Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

4 cups cooked black beans (or 2 cans of black beans)
4 cups cooking liquid (from the cooked black beans) (or juice from 2 cans of black beans plus enough water to equal 4 cups of liquid)
1 small red onion
3 leeks
3 cloves of garlic
1 large sweet potato
4 carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large tomatoes, diced or 1 small can tomatoes, diced (14.5 ounces)
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon maple syrup
sea salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add spices. Stir until fragrant. Add chopped onion, leek, and salt. Cook for a few minutes until vegetables begin to wilt a bit. Add garlic, the rest of the chopped vegetables and tomatoes. Stir occasionally. Using a blender or food processor, puree 2 cups of the cooked beans with 4 cups of the reserved cooking liquid. Add to the pot with the remaining 2 cups of whole, cooked beans. Simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Season to taste. Add the juice of 1 lemon, maple syrup and sea salt. Serve immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge; freezes well. This is even better the next day. You can make it before hand and reheat the next day to serve. Enjoy!

Raw Tacos

I could live off these for the rest of my life. They are that delicious.

Complements: www.mynewroots.blogspot.com

Walnut Taco Mix:
1 cup raw walnuts
1 tablespoon tamari (soy sauce)
1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper (optional, but I highly recommend it)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse just to mix. Don't over-blend or you will end up with walnut butter.

Cashew "Sour Cream"
1/2 cup raw cashews
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons water (approx.)

Put all ingredients except water in a high speed blender or food processor and blend, adding water one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. If you want a thick cream, use less water, for a thinner sauce, use more.

Raw Salsa:
1 cup chopped organic cherry tomatoes
1/2 organic red bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 organic orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 organic red onion or 4 organic green onions, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 lime (about 1-2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon raw honey
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt

Whisk the garlic, lime juice, honey, olive oil and sea salt in the bottom of a bowl and set aside. Cut up the veggies into rather small pieces, chop the cilantro and add everything to the dressing bowl. Fold to combine and let sit for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavours to meld.

Other Raw Taco elements:
ripe avocado, cabbage, collard, kale, romaine or spinach leaves

Place all the prepared items out on the table. Start with a large lettuce leaf and layer in the walnut taco mix, cashew "sour cream", raw salsa and anything else you have included. Wrap up the taco and enjoy!!

Raw Salted Caramel Apple Dip

Everyone in the house will devour this dip! I am now infatuated with our new Vitamix and you will be seeing a lot of raw wholefood recipes being posted this coming year! (FYI: The dates take 2-4 hours to soak before making this recipe)

Complements: www.mynewroots.blogspot.com (One of my new favorite blogs!)

2 cups pitted Organic Medjool dates
1/4 cup raw nut or seed butter (I took 1/4 cup raw cashews and added them to the blender whole. The Vitamix purees them perfectly smooth)
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (I used 1 teaspoon pure vanilla instead)
soaking water as needed

Soak dates for 2-4 hours in enough water (enough to cover the dates completely). Drain dates, reserving the soak water. Add dates to a food processor or powerful blender along with all other ingredients, except for soaking water. Blend on high until dates are smooth. Add soaking water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached (for a sauce to pour or drizzle, add more water). Store in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy!

Vitamix

A breakfast for champions! Why oh why did it take me 15+ years going through 3 magic bullets, 2 Cuisinart food processors and 2 Kitchen Aid blenders before I invested in the only machine I need!! If you have a Vitamix blender you know what I am talking about. If you want to wake up to fresh, organic, raw smoothies in the morning or chop, blend and mix anything your heart desires then I would highly recommend buying a Vitamix. Enjoy!