I Ate Raw Kale

... and I liked it. This is a major breakthrough for me. Raw kale has always been the final frontier of rawness for me. But more on that in a sec. Today was my monthly one-day all-raw food day, and it began with this yummy bowl of Banana Berry Bliss from 30 Minute Vegan:

This recipe was really more like "5-minute vegan" since it took no time to whip up the banana-cashew cream (a variation on the recommended macadamia nut cream recipe). The sweet cream topped my fresh bananas and local blueberries (frozen from blueberry season earlier this year).

Around 11 a.m., my tummy was grumbling so I snacked on a few dried apricots, and by noon I was so ready for my big raw kale adventure with this Rainbow Kale Salad from 30 Minute Vegan:

The kale is mixed with red and yellow bell pepper, red cabbage, and grated carrot and then massaged with a mixture of olive oil and other seasonings. Although the recipe suggested only marinating the kale for 10 minutes, I left it overnight. The result was tender, totally un-bitter kale leaves! I was always afraid raw kale would be bitter and icky like raw collards (which I hate!). But no. It was delicious!

Alongside the kale salad, I had some Zucchini Hummus with Crudites from Gena of Choosing Raw:

Gena's recipe is included in the latest issue of VegNews, but you can also find the recipe on her blog here. Raw zucchini replaces traditional chickpeas and I subbed Artisana raw cashini butter (I love this stuff!) for the roasted tahini. Super yummy!

Dinner wasn't very pretty, but it was tasty. I made this Live Hot and Sour Soup from 30 Minute Vegan:

See, not pretty. But with a base of hot peppers, tomato, soaked apricots, and apple cider vinegar, it achieved a hot and sour flavor. The floaty bits are shitake mushrooms marinated in raw coconut aminos (like a raw soy sauce), fresh sweet corn, and diced zucchini. It wasn't half bad, but I probably won't make it again.

I also had a Garden Salad with Garlic Vinaigrette for dinner:

And some crunchy straight-out-the-dehydrator Salsa-Flax Crackers:

I made a HUGE batch of these from Becoming Raw! The recipe made about 130 crackers, and I had 10 with my meal. Luckily, these keep forever and ever in the fridge. Flax crackers are one of the raw food diet's most redeeming qualities.

Finally, the highlight of my day was dessert, which I had twice — once after lunch and once after dinner. You can do that when you're eating healthy raw dessert like these Raw Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache from Raw for Dessert by Jennifer Cornbleet:

The mini cupcakes had a walnut-date-cacao base and they were topped with a rich, smooth ganache of coconut oil, cacao, and agave. Holy yum!

By the way, Cornbleet's Raw for Dessert is part of the Book Publishing Company's Luscious Vegan Dessert campaign. Throughout October, they're offering vegan dessert fans a chance to win one of several fab cookbooks, including Raw for Dessert. Click the Luscious logo for details.