Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's colder than a witches' tit down here! We rarely see temperatures fall below the 20s in Memphis winters, but tonight, the forecast calls for a low of 16 degrees. On Wednesday night, the low is 15 degrees. What, what?! I don't remember ever experiencing such cold weather.

But that's not stopping me from enjoying delicious raw breakfasts and lunches on my 26-day ACT cleanse (see this post for details). Thankfully, I can have warm, cooked food at night ... when the thermometer is at its low. Today's raw lunch was this super satisfying Liquid Gold Salad:

Now before you go thinking this is just a salad, think again. The Liquid Gold Salad Dressing from The Raw Revolution Diet really makes it somethin' special. It's loaded with flax oil and seeds, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, agave, and even a blended zucchini (that reduces the need for adding a bunch of oil). One serving of this dressing provides a day's supply of omega-3 fatty acids, riboflavin, and other B vitamins.

The dressing sits atop a mixture of baby romaine, avocado, bell pepper, carrot, radish, and sunflower seeds. Yum, yum! I could go for another bowl right now.

The Raw Revolution Diet (another review cookbook from the fine folks at the Farm's Book Publishing Company) is jam-packed with recipes for healthy dressings, raw breads, raw cereal and oatmeal, soups, and a yummy-sounding basic nut cheese recipe that I must try!

The front half of the book is filled with practical information about going raw. Authors Cherie Soria, Brenda Davis, and Vesanto Melina offer tips on getting the proper nutrients from a raw diet, as well as how to juice, sprout, soak nuts and seeds, and eat raw on the go. It's certainly worth checking out for anyone remotely interested in incorporating more raw foods into their diet.

26 comments:

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I'm so happy your cleanse is going well. I haven't craved anything except my usual daily Luna bar so far. I miss having those for breakfast. :)

I thought I had a copy of that raw food book, but I was wrong! You reminded me to pack a little portion of flax meal to take for my salad tomorrow, though. :)

Jamie said...

That does look, (And sound!) like one delicious salad!

The Voracious Vegan said...

That book looks awesome! I need to get a copy, sounds wonderful. Your food looks delicious, as usual, Bianca!

Lisa said...

Hey Bianca! Brrr, we're super cold too. We'll have snow tonight and gusty winds. Your salad looks fantastic. I like the addition of the avocado!

Anonymous said...

Bianca I am getting some cold weather too and I am in the Caribbean. This is crazy! Flax seed oil is my best friend and I include it each da on all of my greens. I am not a fan of salads but this looks reall good... and I will make one for myself today.

Whitney @Lettuce Love said...

That dressing sounds great! I am definitely going to add that book to my wishlist.

Chocolate-Covered Katie said...

Here too! It's supposed to be 8 tomorrow. NOT happy :(

Try to stay warm!!

Anonymous said...

I love it! Looks great and I am glad you are enjoying your detox. After discovering the raw food world, I became a sucker for so many of the outstanding recipes. Now I have your influence as well. Thanks and keep up the great work!

jessy said...

that is really freak'n cold, Bianca! i can't say i've ever experienced 8ยบ before. eek!

the liquid gold dressing sounds wonderful, i love that there's a zucchini so that not a ton of oil is needed. that's one thing that i get hung up on with some of the raw recipes - some of them are high in fats (oils, nuts, etc.) and my stomach can't handle all that. i like the sound of the raw revolution diet book - i love that it has tips and a "how to" in the beginning as well - awesomesauce!

Vegan In The VI said...

Incredible looking salad! Avocado and sunflower seeds!

Leslie Richman said...

That salad sounds so good! I was just looking at that cookbook yesterday, pondering buying it.

nora said...

The dressing sounds so good!

vegan.in.brighton said...

Nice work with the cleanse, that salad dressing does sound delicious.

Kandi said...

OH.MY.GOSH. that salad photo made my mouth water :)

miss v said...

oooo, i never though of pureeing a zucchini for dressing. that dressing really sounds good!

Anonymous said...

I admire you for doing the ACT cleanse! I really don't think I would be able to have a raw breakfast.. I love my oats! Haha. Keep it up..that salad looks divine :)

dreaminitvegan said...

delicious looking salad. I really need to get a raw foods book.
Sorry about your cold weather, we are having a weird 70 degree weather right now. Sorry don't mean to rub it in, we actually could use alot alot of rain here in california.

aTxVegn said...

Your salad looks so delicious. After my detox ends I am going to enjoy a very similar creation.

It's freezing here in Texas too! 2days below freezing and the coldest its been in almost 20 years.

a-k said...

i wish it was 16 degrees here... we've barely climbed above zero, especially with the windchill. Always remember: you could be walking 10 blocks to work in -29F!

That salad looks beautiful, and the dressing sounds delightful! I will have to check that book out.

Vegan Valerie said...

Thanks for the great book recommendation! I need to learn more about raw, and this just might be the perfect book to help me!

Mary said...

That salad look fantastic. It's so hard to get inspired about raw vegetables in the winter, but those look totally hearty and satisfying.

radioactivegan said...

That salad dressing sounds pretty great! I'll have to look for this book.

Jessica said...

I love that book! Need to try that dressing!

Dani said...

Wow I had no idea it got that cold in memphis! Good thing you're allowed warm food at night.
That salad looks delicious. Keep Warm!

Dani

Erin said...

Just added this book to my wish list. The salad dressing sounds so good!

Sarah said...

I love this book! Mostly for the Liquid Gold and the Creamy Hemp dressing. Yum!