Tuesday, April 5, 2011

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.

16 comments:

chocolate-covered katie said...

Awwww yay you tried the fudge! You always eat so well... if you weren't a journalist, you could be a chef! (A personal chef for me!) Or you could be a photographer. (A personal photographer for me?) Can you just move to Texas and be my best friend? :)
I always love reading about your raw days, with all the lovely wraps, smoothies, and dips. It makes me say, "Katie, you should make some of this stuff!" But then when mealtime rolls around, I get lazy :(.

POPshop & Spazz Records said...

Wow- the collard wraps (and possible Ani quote) are my fave! I've had issues with totally raw collards in wraps too...I think I might break raw rules and boil a little too- it looks much better!

vegan.in.brighton said...

Yay, raw food Tuesday! Everything looks delicious.

VeggieLow said...

those wraps look awesome! i tried to do raw once a week a year or so ago and it got too hard... maybe once a month is a good goal!

Keri - I Eat Trees said...

That all looks so awesome! I've been wanting to get one of Ani's books. When bloggers make her recipes I'm always drooling over the photos!

Just Us said...

Your raw day looks awesome! I needed those flax crackers with my salad today! Looks like Ani's Raw Food Kitchen is going to be the next raw cookbook that I get.
The next time I get to Memphis, I will be sure to let you know...maybe we can get together for lunch. My schedule has been so crazy that I just haven't had time to make it there. :(

Eve said...

Is it bad that I just realized Gimme Lean is a play on Jimmy Dean?

dreaminitvegan said...

I've so been out of the loop for too long.

Yum collard wraps and fudge!
Spring is a great time to start back on the the Raw Food Tuesdays.

Alan Roettinger said...

Hi Bianca!

I was thinking of you yesterday. I don't get a chance to browse the blogs much(too busy keeping my own blog going!), but yours is always a treat.

Great shots of the collard wraps! It almost looks like you blanched the leaves to get a pliable leaf with a nice green color. Did ya, huh, did ya?

Keep it comin'!
Big hug.

Emma said...

That looks amazing! That sounds like a good habit to me.

Emma said...

That looks amazing! That sounds like a good habit to me.

foodfeud said...

Raw days are great - I can't wait for your (or my) next one. The fudge looks great, and the wrap! Sundried tomatoes and cherry tomatoes - you wild thing.

Debra said...

I love raw food! :-) All of it looks yummy!

Blessings, Debra
Raw Vegan Diet

bitt said...

When I gave my dad a collard wrap (all raw) he told me I should blanch the wraps too. Never tried it. Perhaps marinating it might help it break down a bit and keep it raw.

Sara Maia said...

A raw-food day sounds like a great idea. I might try & incorporate a raw-food day into my week & see how it goes. Great ideas on here & still looks absolutely delicious! I'm looking forward to trying this out x

Addicted to Veggies said...

Yay! Love this post!