Recipe for Health: Raw-Vegan Sloppy Joes

Looking for a quick and healthy weeknight meal now that the kids are back in school and your autumn schedule is about to go full tilt? This one might become a standard.

Mee Tracy McCormick learned to cook her way out of her chronic autoimmune disease by using whole foods. In the process, she created a collection of “healing recipes that combine foods in a way that is more nutritious and delicious than she could have ever imagined.”

This recipe, which is vegan, dairy free and gluten free, comes from her new book My Kitchen Cure (LeeMee Publishing 2013). Tracy says she likes to serve this “meat” both as both an appetizer at parties and as a meal with a side of soup. “Dinner guests will totally be impressed, and you won’t be stressed, because you Food Focusc:an knock this out in no time flat,” she writes in her book. “The key to raw food is that it’s raw, and so there is no “cooking” time needed.” Makes 4 servings.

• 1⁄4 cup soaked raw walnuts (soaked overnight for optimal digestion and rinsed well)
• 1⁄2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 1⁄3 sweet onion, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, sliced 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 medium portobello mushroom cap, washed and diced
• splash of nama shoyu (if you’re avoiding soy, substitute coconut aminos;if you’re avoiding gluten, use tamari)
• splash of raw apple cider vinegar
• drizzle of flax oil
• oregano (dried), to taste
• rosemary (fresh), to taste
• sea salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• chili powder, to taste romaine leaves

Add all veggies, except portobello mushroom pieces, to food processor. Process until well chopped and combined. Put veggies in large bowl and stir in portobello chunks. Season with splash each of nama shoyu and apple cider vinegar, and drizzle with a little flax oil. Add oregano, rosemary, sea salt (but go easy; as with the nama shoyu, it could make the dish too salty), pepper, cayenne and chili powder. Serve on romaine leaves.

Source: Reprinted with permission from the book Let’s Get Cooking! by Mee Tracy McCormick. Copyright © 2013. Published by LeeMee Publishing. For more information, visit www.MeeTracy.com or www.amazon.com.