one week raw.

Already, there's such a distinct difference in how I feel. Following the SAD for so long (that's Standard American Diet, so aptly acronymised...) made me feel extremely sluggish, among all kinds of other things. Raw foods are just so light, and when I'm done eating I feel none of the usual gross "I-want-to-curl-up-in-a-ball-and-die-because-I'm-so-full"-ness. But I'm perfectly satisfied (for longer than I was when just following a vegan diet, I've noticed. Odd.) and seriously energetic.


Raw food takes a bit more forethought. As in, if you want raw crackers and a nut pâté tomorrow, you might have to dehydrate the crackers overnight and soak the nuts for few hours beforehand. It's harder to go off track this way -- you've already done most of the work for your meal before you start even ~uncooking it, so you might as well go through with it! Forethought is good. Forethought is the enemy of value menu french fries and a large Dr. Pepper at Wendy's.


Without further ado, some of the culinary highlights of my first raw week:

raw pesto with zucchini noodles! 

 

The best ice cream ever, and SO easy! 

I just froze strawberries and bananas overnight, and then processed them into a smooth, creamy soft-serve.  I added a tiny swirl of agave for a little extra sweetness. 

A perfect lunch! Yummy spicy red pepper soup leftovers, with an avocado nut burger wrap and raw corn on the cob. 

actual best brownies I've ever had. 

I bought a cookbook, but I haven't found it to be as useful as the internet. I've found most of my simpler recipes on VegWeb, which seems to have a very small but friendly community of raw vegans. Another favourite site to poke around on has been The Rawtarian. She has an exquisite collection of simple, flavourful recipes -- that's where I got the recipe for those brownies! And the mock tuna salad I'm making right now for lunch.


So, here's to another week of raw food fabulosity! (and this week's pictures will be infinitely better, because I found my camera.) Hooray! 


-- Caroline