Authors: Ani Phyo

Ani's Raw Food Essentials (11 page)

BOOK: Ani's Raw Food Essentials

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APRICOT ROOIBOS FLURRY

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Rooibos, a red bush tea from Africa, is the centerpiece of this creamy mylk tea. Rooibos is packed with antioxidants that attack free radicals, limiting their damaging effects and delaying our aging process. It also contains alpha hydroxy acid and zinc, to combat acne and give us healthy, clear, smooth skin.

2 rooibos tea bags
3Â¼ cups filtered water
1 cup halved, pitted fresh apricots, or Â½ cup dried apricots
Â½ cup cashews
Â¼ cup pitted dates, packed
1 cup ice

Place the tea bags in a glass jar and add the water; cover. Place the jar in the sun for several hours to brew. If you choose to brew the tea in boiling water, you'll need to let it cool to room temperature before using.

Combine the brewed tea, apricots, cashews, and dates in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Add the ice and blend to mix well.

Best served immediately, but will keep for a couple of days in the fridge.

The Beauty of Rooibos

ROOIBOS CONTAINS ALPHA
hydroxy, a mild acid that dissolves dry skin for exfoliation without the need for scrubbing. Full of antioxidants, it rejuvenates and revitalizes our skin by helping to decrease inflammation, calm stressed-out skin, increase elasticity, increase circulation, and restore the skin's suppleness.

Apply soaked rooibos tea bags directly to skin irritations such as itches, sunburns, rashes, and acne, and on dry spots on your knees, elbows, and heels.

Put used rooibos tea bags in the fridge or freezer and use on your tired or red eyes to sooth and relax.

ALMOND-BUTTERED BANANA FREEZE

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

This refreshingly light, smooth almond mylk is made by blending bananas with almond butter and a hint of cinnamon. Almonds provide calcium, protein, and vitamin E, and bananas are loaded with potassium. This easy smoothie is a great postworkout fuelâit helps increase circulation and blood flow to stressed muscles, while building lean muscle tissue. The drink is sweetened with yacÃ³n syrup, a low-calorie, low-glycemic sweetener that tastes like caramel and molasses. If you don't have yacÃ³n handy, you can use agave syrup.

2 bananas, sliced
Â¼ cup almond butter
2 tablespoons yacÃ³n or agave syrup
Â¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups filtered water
1 cup ice

Combine the banana, almond butter, yacÃ³n syrup, cinnamon, and water in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Add the ice and blend to mix well.

Best served immediately, but will keep for a couple of days in the fridge.

YacÃ³n Power

YACÃN, A
perennial plant grown in the Andes, is used as a concentrated sweetener among native Andes populations. The plant's sweet-tasting tuberous root has antiaging properties and is high in protein, fiber, and vitamins A and C; and is also a good source of calcium, iron, phosphorus, and potassium. A valuable health food and alternative sweetener, yacÃ³n contains inulin, a complex sugar that improves the health of our lower intestines by feeding healthy bifidobacteria, which are probiotics, in the intestine. Inulin is a probiotic that helps with mineral absorption, combats cancer, and keeps our skin clear and healthy. Inulin can't be broken down by digestive enzymes in the stomach. It passes through the upper digestive tract intact, has almost no usable calories, and almost no impact on blood sugar.

YacÃ³n syrup is dark in color, tastes like a blend of caramel and molasses, and is a low-calorie, low-glycemic sweetener with only 40 calories per two-tablespoon serving. It has half the sugar and only a third of the calories of agave syrup. Use it as you would agave or maple syrup in any recipe. Although yacÃ³n syrup is flash-pasteurized to kill bacteria, it has been found to retain most of its enzymes and nutritional benefits. It is available at natural food stores, online, and my Web site,
www.AniPhyo.com/store
.

SUPER CACAO-COCONUT ENERGIZER

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

When you're craving a caffeine bump, this creamy, rich, dark chocolate drink is a healthy way to get a superjazzy buzz. Made with cacao for zing and sweetened with dates and banana for energy, it is also full of omegas and potassium to make you glow. I leave the blender going for a minute or more to heat up this delight.

1 banana
Â¼ cup cacao nibs
Â¼ cup almonds
2 tablespoons tan or brown flaxseed
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
2 tablespoons pitted Medjool dates
1 tablespoon liquid coconut oil
2 teaspoons maca powder (optional)
3 cups filtered water

Place all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. If you don't have a high-speed blender, you may want to first grind the almonds, flaxseed, and coconut into a meal for a smoother consistency.

SERVING OPTION:
Place in a pot and heat on the stove until warm.

MYLKS AND SHAKES

My dairy-free mylks are made by blending nuts or seeds with water. Agave or dates can be added as a sweetener. Just as with dairy milk, nut mylks are thin in consistency, and delicious with cereals and added to smoothies.

I don't bother straining the nut fiber from my mylks because fiber is good for me. You can strain your mylks through a strainer or nut mylk bag (available at most health food stores or onlineâsearch for “nut milk bag”) if you prefer. You can use the pulp in place of nut meals in dehydration recipes such as those for cookies and crackers. Or you can feed it to your dog (avoid giving your dog macadamias, though, as they are poisonous to pets), or compost it.

BASIC NUT MYLK

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Use your favorite nuts to make a basic mylk. If you're concerned about calories or sugar, sweeten with a pinch of stevia instead of the dates or agave syrup.

Â½ cup almonds, cashews, pecans, or your favorite nut
Â½ cup pitted dates, or Â¼ cup agave syrup
A pinch of sea salt
5 cups water

Place all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

Will keep for at least 4 days in the fridge.