Mindful Eating: Who’s Got Time? To Make Kale Salad w/Peanut Butter Sauce and Goji
This recipe is a favorite of everybody, especially me. And because it is raw vegan with a roasted peanut butter sauce, it reminds me of mindful eating.
Put peanut butter on just about anything, and it tastes good! So dressing raw kale– the most nutrient dense green leafy veggie on the planet, with peanut butter is a win/win. Because the kale is raw, the nutrients nourish the body, you’ll feel it. And the peanut butter sauce with Goji and strawberries tantalize the taste buds, satisfy our mouth feel and sweet tooth, and makes us think we are eating something decadent. When really it’s superhealthy!
This is what I call MINDFUL EATING. It is taking the time to plan, prepare, and enjoy the tastes we love.
RAW KALE WITH PEANUT BUTTER SAUCE AND GOJI
from “The 100 Best Gluten-free Recipes for Your Vegan Kitchen”
4 cups thinly sliced dinosaur kale 
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup rice or coconut vinegar
1/4 cup Nature’s Agave
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1/3 cup Navitas Naturals Goji Berries
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
In large mixing bowl, add slice kale with lemon juice, olive oil, and sea salt. Massage the wet ingredients into kale until kale wilts. Mix in sliced onion; set aside.
In medium mixing bowl, whisk together peanut butter, rice vinegar, agave, and Bragg’s. Pour wet mixture onto prepared kale. Toss in Goji berries and prepared strawberries. Serve immediately.
Note: Skip strawberries, or only add as eaten as the strawberries will only taste good when served immediately. This is because the vinegar will make the strawberries taste fermented if left in the fridge over 24 hours.
Yield: 5 cups.
The Latest Thing to Happen to Me About Mindful Eating:
I usually look and feel 10-15 years younger due to my healthy lifestyle and mindful eating. I didn’t come across this behavior naturally, it was actually do or die. From age 35-39, over 1/3 of my hair fell out and I was balding. I thought, “This is my best asset, I can’t loose it!” Always a sugar addict/compulsive over eater, I was desperate to heal my hair and my body. Going sugar-free/gluten-free not only helped my heal my hair and grow back, I healed my sugar addiction and lost 50 pounds. I am now the most mindful eater I know! And I am so grateful. Here’s why…
Three weeks ago, I took a 9-5 job to enhance my understanding of internet business– which was actually a
7 am – 6 pm job. Working from home these past six years as an expert healthy chef afforded me the luxury of practicing a total regime of mindful eating and receiving the benefits from it. Now, I was doing eleven hours in the in can, and my mindful eating was railroaded right off the tracks. Even though I had strong tools of healthy choices and portion control in place, they barely carried me through the rigor of getting at 4:50 am and sitting in front of a computer until 6 pm, plus even though I was learning what I set out to achieve, I was admittedly unhappy and not fulfilled. And that’s because I couldn’t be 100% committed to my health 24-7. Suddenly, I felt badly for everyone everywhere who had a full-time job and didn’t have the time for healthy eating. I knew what it felt like to have limited time to be to shop and prepare whole fruits and vegetables, organic proteins, and sugar-friendly/gluten-free desserts.
Packing my lunch went out the door. I only had time to pack snacks, which were all gone by 11 am because I speedily ate them. Then, I would turn to coffee. Coffee and I don’t mix. The caffeine would crash my blood sugar and make me want to eat more than I needed. Then I would try to balance it all out and buy a healthy salad for lunch. For the average person, this could be batting a thousand, but for me, it was well below my standard of mindful eating. Buying food out at a store when stressed and unhappy was dangerous for me. I had to curb my spending and budget. I saw the stress of the job was causing me to purchase extra good-for-you-foods like rice cakes and Think Thin bars. Nothing wrong with these snacks, it just that I would eat half the bag or more than one bar. The time commitment stressed my body and mind to the max. I lasted three only weeks, and quit! It’s because deep health and natural beauty are what I value most, they are my greatest success and what I hold true and close to my heart. I don’t regret taking the job. It taught me what I love and value most, my health. And so much of my health depends on what and how I eat.
I went back to basics and planned my food for the day. I love the health benefits and appreciate my life more because of my mindful eating. This is all due to my sugar-free/gluten-free and flexitarian food practice of planning, preparation, and prayer. I plan my meals and snacks first and make a shopping list. I prepare all my fruits and vegetables for juicing and snacks and store them in Tupperware so they are ready to eat, even on the go. And prayer is to remind me to receive the benefits of healthy glowing skin, better sleep, trim body, steady blood sugar, and ability to access my happiness frequently through out the day. I am so grateful for who I am and who I have become as a person and as an expert chef. The tools I’ve created for myself saved my life. I could’ve gained 10 pounds and be miserable, but I didn’t.
I bounced back.
Sugar-free Peanut Butter Cups
Juan and Kim Allen, Temple City HS
I asked the students, “What can I do with peanut butter besides making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?” And the answer was clear: Peanut Butter Cups!
Sugar-free. Gluten-free. Soy-free. Organic. Vegan. The beginning of this December, I was invited to teach my Peanut Butter Cups recipe to the junior class at Temple City High School, Temple City, CA. Kim Allen is the teacher of the Small Business Management Food Class, she is an excellent marcobiotic chef and very cool teacher! Students in her class will be part of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution 2nd season, so Juan, my chef assistant was ready for the task.
“If you want to still enjoy the 12 days of Christmas and excessive eating, but want to eliminate white sugar, you can now make a dessert that everyone will go crazy over.” The student cooks at Temple City did, maybe it’s because I put hemp seeds in the batter. They loved the recipe. Either way, this recipe is a winner. Getting tots, teens, and typical eaters of any age to like sugar-free desserts is a goal worth striving for.
Key Ingredients and Health Benefits:
- raw cacao – low in fat and increases good mood and energy
- cacao nibs – high in antioxidants
- Swerve or ZSweet – all natural zero glycemic and zero calorie sweetener
- agave – all natural plant based low glycemic sweetener
- extra virgin coconut oil – quick energy and increase in metabolism
Peanut Butter Cups
Peanut Butter Cups,
Sugar-free Gluten-free Baking and Desserts
The best vegan sugar-free peanut butter cup ever!
candy
1 1/2 cups extra virgin coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup organic chunky peanut butter
1 tablespoon organic vanilla
1/3 cup ZSweet
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract
4 tablespoons agave nectar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup roasted carob powder
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1/2 cup raw cacao nibs
1/2 cup hemp seeds
filling
1 cup organic chunky peanut butter
3 tablespoons ZSweet
3 tablespoons agave
For candy: Line mini cup cake tins with paper liners. Spoon coconut oil into saucepan and melt over low flame. When coconut oil turns to a liquid, measure in and pour oil in medium bowl. Slowly stir in peanut butter until smooth. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, Zsweet, and agave nectar one at a time. Then slowly stir in cinnamon. Add carob and cocoa powder a spoonful at a time. Stir in cacao nibs and hemp seeds. Batter should run off of spoon easily but not too runny.
For filling: In separate bowl, mix peanut butter, ZSweet, and agave. Spoon a 1/2 teaspoon of the peanut butter filling into lined cupcake trays. Spoon in chocolate batter until a third filled. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes. Keep in the freezer in an air tight container for two weeks. Yield: approx 50 candies.