cashews instead.The one surprising flavor that is in this recipe is lavender. It is soft and delicate but adds a uniqueness to this dish.
