Tuesday, November 11, 2008

High Raw Tuesday

Though I usually go totally raw for my monthly day-long raw food cleanse, I called today a "high raw" day since I cheated a little bit at lunch with this delicious Live Burger from Bawala's Vegan Gourmet, a new semi-raw cafe inside the Smooth Moves smoothie shop in Midtown:

I've been hearing about these raw burger patties for a few months now, and I'd been waiting until raw day to give them a try. Balwala (who's name I'm probably spelling wrong) wouldn't tell me what was in his live patty (says he's planning a patent), but he assured me the burger part was indeed raw. He did say it contained lots of dehydrated veggies, as well as walnuts and flax seed.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize the patty was served on bread until Balwala was putting it together. It's sprouted grain Ezekiel bread though, so I figure that's okay. He also added ketchup and mustard, which aren't really raw either ... but I was already cheating with the bread, so... anyway, it was delicious and I can't wait to try the raw barbecue portabella sandwich next!

I did start the day off with a 100% raw meal. I made a "Not Green" Green Smoothie:

I called it "Not Green" because it was supposed to be green since I added spinach. But apparently purple trumps green since the frozen blackberries dominated the look of this creamy breakfast. Also in the smoothie — frozen banana, juice of one orange, a couple dates, 1/4 cup hemp seeds, and 1/4 cup raw oats.

For dinner, I had another Raw Buckwheat Pizza using the dehydrated crackers my friend Judith made me for my birthday:

This time I added mashed avocado, tomato, bell pepper, and olives. Does anyone know if olives are raw?

I served the pizza with this Salad of Baby Greens, Radishes, Carrots, and Black Grapes and drizzled with a Tahini Lemon Dressing from Raw Food Made Easy:

Finally, I made one of the tastiest raw desserts I've ever had — Raw Brownies:

These Raw Brownies (also from Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy) had a base of walnut, dates, and cocoa powder. They're really rich, and I enjoyed them crumbled in a bowl with sliced bananas.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yay for high raw days! It's okay that you cheated, it's ezekiel bread which is like the healthiest bread ever! haha and that burger looks amazing.


I always mix berries with spinach and it seems that the purple and the green are always fighting for top spot...and then it turns into this awful brown color =P Yummy!

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

those brownies look so good! And the cafe sounds like a cool place.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

LOVE YOUR HIGH-RAW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

You know, I was thinking about making those browines...I think I'm gonna now!
I've been too much of a pixie-princess to do my weekly raw days - it's just too darn cold outside (here)! I'm wanting your food, though!

Leslie Richman said...

That looks like a great raw day!

J said...

That raw burger looks really good. Actually it all looks good. I try to incorporate raw food into my diet, but I've always imagined being painfully hungry if I were to have a "raw day", but looking at what you eat on your raw days, I think I could do it. That raw pizza looks really good, and the tahini dressing sounds great!

Jen said...

i need to get over my fears and just do it. i hesitate because a) raw food scares me and b) it's getting cold outside and raw food doesn't sound good.

n/a said...

Good job on the high-raw day! Hopefully you can start eating more and more raw if you'd like to. Olives in general are not raw, as they are heated and jarred, but you can find raw ones here and there at specialty shops from special raw companies.

Anonymous said...

Pizza and brownies - sounds like a great day!

Also, I tagged you for a meme. Details are on my site. If you participate or not - it's cool either way!

For the Love of Guava said...

mmm... I've been meaning to try a raw day but haven't quite gotten there yet... those pictures are pretty motivating though!! YUM!

funwithyourfood said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
funwithyourfood said...

need some raw brownies for sure...
i want to experiment more with non-baked desserts.. that sounds like a good idea to me!

miss v said...

oooo, that raw burgers looks scrummy. nice!

Anonymous said...

That pizza looks so good! I love avocado on anything.

That burger looks good too.

Anonymous said...

It doesn't sound you missed your cooked food! I wouldn't mind trying a 'raw brownie day'... ;)

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I wannna raw brownie!!!

Anonymous said...

i am addicted to raw brownies!!! i've been eating brownies like crazy lately. i don't even think i could stomach one anymore haha today's my first brownie-free day in like a week.

that burger looks soo good. there's no fun cafes like that around me. pittsburgh sucks haha

urban vegan said...

Wow...I haven't had a raw day in ages. In fact, I have been pretty bad when it comes to indulging in too much unhealthy stuff.


Guess I ought to get back on the wagon. If I had raw food like that everyday, I'd bet set.

Mike K said...

The pizza and brownies look like pretty good arguments for eating raw more often - I need to check out the cookbook with the brownie recipe. That smoothie is impressive too.

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

I've heard great things about those raw brownies. I should make those soon since I recently bought that book. All the raw food looks very appetizing!

Unknown said...

holy crap, the brownies and burger look insanely tempting.

Agnesss =) said...

Bianca!!

That's great you're continuing your raw/high raw days!! YAY!!

Well,that burger....oh I'm soooo jealous!! =)) send me some!!! and EZEkiel breads!!!! How I'd love to try them!!!!!! =///ahh..

I'm enjoying raw food all the time for bout three months now and LoVinG everything!!! It's chilly here too and I'm not missing anything =)) !! it IS POSSIBLE REALLY!!!

waiting for your tag-answer !! =))
Enjoy the day!!

Jess said...

Really delicious-looking day! That burger patty looks like one I had in San Francisco that was mainly made up of beets. SO AWESOME.

T said...

YRM! Everything looks drool-worthy despite its rawness. And I like that term "high raw"- it sounds western, like "high noon" or something.

jessy said...

that's one tasty look'n raw burger! oooooooo! the bbq portobello raw sammie sounds awesome, too! report back if you try that one soon! yay! ezekiel is sooo good though - i love their sprouted pasta.

i love your "Not Green" Green Smoothie - it sounds super yummy! the salad and the buckwheat pizza are both make'n me hungry! and the raw brownies - oh man, those sounds glorious! especially crumbled with slices of bananas! yay!

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

Oh the brownies! Must have the brownies!

Hungry Hungry Dancer said...

oh thats ok!!!!! i was looking forward to meeting the real you too!!! its all good though :) your raw day looks delishhh...im jealous

Anonymous said...

I am seriously considering to go raw now. All the food looks so good, especially the burger and those brownies.