For the balls
Soak the sunflower seeds in water overnight.
Rinse and drain the sunflower seeds and then blend with the vegetable oil (listed as olive oil here), vinegar, and tamari.
You can use a vegetable oil of your choice. However, there are healthier choices than olive oil, for example, canola oil.
Finely grate the carrot and finely chop the rest of the vegetables and the garlic and cilantro. Add all of the ingredients to the sunflower mixture in a bowl.
If you or your guests donʼt like the taste of cilantro, you can instead use ½ tablespoon chopped chives (for 4 servings).
Mix well and then season to taste with salt and pepper. Knead the mixture and use the palms of your hands to form medium-sized balls.
The balls should all be about the same size so that they need about the same amount of time in the dehydrator. If they are larger, they will need to be dehydrated longer and if they are too small, it will be difficult to thread them onto the skewers.
For the marinade
Finely chop the dates, garlic, and ginger; combine with the rest of the ingredients, and then blend in the blender.
For the shish kebabs
Cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces and then place in the marinade along with the balls and let the flavors briefly meld.
Zucchini, onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms are good options for the vegetables.
Dehydrate in a baking oven at 50 °C on the middle rack (or in a dehydrator) about 3–4 hours, using a towel or kitchen spoon to keep the oven door open a crack. Brush the teriyaki shish kebabs with the marinade occasionally while they are dehydrating and serve with a fresh salad.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
These vegan teriyaki shish kebabs with sunflower seeds and leeks can be beautifully combined with a wide variety of vegetables. Good alternative to traditional shish kebabs.
Basic recipe: This is only a basic recipe for the balls and marinade for teriyaki shish kebabs. The vegetables you will use for the shish kebabs are not included in the list of ingredients. Zucchini, onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms are good options.
Nutritional profile: It is primarily thanks to the sunflower seeds that this recipe contains high amounts of vitamin E, vitamin B1, copper, and tryptophan. According to GDA guidelines, it also meets more than 100 % of the recommended daily requirement for folic acid, vitamin B6, and manganese. However, at 80 % of the recommended daily allowance, the fat content is extremely high. As a result of the soy sauce, which is very salty, this recipe also contains 200 % of the recommended daily allowance for salt. This unfavorable combination of ingredients brings the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids to 200:1, which is significantly above the maximum recommended ratio of 5:1. A link to an alternative healthier version of this recipe and our motivation for creating this version can be found directly above the recipe photo.
Leeks and ginger: The original recipe from Kristina Unterweger calls for a 4 cm piece of ginger and a 1 cm piece of leek. We have listed the average weight for these.
Tips
Raw food and temperature: A raw diet includes unprocessed foods that have not been heated above 42 °C. Higher temperatures denature many proteins found in natural foods, which is why a line is drawn at this point between cooked and raw food. Many baking ovens can’t be set for temperatures under 50 °C, but if this is the case, the oven door can be left cracked open so that the temperature in the oven remains under 50 °C. Nevertheless, dehydrators are a reliable alternative for strict raw foodists.
We don’t consider soy sauce to be raw. Soybeans are generally heated during the production process since green beans of all types contain the glycoprotein phasin, which is toxic for humans. Phasin inhibits the absorption of nutrients in the intestine, causes hemagglutination (clumping of the red blood cells), and in larger amounts can destroy the intestinal villi. Heating processes (e.g., cooking and roasting) destroy phasin and make soybeans and soybean products such as tofu, miso, and tempeh edible for humans. As a result, even unpasteurized soy products are not actually raw, but are instead cooked products that have been “revived” through the process of fermentation.
But at least one brand claims (with two years fermentation and without pasteurization) that its soy sauce is raw. On Soyana’s website, for example, we find the claim “SUITABLE FOR RAW FOOD even though the beans are cooked at the beginning of the production process and are then only ’revived’ via fermentation and not heated again. I hope this explanation will be helpful for you and will make it clear that these outstanding fermented foods from Soyana have not been reheated but were cooked at the beginning of the process.”
This information should help you understand why we label this recipe as vegan cooked food even though it is listed as raw food in the cookbook it comes from. As a result of the high salt content, we do not regard the recipe to be “especially healthy.” There are also types of soy sauce that contain a significantly lower amount of salt. For example, reduced or low-sodium soy sauce called genen (減塩) contains up to 50% less salt.
Alternate preparation
Baking oven or dehydrator: As described under tips, you can dehydrate this dish either in the baking oven (about 3–4 hours at 50 °C in a convection oven with the door cracked open) or a dehydrator.
Alternative for cilantro: If you don’t like cilantro, you can simply leave it out. After all, an aversion to cilantro is genetic. In one study, the researcher Nicholas Eriksson found that the combination of two specific genes is responsible for the fact that some people don’t like this herb and think it tastes like soap. If you are preparing a meal for guests, it is best to either not include cilantro or ask in advance.
