I'm going to be adding several more raw food recipes today, but before I do, I wanted to share my Lambchilada recipe with you. You don't have to use roast lamb, but if you don't it becomes plain ol' enchiladas - still good, but not as wonderful as using lamb. ;) At the end of this post, I'll give a brief summary of how our family strives to maintain a healthful 75 - 80% raw diet while living on a farm that blesses us with an over-abundance of meat and dairy. But first, here's how to make Lambchilada's...
In the morning, I put a frozen lamb roast into a dutch oven, oil the pan and sprinkle the roast generously with Montreal's Steak Seasoning (or just salt, pepper and garlic it). I don't ever thaw the roast - that would mean I had to think ahead...this rarely happens. I cook the roast at 350 for a couple of hours, checking every so often. About an hour into the cooking, I add a 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the pan, to keep it moist. When the meat flakes easily with a fork, let it cool and then pull apart.
In a large skillet saute in a bit of oil:
1 onion, sliced
2 or 3 sweet peppers, cut into strips
3 garlic cloves
When tender, add a handful of fresh spinach and the shredded lamb roast.
Next, add 2 cups of enchilada sauce. Store-bought works, but we prefer homemade. Here is the recipe:
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
In a blender add:
4 cups chopped tomatoes (or 32 oz. can tomato sauce)
4 green chilies (or 2 small cans green chilies)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 tsp. chili powder (or more for more spice)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. oregano
2 cloves garlic
Liquify in the blender.
This looks a bit thick. I think this is because I used rehydrated tomatoes. Fresh or canned won't be this thick. Mix well.
Place about 1 cup mixture into the center of a flour or corn tortilla. You can add cheese too, if you like.
Placed rolled tortillas in an oiled casserole dish.
Put the rest of the sauce on the enchiladas and top with cheese.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until golden bubbly. Serve with as many raw veggies as possible!
A word about eating raw:
We've had people ask us how we maintain a mostly raw diet while living on a farm that produces meat and dairy. Well, for one, the dairy we consume is in the form of raw goat's milk and we enjoy the benefits of kefer, yogurt, and cheeses not heated above 118 degrees - maintaining life-giving, healthy enzymes. So the dairy part of it doesn't really apply to us. However, we do enjoy farm-raised meat from our happy, healthy animals raised in a stress-free environment. And, yes, we do COOK our meat.
We lived for several years eating a diet of meat, potatoes, breads, and cooked grains. We shopped organic, grew organic, ate organic...but we did it in abundance. Fresh fruit and veggies were usually always cooked, just like the rest of America eats. Though the food was "healthy" we weren't maximizing the benefits of living a healthful life. By the time we realized what was happening by consuming all this "healthy" food, we were overwieght. My husband weighed over 200lbs. and I weighed in at 175lbs (and I'm barely over 5 feet tall). We were chunky-monkeys, to say the least. We needed help and FAST. After looking at several books on "dieting" and researching weightloss, we realized a "diet" isn't what we needed, but rather a change in the way we prepare our food. We began preparing food with the idea that we want as much "life" left in it as possible. Within 6 months, my husband had lost 25 lbs. and I had lost an amazing 50 lbs! Thus, began the lifestyle we currently enjoy. Our friends and family were amazed at how much weight we both lost in such a short time. We strive to eat a diet raw veggies, fruit, sprouted grains, and raw nuts. We limit the amount of cooked meat and grains to less than 25% of what we eat on a daily basis.
Here is one way we "upped" our raw-ness:
When we get our plates for dinner, we put a layer of fresh greens on the plate. We envision that it is cut into quarters. (We don't actually put white yarn on our plate, I did this just to demonstrate.)
Then, when we load our plates, we put only raw foods on 3 of the 4 sections and cooked meat and/grain in the last section.
For soups, we will oftentimes fill our bowls with cabbage salad or fresh sprouts first...
and then ladle the soup on top of that. It makes for an exciting taste with a delicious crunch.
Also, we usually start our day with a raw veggie or raw fruit smoothie, have a raw lunch, and save any cooked foods for dinner. Sometimes, we'll have oatmeal or other cooked grain for breakfast, but then we'll limit how much cooked food is for dinner that night.
Eating a mostly raw diet has been such a blessing to our family. We have more energy and haven't seen a doctor for health related matters in over 2 years. We look forward to enjoying this way of life for many years to come - we encourage you to try it out and see if it doesn't do the same for you!
I'll be posting more raw recipes soon so stay tuned...
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