Archive for the ‘Recipes we like to share’ Category

Dinner at the Dunes

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013

Mary Duggan

By Mary Duggan

Hobbling away from the Indiana Dunes on Sunday I worried that I was losing my beach mojo. It felt just a little too hard: too much prep, too much dragging, too much driving – and that scared me. Summer beaching is an important part of my personal identity and my family heritage. It’s also on my list of okay, I’m ready to die now markers. I can no longer get to the beach. Along with, I can no longer take long hot baths or read long complicated books. That sort of bucket list. (more…)

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CREAMY SLATHERED SPINACH SALAD

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

I love this recipe because it goes together quickly, the flavors are complex and it has great CHEW; everything that factors into a staple around our house. I can’t tell you how often we have this treat.



SPINACH SALAD

Throw chopped red bell pepper, cucumber and raisins on pre-washed spinach. Then slather with the following:

ROSEMARY RANCH DRESSING and DIP*

1 ¼ cups water

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

1 large clove garlic

1 rounded cup cashews, unsoaked

1/3 cup macadamia nuts, unsoaked

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

¾ tsp celery seed

3 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped

Throw all of the above (except the rosemary) in the Vitamix and have at it. Pulse in the rosemary. Once this spinach salad is dressed, I love to sprinkle with sea vegetables to up the flavor and nutrition. We have Maine Coast Organic Dulse Granules and Organic Kelp Granules on hand, right next to our salt and pepper shakers. You will grow to love them. A future blog on the importance of Iodine will reinforce that love.

I also like to go half-baked raw with this to the delight of team Duggan. I make scrambled eggs with lots of sautéed veggies and maybe some dollops of goat cheese. I fill half the plate with the scrambled eggs and half the plate with slathered spinach salad. It really pumps up traditional breakfast into a super substantial meal and helps to keep you away from the sugary sides like gluten free toast.

Enjoy!

Regarding the *.

  • Remember, sometimes we like to have our broccoli salad with baked potatoes. I am not so sure on the value of potatoes. Okay, I think they are a problem because they cause inflammation. But it’s hard to have this many folks of Irish heritage gathered around the table and not occasionally serve them. Here’s my compromise: instead of butter and sour cream, we slather them with the ROSEMARY RANCH Dressing. Divine.
  • Re: Dip. Make the crudite just as you would normally. Swap out the Hidden Valley Ranch with ROSEMARY RANCH. There’s no going back.

 

I got this recipe from Kristen Suzanne’s Easy Raw Vegan Holidays and I have tweaked it just a bit. But, KS is such an incredible raw goddess that I know she will forgive me. Don’t let the title scare you. Carnivores will love the boldness of this salad. It can be combined with an entrée, or be the entrée. In the summer I make deviled eggs to serve along side as team Duggan loves that little bit of 1950s picnic.

 

 

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RAW FOODS HEALED MY BROCCOLI HATE

Monday, November 12th, 2012

By Mary Duggan

I mean really, I couldn’t stand it. There was not enough butter and lemon in the world to make me like broccoli. The following raw foods recipe is what healed my broccoli hate. I now eat broccoli all the time and enjoy it immensely. When I am really righteous I eat this recipe alone or with: sliced tomatoes, a pepper stuffed with nut pate, a cup of raw soup or jicama sticks. 

 

Broccoli with boiled potatoes

When I am sharing my meal with someone just leaning into raw, or flirting with raw; okay, it’s silly how we try to talk about all of this. When I am eating this with someone who wants a little warmth on the plate, I boil up a bag of those wonderful small organic heirloom potatoes that are so colorful some are even purple. Then I toss them in a bowl with salt pepper chopped parsley and butter; again for the righteous flax oil would be way yummy and much healthier. This is now a plateful of wonderful. My family loves it. Yours will too, I promise.

 

Broccoli with baked potatoes

I’ll share another fun variation (more…)

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Meatloaf for Muggers

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

By Mary Duggan

When I say I am a worrier, I mean if my 16-year-old cat is curled up, blissfully enjoying a sunbeam, I stare long and hard to make sure he is still breathing. I take the very ingredients of a peaceful existence and wrap worry around them. When I say good-bye as you head out the door, I mean don’t die in transit. When I say good night, I mean please wake up in the morning. When I say have fun, I mean come home from the carnival in one piece. When I say worry, I am talking layered.

Layer one: never let someone’s age or maturity deter you.

My nephew is 24-years-old. On Tuesdays he works 9-5 for us, followed by an hours long editorial meeting at his other job. I worry about him having enough nourishment to sustain him on such long days. So, I try on Tuesdays to get our dinner ready early so I can pack some for him to take to his evening meeting.

Layer two: inspire others to worry as well.

I have gotten Annie invested in this if we don’t feed him he’ll keel over on the El tracks program. She now syncs up with me in the kitchen on Tuesdays. Our nephew is a good sport about our largely raw lifestyle, but we really enjoy auntie-spoiling him on occasion too. He is a true foodie, a super conscious eater and (more…)

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Go Green Without the Food Coloring This St. Patty’s

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

by Joseph Duggan Lyons

The Duggan Sisters brought green smoothies, a vital component of our wellness message, to Destination Kohler this March. Yes, as you may have noticed, your deodorant makers like to talk to you about your GI tract too. The Women’s Wellness Weekend participants are now among the thousands that the Sisters have urged to make the brain-gut connection by incorporating living foods into their diets, what we call the move from pharmacopia to cornucopia.

Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko

Equally important as our embrace of the living foods movement is our commitment to a judgment-free living foods lifestyle, which is why we find green smoothies to be the perfect addition to busy lifestyles. Several years ago as my aunts made the transition to be 100 percent raw, I was struck by the health transformations I saw in them. It seemed great – for them. Even though I knew how tasty living foods could be from my aunts’ wonderful raw creations, it didn’t seem practical as a young adult making plans with friends, ideally over tacos. Thus they encouraged me to give green smoothies a go, gifting me several Victoria Boutenko books for college graduation. (more…)

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An Invitation to Half-Baked Raw™

Friday, October 21st, 2011

Have you considered going raw but your family won’t take the plunge? Our Half-Baked Raw™ series can help. Join the Duggan Sisters in the kitchen as they explore how to go raw — whether that be 100 percent, 30 percent or 80 percent. It’s all about progress — not perfection.

 

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THAT’S WHY WE CALL THEM JUNKIES

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

By Mary Duggan

Everyone seems to be buzzing about a story in the Los Angeles Times entitled, “Access to grocers doesn’t improve diets, study finds.” It references a study that confirms what I have long said about healthy eating – access to grocery stores is not enough. Yes, food deserts are immoral and problematic. Yes, economics figure largely into obesity. But, apparently from the results of this substantive study, proximity to fast food seems to be the big determinant in being too big. If it’s there and it’s cheap and it’s fast and it’s delicious who can say no to fast food. WHY? Because fast food is addictive, just like cigarettes, and so we need to call this bad boy by its real name DRUGS, and JUST SAY NO! (more…)

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ZUCCHINI WITH INSTRUCTIONS!

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

by Mary Duggan

I just love Jamie Oliver.  There are so many voices in the discussion about food; and I admire what many of them are contributing to our national debate. But nobody does it better than Jamie Oliver when it comes to taking it from discourse to the main course. Check out this Jamie O quote from a recent and fascinating Los Angeles Times article entitled, “Access to grocers doesn’t improve diets, study finds.”:

“If you go into most grocery stores across America, the majority of the store is chock-full of processed food calling out to you from the packages, ‘Pick me! I’m tastier and more convenient. And ringed around all this are good old veggies, with no instructions.”

jamie_oliver

I couldn’t agree more. I hear this CALL FOR INSTRUCTIONS all the time from sincere folks who really want to eat healthier and go to the produce aisle only to be overwhelmed by the wide array of fruits and vegetables available (more…)

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We Can’t Survive Summer Without Watermelon Gazpacho

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Updated July 6, 2012.

We found this recipe years ago in RAW FOOD REAL WORLD by the incomparable restaurant owners and cookbook authors Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. We plain and simply do not know how anyone survives summer without this soup. As I am typing this blog it is over one hundred degrees in Chicago. There is a kind of nausea and wilting that goes with that kind of heat, even for those of us blessed with central air conditioning. I can’t eat just any old thing. It has to be light and fresh and satisfying and this really fits the bill. This is pretty much my standard contribution to any summer parties we are invited to. I carry it to the party in 2 gallon jugs and then bring a wonderful bowl or tureen for serving. I always get requests for this recipe.

We agree with the authors that you need to do your best to steer clear of theseedless/tasteless watermelons (or seedless anything for that matter) as the recipe hangs on the balance of the sweet watermelon paired with the acid of the summer tomatoes. We love organic sugar babies, as the seeds are so few that there is no seeding required and the size is perfect for this doubled version of the recipe.

In doubling Raw Food Real World’s Original  recipe I use an entire small sugar baby watermelon. Once I get my ingredients out and get chopping I want to end up with a really big batch. Plus I don’t like to have left over watermelon as it gets pulpy really fast. This recipe is great for a party, to feed a big group, or in our case to have two meals wrapped up with one episode of sweating in the kitchen.

 

 

I use a really large stainless steel bowl for this recipe. I hate to measure, so I just use the entire melon and it turns out nicely. I pack my Vitamix with watermelon as this will become the liquid for the soup. Then I chop the remaining melon and the rest of the ingredients. I am careful to give it a really good stir before I put in the watermelon liquid. Don’t skimp on the fresh ginger (actually I go a little heavy-handed on it as it makes the soup.) Being Irish and all, we like our double recipe to still include only 1/2 of a jalapeño. But, hey if you are a hottie, go for it with the jalapeño. Once you pour the blended watermelon over the chopped ingredients you have a divine meal that is fragrant and satisfying beyond belief.  We enjoy it two ways: 4 or 5 bowls room temp  from the Vitamixer and and then 4-5 bowls nicely chilled later. Scrumptious!

 

 

WATERMELON TOMATO GAZPACHO

6 cups watermelon (1/2 small watermelon)  chopped and pureed in a blender
1/2 watermelon, diced small
2 large or 3 small seeded tomatoes, diced small 
2 cups peeled, seeded cucumber, diced small – (1 English cucumber or 2 whole Kirbys)
1 and 1/2 red or orange or green bell pepper, diced small
4 TBSP lime juice
2 small handfuls cilantro leaves. lightly chopped
2-3 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 small jalapeño, seeded and minced
2-3 green onion, white and 1 inch of green, minced
2-3 teaspoons sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Pour watermelon puree over the chopped ingredients. Stir and serve, room temp or chilled. This is a great meal-in-one bowl affair; but if you want heavier fare pair it with guacamole and chips – DIVINE!

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