Low-Fat Almond Sour Cream

Almond Sour Cream
 Yield: ~ 2 cups

1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 cup water
2-3 TB fresh lemon/lime juice
1 TB onion powder
1/8 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp celtic sea salt
3 garlic cloves, minced

1.  Blend all ingredients (except garlic) until smooth.
2.  Add xanthan gum, blend another 10 seconds until smooth.
3.  Add minced garlic, to taste.
4.  Refrigerate, and serve chilled.

Cuban Black Beans

Cuban Black Beans
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups black beans (organic taste best)
1 small onion, finely chopped
6+ cloves garlic, crushed
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of Spanish olives

Preparation:
1.  Cook beans in 6 cups of water over medium heat.  Add water as necessary to prevent scorching.
2.  Saute all other ingredients (excluding salt and olives).  After 1 hour of cooking the black beans, add sauteed mixture. 
3.  Add the salt and olives after 2 hours of cook time.  (Whenever you add the salt, the beans will not get any softer after that.  So make sure that the beans are cooked the way you like them before you add the salt and olives.  It takes around 3 hours to cook the beans completely.)
4.  Serve over brown rice.

Beefy Gravy

Beef-like Sovex Gravy 

4 cups water
1 cup raw cashews
3 Tb yeast flakes
1 Tb So-vex (yeast extract)
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic granules
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 TB beef-like seasoning
1 TB Tamari or soysauce

1.)  Place all in vita mix, blend for 2-4 minutes until very very smooth.
2.)  Place in saucepan and stir constantly until thickened.
3.)  Serve over mashed potatoes and loaf/patties...