Cool Ranch Kale Chips

Cool Ranch Kale Chips

Hola!

Remember the cool ranch Doritos? When I was a teenager I was extremely unhealthy. I wasn't obese because I was such a physically active person. I just never ate healthy so I was always chubby. From the ages of 10 through 16 I subsisted on Mcdonald's quarter pounders, peanut butter, starburst juicy fruit, snickers bars and Doritos. It is probably why I only grew to 5"2.

I used to get through a large packet roughly every two-three days. I even stained my white braces brackets the colour of the nacho seasoning. Looking back ten years later it is pretty funny because I used to have a stash under my bed, I was dependant on corn chips; ridiculous right? 

Since transitioning to vegan, then raw vegan I don't often get the urge for savoury snack food. When I do kale chips are the cheapest and most accessible resolution.  There are a million and one cheesy kale chip recipes festering on the Internet and experienced kale connoisseurs have their own special recipe up their sleeves.

I get really specific cravings. They can best be described as insane pregnant lady cravings. I became obsessed with the concept of cool ranch Doritos. I even clearly remember the blue packet, despite not having consciously strolled down the chip isle in eons. Clearly I was going to have to take matters into my own hands…

You will need:

• A large bunch of curly green kale, (other varieties will work well too)
• Cool Ranch Sauce
• A large bowl
• A blender/food processor
• A dehydrator (if Raw version), or an oven

Step one:

Cooking is a sensual experience. It needs to be savoured and enjoyed so you can put all your luvin into your food. So start blasting your favourite playlist strip your kale leave into a bowl. 

TIP: Take off your jewellery. No one wants cashews mashed into the crevices of their engagement ring

Cool Ranch Recipe

This legitimately tastes like the seasoning. It is epic and you should restrain yourself from drinking the sauce. There are quite a few ingredients, however these things should be quite common in a raw kitchen.

You will need:

• one cup cashews
• 2-3 tablespoons of hulled tahini
• 2 tablespoons of nama shoyu
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• pinch of salt (I use herbamare)
• 1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
• 2 tablespoons dil seeds
• 2 tablespoons of dulse flakes
• 1 clove of garlic
• thumb of the root end of a green onion
• 1 teaspoon of ACV
• 1 teaspoon of white miso
• 1 teaspoon of coconut nectar or sweetener of your choice.
• 3/4 cup of water
• pepper to taste

Dump the ingredients in your blitzing device. Add the water 1/4 cup at a time and blend until it has reached the consistency of creamy salad dressing. It should not be watery.  Throw it on top of the kale and prepare to get messy.

 Now massage the sauce into the kale until the kale starts to feel soft and limp

Line your dehydrator trays with non stick baking paper.  Pop in your dehydrator on low- medium for roughly 4-5 hours. If you are baking, put on the lowest temperature and check every ten minutes. Baking kale chips can be tricky as they go from uncooked to smouldering ash in roughly two minutes so be careful.

TIP: If you are an Australian DO NOT BUY HOME BRAND BAKING PAPER! It will screw you over! Just go with the expensive brand and thank me later.

Once they are done. Attempt to put them into some sort of serving receptacle rather than scoffing them straight out of the dehydrator. 

voila! 

I hope you make them and fall in love with them like I did. 

Let me know how your efforts fared by commenting here or on my instagram kaitlingvegan

Peace out,

Kaitlin

The Weekly Produce Shop

Kaitlin Here!

Let's skip the introductions. The story is epic and I want to dedicate it to a separate page.

I would like to elaborate on a few details behind the pragmatics of the raw food lifestyle that many have encountered when transitioning. There is a large database on how to grocery shop however, people are still dubious and enamoured by the large youtube personalities. I thought it would be beneficial if I discussed my experiences to demonstrate how attainable raw veganism can be, especially in Australia. I wish to make it clear that this is only the produce side. We do have a pantry with food type stuffs in it as well. We aren't complete freaks and I will discuss its contents in coming entry. Here we go!

  The Weekly Produce Shop

Pictured

• 1 bag spinach
• 3 bunches kale
• 1 mint
• 1 corriander
• 1 basil
• 1 fancy lettuce
• 1 romaine lettuce
• 1 celery
• 6 carrots
• half a red cabbage
• 1 cauliflower
• 7 cucumbers
• 8 oranges
• 1 pack snow pea sprout
• 1 pack sprout mix
• 5 large zuchinis
• 4 brown onions
• 3 red onion
• 5 red peppers
• 1 bag cherry tomatos
• 8 large field tomatos
• 2 red papaya
• 12 peaches, golden and yellow
• 7 limes
• 2 lemons
• 3 avocados
• 1 watermelon
• half a rockmelon
• 1 huge jackfruit
• 7 honey dew melons
• 12 kg bananas
• 24 calypso mangoes 

1. How do you eat this much in a week?

I don't. This feeds two people. My fiancé is a vegetarian who eats a high raw diet.  Many of these foods can roll over into the next week as well. Items such as ginger, onions and root veggies can last us about ten days if not longer. Items like as mangos and bananas will be purchased in bulk if cheap and are frozen for smoothies and can roll over into the next week. I also make dehydrated foods such a crackers and kale chips which can last up to three weeks unless I am entertaining guests.

2. Quantity

This is a very subjective question. Everyone's body operates differently. Some people are fuel efficient, and others are gas guzzling hummers. I personally do not agree with  the entire caloric fanaticism that is postulated as the key to success on a raw food diet. My major concern is about obtaining sufficient vitamins and minerals. Nutrients are what allows the body to thrive. I recommend eating enough to fulfil your nutrient requirements in quantities that give you enough energy to sustain your way of life. Calorie counters are fantastic if they can break down your nutritional needs. Chronometer is great, however doesn't have certain foods in it especially if you are transitioning. My fitness pal is very convenient with a huge database of foods, yet only measures specific nutrients like vitamin A and C, calcium and iron.
It may take a few weeks to figure out how much food you need to keep going. If you are transitioning from a cooked non vegan diet you will need to buy larger quantities of food. That salad now has to take up the whole dinner plate. Be patient and listen to your body. Raw vegan lifestyles are a massive paradigm shift from mainstream omnivorous diets. We were all confused at the beginning too.

3. How much?

Produce price fluctuates for a myriad of reasons; harvest and seasonality, demand, weather conditions AKA natural disasters in Australia's case, and currency exchange. This cost us roughly $150. This was more expensive because we bought a 12 kg jack fruit for $30. They are like unicorns, so grab them when you see them.

4. Shop smart.

We try our best to get the best price for everything. Sign up for weekly catalogues from local supermarkets and fruit shops. Coles and Woolworth's catalogues can be found online and Aldi will hand out the coming weeks catalogue in store.
Fruit barns are also great to swing by. Most will have a discount rack up the back full of ripe produce. Go in the mid morning to get the first picks. I also recommend finding out when deliveries are made. That is when shelves are refreshed and over ripe produce becomes available for fast sale.
Go to Farmers markets to cut out the middle man. We do most of our shopping at the markets. Prices are pretty competitive and you will most likely to be able to buy in bulk. We like to do a lap of the stalls to figure out who has what for cheapest and the best quality. Then, we go in for the kill.

5. Plan

Always draft up a rough plan of what you want to eat in the coming week. Write up the ingredients for each recipe and see what ingredients appear in more than one recipe. This is an easy way to determine which foods you will need to buy in bulk.  Always allocate about twenty dollars to make a spontaneous splurge purchase so shopping doesn't start feel like you're being constricted. You will get frustrated and potentially fall off the bandwagon.
I can tell you that I am extremely lazy when it comes to meal planning. I only ever plan for dinners. My fiancé and I work out what we want to eat for the next seven days. This usually consists of four salad meals, two dinners that require a bit of preparation, and either a tapas night or a kitchen sink dinner to eat down the fridge the night before markets. For other meals I enjoy fruit, smoothies, juices and finger foods.

If there is anything I have not mentioned or that you would like further elaboration on anything please let me know.  Thank you for reading my initial post on my construction heavy blog. Things will hopefully come together in the coming week.

Peace,

Kaitlin xx

Birthday delights

Hello again!

We live in a culture where our social lives revolve around eating. For vegans, and more specifically raw vegans, this can be a source of great anxiety. Eating healthily should not be as difficult as it has become in modern society. It is our job to change this perception and begin the revolution for healthy food! This post focuses on how to easily entertain guests with finger food for an afternoon.

Yesterday I turned 25. I think once you hit twelve, birthdays stop being one of those events of instant transmogrification. I remember throwing myself out of bed when I was a kid and running to examine myself in the mirror, looking for signs of change that marked my midnight transition from nine to ten years old. Even when I was 16 I hoped I would just transform from an awkward teenager into a graceful young woman. These days I am now grateful to spend time with people I love and then exploit them by enslaving them for menial tasks such as, "change the channel", "make me tea" and, "I get to choose," because it is my birthday after all.

My family is not vegan and definitely not raw. I am lucky however that they respect my life choices and are happy to dabble in the realm of raw food. I didn't want to do much preparation, yet I needed to whip out something a little more exciting than cut watermelon.

This is what the beautiful spread looked like.

This only took me around 45 minutes to an hour to prepare.  The apple chips, kale chips and raw crackers had to be prepared the night before just so that they had time to dehydrate.

Not pictured: Hummus, the mighty fail-safe vegan dip. 

Fast finger food for lazy last minute throw together

Rice crackers and corn thins

Sun dried tomatoes

Mashed avocado

Trail mix

Fruit platters

Chopped vegetables

Watermelon (if its really desperate)

Lettuce leaves to make little wraps

Whilst they are insanely simple they are often overlooked in moments of panic, which might result in wasting money and buying prepacked dips, chips and cheeses full of extra salt, oil and additives. Fresh fruit will make you feel much better in the long run.

Cheers,

Kaitlin

Next post: Cool Ranch Kale Chips ( pictured above)