Healthy Lifestyle Blog

This is a favorite among raw newbies and raw foodies alike. I had the pleasure of serving samples of this recently and received rave reviews. It consists of thinly sliced zucchini filled with cashew cheese and topped with Marilyn’s Marinara Sauce and Basil Pesto.

Cashew “Ricotta” Cheese
(recipe adapted from Raw Food Real World. by Matthew Kenny & Sarma Melngailis)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked 2 hours or more
1 medium shallot, peeled and chopped
zest of one lemon
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast
1/2 to 1 tsp. Himalayan or Celtic salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup water (depending on desired consistency)
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley

Procedure:

1. Place all the ingredients EXCEPT the water and parsley in a food processor fitted with the S blade and process until as smooth as possible.
2. Add water, small amounts at a time to achieve the desired consistency. If making lasagna, you will want a softer consistency so it is easier to spread.
3. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lemon juice if desired.
4. Transfer to a medium bowl and fold in the minced parsley.

Stored in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator, cashew ricotta will keep for 3-5 days. Tastes best served at room temperature.

Zucchini Rollatini

Ingredients:

1/2 zucchini per serving
batch of cashew ricotta

Procedure:

1. Cut off both ends and peel the zucchini if desired (or if not organic).
2. Using a mandonile or a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini lengthwise very thinly.
3. Lay three slices side by side, overlapping a little. Cut the overlapped strips in half. This will make two rollatini.
4. Place a spoonful of cashew ricotta across the sliced zucchini at the end closest to you. Roll the zucchini around the cheese. Repeat until you have three to five rollatini per serving.

Top with Marilyn’s Marinara Sauce and Basil Pesto.

Every May we devote a day to honor our mothers, for their love, nurturing, and care, and for all that they have sacrificed in raising us. But what about the non-human mothers who are forced to sacrifice their lives not for their young, but for our plates?

Most of the eggs and dairy we eat come from mothers who live in conditions that are far removed from the bucolic image of farm life we’ve come to believe. Unless you know the farmer, these sentient beings are likely treated inhumanely throughout their lives, and their products are contaminated with salmonella, or antibiotics, pus and hormones. Labels like cage free or free range are essentially meaningless, designed more for the buyer’s sense of well-being than for the animals.

Hens are natural nurturers – the “mother hen” protects her chicks and teaches them to scratch and find food. Yet in most egg producing operations, hens never get to enjoy the behaviors so natural to them, like nesting, perching, scratching, dust bathing and raising their young.

Cows also nurture their young and develop strong bonds. Yet in order to keep their milk flowing, they are subjected to continuous cycles of pregnancy and lactation, only to have their babies stolen from them at birth. Imagine the suffering both mother and child endure.

There ARE alternatives. Instead of dairy, there are many healthier non-dairy milks and cheeses made from nuts, rice or soy. Contrary to popular belief, cow’s milk does NOT build strong bones. Although it has calcium, it is not absorbed because it lacks the necessary magnesium. A far better source of calcium is dark leafy greens (that’s where cows get it from). Further, the casein in milk had been shown to contribute to tumor growth.

Instead of factory farmed eggs, find a local source where you can be sure that the chickens are raised humanely. There are many on Long Island.

This month, in honor of the mother hens and cows, consider refraining from eggs and dairy for a day, for a week, for a month… maybe even forever.

For more information and resources about eggs and dairy, contact Marilyn Chiarello: Marilyn@aTasteofLight.com