This week I declared that we would be eating a high raw diet because I always feel amazing after I take a week to just let my body relax and step away from wheat, gluten and any processed foods. Well things were going strong we had delicious mock raw tuna sandwiches on sprouted bread with raw spicy carrot soup for diner on Sunday. Yesterday for lunch I had a big red apple and left over mock tuna over greens with tomato which was delicious and better than the mock tuna on sprouted bread. For a snack after work I enjoyed a tray of these yummy crispy things:
Yeah those are kale chips, not just any kale chips though, these are spicy cheezy kale chips and they are addictive.
Well after all that sounds like we were on the right track to eating high raw this week, eh? Then it came time for dinner and all I could think about is how much I wanted brown rice with curry. I tried to convince myself that I could just do a big green salad with a raw curry dressing but I just couldn’t get past my craving for warm food. So I decided to go with it, but first I had to evaluate the veggie situation because if it wasn’t going to be raw I wanted it packed with veggies. This is what I found:
Add to that coconut milk and green curry paste:
and then of course my secret special ingredient, avocado, an ingredient I had never heard of in Thai curry (I have now been informed people have seen it on the menu places). I know it sounds strange but as I was planning this curry I couldn’t stop thinking about the creamy basket of avocados sitting on counter and decided to take a chance and add it to my curry.
For dessert we had raw chocolate which my husband said and I quote “I will never be able to look the same way at chocolate again.” This is really the most amazing chocolate that either of us has ever had; the flavor is outstanding.
This weekend has been filled with great new recipes, great conversation and the most amazing chocolate I have ever had. On Saturday after a crazy morning filled with bagels, markets and lots of coffee the Hubz and I came home to prepare for our dinner guest. We took a break from cleaning and organizing to enjoy a Dominex Eggplant Burger over greens with tomatoes and avocado served with rutabaga flax fries.
Serves 2- pre heat oven to 425F. Peel and cut 2 small rutabaga into fries and place in a bowl. Toss the rutabaga with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of flax meal, 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon chili powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for 25-30 minutes until tender and browned.
More cleaning and a little napping happened and then it was time to make dinner for Allie from Healthy Balance, Healthy Life. Allie wanted to make hummus using her new food processor so that set the tone for the entire meal. I decided to go with a Mediterranean themed meal which included lemon-garlic-oregano marinated tofu, tomato, onion and pepper skewers, olives, pita, tahini-parsley dressing and carrot sticks and radishes with Allie’s roasted red pepper hummus.
tofu and tomato skewers
onion and pepper skewers
The marinade/baste for the veggies and tofu included:
1 cup vegetarian chicken broth (could sub vegetable broth)
2 Tablespoon chopped parlsey
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Whisk these all together and pour over skewered veggies and tofu and allow to marinate for 2-4 hours. Remove from the marinade and place on parchment lined baking sheets; pre-heat oven to 425F. Place the remaining marinade in a small sauce pan and place over high heat; bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer until the sauce has reduced by half. Remove from the heat and brush the veggies and tofu. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and baste with more of the reduced marinade; return to the oven and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from the oven once again and baste the veggies and tofu with the remaining marinade. Turn the oven on to broil and broil on high until the veggies and tofu are lightly browned.
carrot sticks and radishes
yummy mixed olives
tahini-parsley sauce and whole wheat pita
Allie's Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Serves 4- in a small sauce pan heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, add 1/2 a minced sweet onion and saute over medium-high for 5-6 minutes until the onions soften. Stir in the garlic and 1 (15oz) can of rinsed and drained chickpeas; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1 (12oz) package of defrosted frozen spinach, 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste; cook until heated through.
For dessert we enjoyed Lulu’s raw chocolate which is easily by far the most amazing raw chocolate I have ever had. I find a a lot of raw chocolates do not have enough of a chocolate flavor and are sometimes chalky tasting but this chocolate was amazing and not only is the best raw chocolate I have ever had but one of the best chocolates. I will blog about these more once I try the other flavors I have.
After our late night chatting and enjoying Proseco with Allie we dragged ourselves out of bed this morning and headed to my parents house for the day. We enjoyed the day with my parents, grandma and Aunt Carol; we ate, played cards and laughed. When we got home we were hungry and ready to enjoy a nice high-raw dinner. This week we are going to eat high raw in hopes of detoxing our body a bit after enjoying lots of pasta, bread and drinks this weekend.
Dinner tonight consisted of a spicy carrot-avocado soup and raw tuna salad sandwiches which was served on multigrain Manna sprouted bread.
Spicy Carrot-Avocado Soup (raw)
Serves 2-3
1 & 2/3 cup carrot juice
1 avocado
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 jalapeno
1 small garlic clove
pinch of cayenne pepper
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
The Raw Tuna Salad recipe came from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials
You can get the Aioli Mayonaise recipe for the mock tuna sandwich here.
After our night of indulgence I felt like I was a bit hungover from the sugary and fried foods. To cure this I went right to a big glass of water things morning and have been making an effort to eat better today. For breakfast I started out with some Sun Seed Manna Bread with The Nutty Vermonter Maple and Chipotle Triple Nut Butter that I got in my Christmas stocking. I didn’t love the bread because it was really chewy but I think the issue was that I cut my slices too thick. Generally when I purchase sprouted grain bread it comes pre-sliced and is usually really thin; fail on my part. So I didn’t end up finishing much of my bread with nut butter and stole two left mock prawns from my husbands leftovers breakfast.
For lunch I ran out to the market to see what looked good and came home with a cremini mushrooms, red bell pepper, red onion, radish sprouts and cauliflower. I cut the cauliflower up into small pieces, diced up the red bell pepper, red onion and mushrooms and sauteed with a bit of olive oil until soft; then tossed in chickpeas for protein. I seasoned with a bit of salt, pepper, granulated garlic and red chili flakes. I plated the cauliflower pilaf and topped with a fist full of the sprouts and drizzled with a bit of Drew’s Roasted Garlic & Peppercorn Dressing that I had picked up at the market last week. On the side we had THINLY sliced Manna Bread with nutritional yeast and garlic gold.
For dessert we split a treat sent from JJ’s Sweets– a Java Chocolate Covered Caramel- TO DIE FOR. They need to start selling these in Vermont…or maybe they shouldn’t because I would buy them all the time. They are lush and creamy and VEGAN!
I just received a huge stack of $1 off coupons from Nature’s Path and want to give you a few! So email me lindsay@cookingforaveganlover.com with your address if you would like a few! Disclaimer: I was provided a sample of a selection of Manna Bread and JJ’s Sweets; I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway or add this to my OpenSky shop in return for a discount on this product.
