The Return of Raw Food Tuesday

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you might remember my old Raw Food Tuesday tradition. For a couple of years, I ate totally raw on the first Tuesday of every month. But the habit took a hiatus when I was wrapping up my cookbook in the fall and winter. Now that the cookbook's at the publisher and the temperatures are finally in the mid-60s and 70s, it's time to revive Raw Food Tuesday!

I started the day off with a Peachy Kream smoothie from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen — raw date-sweetened Brazil nut milk and frozen peaches. So thick and creamy! Amazingly, it kept me full until at least 11 a.m.:

Mid-morning, I snacked on some of Katie's Good Girl Vegan Coconut Fudge. I've been wanting to make this for, like, a million years. For some reason, I've been waiting for Raw Tuesday though ... like I can't eat raw dessert unless it's raw day. I know that's a silly way to think. Anyway, this frozen treat of coconut butter and banana puree was worth the wait:

Lunch was this Giant Salad with Salsa-Flax Crackers from Becoming Raw with Mango Nectar Dressing from Savory Raw Dressings & Sauces by Andrew Perlot:

Let's talk a little more about the dressing, shall we? Months and months and months ago (we're talking, like, last summer), Andrew sent me a copy of his ebook to review. I fully intended to get right on that, but I was finishing up testing for my cookbook and Raw Day had taken a break. Now I'm finally getting around too it (sorry Andrew!).

Anyway, Savory Raw Dressings & Sauces is a cute little, 26-page ebook with a variety of mostly oil-free, often fruit-based dressings. This Mango Nectar Dressing was simply made of blended tomatoes and mangos. Easy and delicious. Andrew also provides plenty of tips for throwing together your own DIY dressings based on what's in season. You can purchase Andrew's ebook here.

My mid-afternoon snack was Crudites with Mock Sour Cream and Chive Dip from Raw Food Made Easy. Made with creamy, blended cashews, this sauce was dare-I-say better than many vegan ranch dressings I've tried:

Finally, dinner was a couple of Italian Herb Collard Wraps from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen:

These were stuffed with sunflower seed-based Sunny Dill Cheese, avocado, sundried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and scallions. Full disclosure: I actually blanched the collard leaves for one minute in boiling water (somebody call the raw police!) to make them more pliable and tasty. Past experiences with raw collards that haven't been blanched weren't so memorable. Here's a pre-rolling shot:

And on the side, I had the April recipe in Sarah Kramer's 2011 Go Vegan wall calendar — Beth's Fresh 'n' Tasty Raw Slaw, a mix of grated apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, raisins, walnuts, and olive oil:

I'm sipping a cup of hot miso right now, one of the few warm treats I allow myself on raw day. Of course, I also allow myself coffee in the morning. I mean, giving that up would be plum crazy.

Delicious as though today's eats were, I'm looking forward to my Gimme Lean soy sausage and Earth Balanced toast in the a.m.