Love to prepare food at home but hate draining your time? Raw, Quick & Delicious is a great solution for you. I recently tried out a few recipes during a dinner gathering with a friend.

Locavore Dinner Party

A Twitter match made in heaven happened when I became friends with Kristy, an up-and-coming food blogger. Lucky for us, Kristy loves to cook and I love to eat.

Kristy hosted me at her place to discuss KEEN Digital Summit (co-founded by one of my favorite bloggers, Kristin Luna of Camels & Chocolate) which we’re psyched to attend in October. (Bonus: I even won a pair of passes to the conference!)

This girl doesn’t mess around while cooking. Seriously, just look at this Dill-salmon that was the main course along with an asparagus-based purée.

Raw, Quick & Delicious: My creations

My first experiment was the Salmon side, Green Beans Amandine. A simple recipe consisting of raw almonds, sea salt, green beans, olive oil & lemon juice (I left out the nutritional yeast…) was easy and a great pairing to our meal. (See recipe below!)

The other dish I created from Raw, Quick & Delicious was an Avocado Mint “Pudding”, consisting of an avocado, agave nectar, mint leaves/extract and vanilla extract. Not sticking to the rules, I modified it and added cacao powder and more avocado. It satisfied my sweet tooth without guilt.

Thinking about Raw, Quick & Delicious? It’s packed with vegan, healthy recipes like a variety of salads, juices, breakfasts, snacks, dressings and more. After a weekend full of bachelorette party, pizza and fun, I’m looking forward to more raw detoxes.

Juicer Tricks

For dessert, we played with the juicer. Being a juicer virgin, I was questioning the amount of kale about to go into the machine.

Yet the Omega Juicer performed its magic, squeezing out the nutrients in favor of a fresh, pressed green juice. Combined with cucumber and a few other secret ingredients was the perfect take-home treat.

Although I love a great gourmet & wine meal, the detox meal was a delightful, healthy treat.

Green Beans Amandine – Recipe

Courtesy of Raw, Quick & Delicious

Ingredients:

•  1/2 cup – whole raw almonds
• 1 TBSP nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp sea salt, divided
• 3 cups sliced green beans
• 3 tbsp – olive oil
• 2 tbsp – freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Method:

1. Combine almonds, yeast & 1/4 tsp of salt in food processor until coarsely chopped. Transfer & set aside.
2. Toss green beans with olive oil, lemon juice & remaining salt and mix. Set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Add 3/4 of almonds to green beans and toss. Serve with remaining almond mixture. Serve.

Disclaimer: this post contains an affiliate link.

Excerpted from Raw, Quick & Delicious! by Douglas McNish © 2013 Robert Rose Inc. www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission.

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher