Monday, November 14, 2011

Raw

A couple of years back I did a 5 day raw food retreat at this place in northern Bali.  I am useless at these kinds of disciplines.  I dreamed of charcoal-y beef steaks and oven baked potatoes every night, and convinced myself that white wine was a raw food stuff because surely fermentation is not the same as cooking. 

And if you can't do raw food looking at this all day then one has no hope back in Melbourne.



(Massage hut at Puri Ganesha)

I do like the pristine clean feeling uncooked food gives me.   And if you like salads it is relatively easy to do quite often. 

Sunday night is raw food night.   It used to be omelette night.  Or noodles night. 

I recently bought this book by Kimberley Snyder.  She of the Green Smoothie I have mentioned before. 

Her eating plan is about beauty and skin health.  I am interested in it for overall health reasons.   Her eating plan is also vegan, which I struggle with.  I did vegan once, and lasted about 10 hours. I know.  Hopeless, right?

However, as bizarre as it sounds, her raw cold cauliflower soup is divine.
  



I won't show you the finished soup because frankly it's not that appetising looking.  But here are the ingredients and they look pretty nice before they are pureed.

Put in a vitamiser the following:


  • juice of a lemon
  • half or quarter of a cauliflower, chopped
  • half an avocado
  • good splash of tamari
  • teaspoon of turmeric
  • large pinch of sea salt
  • a cup of water
Blend until smooth.  You can adjust the wateriness if you like.  Her recipe involves a teaspoon of miso but I don't have that so I left it out.  I also put in heaps of tamari.  You could also put in some dried chilli flakes. 

This makes a generous bowl for one or small bowls for two. It's not enough food for me so I also have some of her 'burritos' which consist of celery marinated in lemon juice, mustard and savoury yeast, avocado, sprouts and spinach wrapped in a nori sheet.  


Do you have any raw food treats I can try?  White wine counts as raw food.  So does red wine. 



16 comments:

Felicity said...

I love this time of the year Jane as I'm a whizz at the 'grab & toss in the bowl' type of salad which is enabled by all the fabulous produce in abundance at the moment & is about as raw food as i can muster.

I think one of the keys is delicious dressings, so having a plethora of herbs either raw or dried on hand is the key.

Thank you for sharing your links - both are now bookmarked.

Happy 'healthful' day!
xx's

Jacqueline @ HOME said...

Hi Jane,
Well, I could eat salad everyday if I had to but, thankfully, I don't have to !! .... I much prefer a varied diet !
Actually I think that I might try alternating the red and white wine every half hour !!!! haha
The raw cold cauliflower soup sounds lovely and I will try it...... with a glass of red or white as an accompaniment !! XXXX

Anamaria do Val said...

I'll try it, I'm crazy about salads and white wine, it will be easy, I guess! Thanks for sharing, Jane

Just..... US!! said...

Hi Jane,
Read your blog post about sugar and I am giving it a go. All going well except yesterday was hypoglycaemic (not a diabetic) and scoffed a cup of lemonade, obviously hadn't eaten enough. I am following all your food posts with interest, it is making me think about food etc. So thanks Jane!! Wine is very much a problem for me though. We are travelling around Aus and hubby could have left me at the Margaret River, no questions asked. We are now heading into the Adelaide hills area, think I am in heaven. Look forward to following your beach house reno......

Glamour Drops said...

Have become rather fond of the raw brownie, which is cocoa whizzed up with almonds & walnuts till blitzed fine, then you feed one date at a time into the food processor till it all sticks together. Roll into balls and that's it. Amazingly, this is sweet enough as is, or you can add a spoonful of honey. I have been making it for my daughter because it is such a super food and perfect for keeping going during exam times. So delicious! And nice to find something healthy which also tastes so luxurious. Virginia xx

Jane said...

hi Virginia - thanks for that tip, I have tried a slightly different recipe for raw brownies and didn't get it right. I will give yours a go.

Megan - go for it - sugar free has been great for me. What a great trip you are having, just checked out your blog. I want to do that one day too!

brismod said...

Did you mention celery? I recall you found that vegetable unpalatable. The burritos must be good then. Actually both those recipes sound yum. xx

Jane said...

ha ha Anita you have an exceptional memory. Celery was in my top 4 Foods I Never Eat. But for some reason I don't mind it any more. I have it in green smoothies and also in these burrito things. Who would have thought? Chemo must have messed with my taste buds!

Mise said...

One of my favourite raw foods is a bean hummous - you just purée together a couple of cloves of garlic, some beans (soya beans or broad beans work well) and, if you wish, a little sweet chilli sauce, then add olive oil till it has a nice spreadable texture.

Kristine said...

Hi Jane,
Looks like you're already onto the green smoothies. I've been drinking a lot of them recently. Even the children want in. Think I'll have to give Virgnia's raw brownies a go next after reading her comment here.

Faux Fuchsia said...

Wine is my Favourite Food Group. So comforting.

That pink house better be glued tight to the ground because I am going to Hunt it Down and Steal it for Myself.

I like some raw food. Like oysters. And sashimi. And mango. And avocado.

xxx

Slim Paley said...

There's nothing cooked in martinis, right?

helen tilston said...

A great post
Congratulations on winning Mise's prize...I followed her link to you.
I am your new follower
Helen Tilston

permanent magenta said...

This is the first ever time I have been interested in an official raw food recipe. Beautiful photo! Hmmm, I think its the lemon and avocado that get me;)
I like your theory that wine is a raw food. I definitely concur!

Dumbwit Tellher said...

Hello dear Jane - I have never tried a raw or Vegan diet although I know it would be a good lifestyle choice. We had this discussion a few weeks ago and a friend had read a book by a Chinese author and it turned his attitude completely around. He's 6 ft. 4" and I think if he can give up his steaks so could I. But...sadly no. I could give up wine better than hamburgers! Your recipe looks tasty and I'm definitely willing to try it. You always post the best recipes. I've sure been thinking of you whilst I've been absent from the blogging world. I hope all is good and your family is very well too. It was terrific to hear from you.
All my best to you Jane,
Deb x

Slim Paley said...

I think I could even be convinced to eat Lima beans if I were in that little pink & green abode!
Now that I think about it, they might even be slightly more appetizing raw.

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