Good morning, loves!
What a great first Raw Day we had! But… preparation is EVERYTHING!
First, I got geared up: I used my Blendtec Total Blender and VitaMix 5200 6-7 times yesterday. They are truly an investment in our health! I actually had them running simultaneously when making green smoothies in the morning—saves a lot of time!Second, I went shopping yesterday and, behold, this is how my fridge and my counter look now—totally fresh and totally raw! We are ready to rock and roll.
Yesterday’s food intake was delicious and more than enough—green smoothies, fruit, and raw soups were flowing abundantly. Even my 81 yr old mother, who still gets on me once in a while for rejecting even fish [that is a biggy in her mind] has joined the raw train—not purposefully but by default, since I am making all the meals. Yesterday she had only ONE cooked meal! That is it!
About a month ago she went to see a doctor—she’s been having problems with her hip—to see if she needed a hip replacement. Thankfully he said NO, not yet, gave her a shot and sent her home with instructions to cut down calories and lose weight. What a smart man! Because he is a doctor she naturally listened to him and it now opened a huge window of opportunity for me to get her health in order. She is drinking smoothies/green smoothies every day, raw soups and blended fruit are abundant. She has not time to miss her dairy [although she is still having some, and dairy is her weakness]. She already lost about 10 lbs! That is one month! Isn’t that awesome?!
With that said, here are all of the recipes for the yesterday.
Green Smoothies
I made large portions, since I am feeding 4 adults.
Each of the recipes made up to 64 oz~
If you are going to use frozen corn, like I did, start running the blender with water first and other ingredients first, then pour corn in slowly, so it won’t freeze up.
Pineapple/Blackberry Green Smoothie
~3 cups water
~1-2 cups blackberries
~½ pineapple [peeled from the outer skin [you don’t need to core it if you have a high speed blender]; chop in smaller chunks to add to blender
~1 orange, peeled and seeded
~2 full stems of mint greens [with leaves]
~1 bunch of chard
~3 tbs dulse
~8 dates, pitted [for sweetness, optional]
~2 tbs chia seeds
Banana Beet Green Smoothie
~4 cups water
~3 bananas
~2 tbs maca powder [optional]
~5 dates, pitted
~1 Bunch of beet greens
~Handful of spinach [optional]
~2 tbs chia seeds
Banana Pineapple Green Smoothie
~4 c water
~1 banana
~½ pineapple [peeled from the outer skin [you don’t need to core it if you have a high speed blender]; chop in smaller chunks to add to blender
~2 full stems of mint greens [with leaves]
~½ bunch chard
~Handful of parsley
~5 dates, pitted [optional, for sweetness]
Raw Soups
Get ready for a delight galore. Today’s star was Corn, so all of the soups will have some corn as an ingredient.
Each recipe will feed 4-5 people comfortably.
Corn Bisque
Ingredients
Part I
~2.5 cups warm water
~4 cups frozen corn [you can use fresh, if you have access to it]
~2 cloves [medium size] garlic
~Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
Part II
~1-2 cups corn
Preparation
~Blend Part I ingredients until smooth
~Pour into a large bowl and mix in Part II ingredients
~Enjoy!
~[you can also add a handful of sunflower seeds for crunch]
Corn Chowder
Ingredients
Part I
~2 cups warm-hot water
~4 cups frozen corn [you can use fresh, if you have access to it]
~2 cloves [medium size] garlic
~Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
~1 tbs cumin
Part II
~1/3 medium size jicoma root, cut in a food processor to look like rice [I put it in chunks an pulse a few times]
~½ green [or any other kind] bell pepper, chopped into small [very small] cubes
~2 cups corn
~2 medium avocados, cubed
Preparation
~Blend Part I ingredients until smooth
~Pour into a large bowl and mix in Part II ingredients
~Enjoy!
Taco Raw Soup
Ingredients
~3.5 cups water [cold, warm or hot]
~2 Roma tomatoes
~2 stalks celery
~6 tbs corn
~2 medium carrots
~2 springs of green onion, or 1/4-1/3 cup white onion
~1 handful [yes, I did not measure it!] of cashews
~Few springs of parsley
~1 clove of garlic
~1.5 tbs chili poweder [or taco seasoning]
~½ tbs cumin
~¼ tsp white or black pepper [optional]
~1 tsp Kirkland organic seasoning
~Himalayan salt to taste
Garnish
~3 small-medium size avocados, cubed
~2 Roma tomatoes, cubed
Preparation
~Blend ingredients in a high speed blender [I used Blendtech Total Blender’s Soup function]
~Pour in a bowl, add garnish and serve!
~It will make you lick your bowl!
Raw Bread
I also made an attempt at making quick raw “bread” to go with Taco soup, but it needs perfecting. However, if you want to give it a whirl, here is the recipe [remember that it is not perfected yet!]
Ingredients Part I
~1 cup presoaked and dehydrated oatmeal groats
~1cups presoaked and dehydrated almonds
Ingredient Part II
~2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
~¾ tsp raw honey
~1 tbs raw coconut butter
~½ tsp Himalayan salt
~1 ¾ tbs water
Preparation
~Blend Part I ingredients in a high speed blender [I used VitaMix 5200] into fine flour
~Pour into a food processor
~Add Part II ingredients and pulse until combined
~Take out by hand and press “dough” into small blocks [I came away with 6, which was sufficient for 4 people]
~Serve with Taco soup
If I ever get to perfect this recipe I will let you know :)
I also had a green salad:
~Mixed spring greens
~Cherry tomatoes
~Sliced cucumber
~Sprinkle with lemon, spices and salt and you are set!
Well, folks, I hope this will be enough to keep you going for a day or two! I will continue with our intake tomorrow.
Happy Raw Eatings!
