Yep, you did in fact hear me correctly. I willingly prepared raw food over the weekend. I believe the definition of "raw" is food that doesn't go above 118 degrees. Some believe that cooking food actually destroys nutritional value. So what can you eat? Mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. I myself am quite the lover of cooking, and I do prefer my food over 118 degrees. In fact, my first introduction to raw food was in that Sex and the City episode where Miranda refers to the soup as "lawn in a bowl", so, as you can imagine, I was fairly skeptical. Yet when your friend invites you and some other ladies over for a "Raw food experimentation day", your curiosity inevitably gets the better of you.
I realized quite quickly that nuts can replace almost anything I would consider "real food". The raw version of Herbes de Provence Alfredo Sauce and Garden Vegetables? Macademia nuts and cashews. I didn't get an amazing picture of just that dish, but the sauce is in that jar, and the "pasta" is actually zucchini with veggies on top. It was actually delicious.
The raw version of Sun-dried Tomato and Corn Chowder? Cashews. I found the soup a bit cold (heehee) ....but tasty nonetheless.
The raw version of Taco Meat? Walnuts. I made this recipe and the spices actually made it taste like taco meat. Until you realized you were eating ground up walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes. Interesting.
The raw version of Pumpkin Crumble? Pecans or walnuts. This took my friend and I almost two hours to make. I'm not entirely sure why....we didn't need to cook anything!
Raw cheese? Yep, this is almost entirely made of almonds. Yet it tasted like ricotta. I didn't make this and am still trying to obtain the recipe for this one. If I had a ton of almonds and a food processor, I would definitely try this in a lasagna.
Also, it's important to have the right kind of equipment. A food processor.
A good blender. This was used to make the Salad with Carrot and Ginger Dressing, one of the few recipes I believe I will make again. I loved the miso in the dressing!
A mandolin. That's how the zucchini got to looking like pasta.
And finally, a sous-chef who actually likes to chop vegetables.
I also made Chocolate fudge, which I will totally make again. You mix cocoa powder, honey and coconut oil until it becomes fudge. Literally the easiest, most rich and decadent desert ever. I got a bit fancy and tried to roll it into truffle-like formations. Some of them look better than others since a few of them may have double doses of honey in them. Yes, even with only three ingredients I wasn't sure if I had put in honey or not for the last batch....
There was also the moment where I discovered that bringing collard greens and intending to quickly saute them with a bit of garlic wasn't going to fly with that whole raw food thing. It's easy to forget how much we actually use our stoves/ovens/microwaves. Oh, and we totally cheated by bringing chips with our guacamole and salsa. We needed SOME processed sustenance. You can see some of those chips on my plate. They were helpful for scooping up the "taco" meat.
I did feel like I had eaten much cleaner that day, and the food was delicious. I just know that the raw food diet lifestyle isn't for me. I love my chocolate cake way too much.
I realized quite quickly that nuts can replace almost anything I would consider "real food". The raw version of Herbes de Provence Alfredo Sauce and Garden Vegetables? Macademia nuts and cashews. I didn't get an amazing picture of just that dish, but the sauce is in that jar, and the "pasta" is actually zucchini with veggies on top. It was actually delicious.
The raw version of Sun-dried Tomato and Corn Chowder? Cashews. I found the soup a bit cold (heehee) ....but tasty nonetheless.
The raw version of Taco Meat? Walnuts. I made this recipe and the spices actually made it taste like taco meat. Until you realized you were eating ground up walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes. Interesting.
The raw version of Pumpkin Crumble? Pecans or walnuts. This took my friend and I almost two hours to make. I'm not entirely sure why....we didn't need to cook anything!
Raw cheese? Yep, this is almost entirely made of almonds. Yet it tasted like ricotta. I didn't make this and am still trying to obtain the recipe for this one. If I had a ton of almonds and a food processor, I would definitely try this in a lasagna.
Also, it's important to have the right kind of equipment. A food processor.
A good blender. This was used to make the Salad with Carrot and Ginger Dressing, one of the few recipes I believe I will make again. I loved the miso in the dressing!
A mandolin. That's how the zucchini got to looking like pasta.
And finally, a sous-chef who actually likes to chop vegetables.
I also made Chocolate fudge, which I will totally make again. You mix cocoa powder, honey and coconut oil until it becomes fudge. Literally the easiest, most rich and decadent desert ever. I got a bit fancy and tried to roll it into truffle-like formations. Some of them look better than others since a few of them may have double doses of honey in them. Yes, even with only three ingredients I wasn't sure if I had put in honey or not for the last batch....
There was also the moment where I discovered that bringing collard greens and intending to quickly saute them with a bit of garlic wasn't going to fly with that whole raw food thing. It's easy to forget how much we actually use our stoves/ovens/microwaves. Oh, and we totally cheated by bringing chips with our guacamole and salsa. We needed SOME processed sustenance. You can see some of those chips on my plate. They were helpful for scooping up the "taco" meat.
I did feel like I had eaten much cleaner that day, and the food was delicious. I just know that the raw food diet lifestyle isn't for me. I love my chocolate cake way too much.
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