Sushi... RAWvisions, even better than last time!

Sushi!

The raw vegan sushi I made the other night was so good, I found myself craving more, but wanting to tweak a few things. Main adjustment: I threw the cauliflower in the food processor with some Bragg Liquid Aminos (like soy sauce, but SO much better for you!), and I worked on my technique to make some artful, tiny, tightly rolled sushi this time around. They came out MUCH better, and prettier too! I was a little nervous to throw a raw asparagus spear in there, but it was quite yum! I also made some yummy seaweed salad from some dried wakame seaweed (soak for about 5 minutes and rinse thoroughly to bring back to life). It had some sesame oil, salt, pepper, cumin, a smidge of curry, and of course... sesame seeds. It was a delicious meal!

Raw Asian Inspired Meal, yum!

I can't believe I'm already five days in! I haven't noticed any detox side effects yet, although I have been tired... could easily be that I haven't been getting enough sleep. Other than that, I am finally starting to feel full and satisfied faster and with less food, which is great because I tend to overeat otherwise. It's going so well, and I'm not having any food craving devils on my shoulder!

Raw Vegan Sushi Anyone? YESSS Please!!!

I've always wondered how I would go about making yummy sushi without fish, and especially without rice! Last night we decided to try making some incredible raw vegan sushi and it came out even better than expected! I managed to find some Raw (untoasted) Nori sheets to roll the sushi in (rolling mat a must!), and we filled it with some sliced cucumber, mushroom, carrots, some clover sprouts and lettuce. As the "rice" I had some cauliflower that I ran through the food processor with a little oil, it was perfect! SO good! I always figured sushi making would be difficult, but what could be easier than throwing a bunch of stuff out on a wrap and rolling it up! Ok, granted, slight learning curve to getting a tightly wrapped sushi roll as you have to be careful not to overfill it, but it was so much fun to make! If these first couple days of fruit smoothies, awesome salads and sushi is an indication of how yummy this month is going to be, consider me excited!!! Today is day three in my 30 days, and I feel pretty much the same as I did when I started with the exception of knowing I am doing so much better for my body by eating this way than I was previous. Today was a difficult one from the temptations of deliciousness around the workplace, but I powered through it!

Raw Veg Sushi!

Mmmm, SO many new Raw Dishes!

I'm closing in on the end of week 3 of being raw, I'm 8lbs down from when I started, and am feeling great! I'm getting even better at stepping outside of my recipe box and trying new things. I "blossomed" some wild rice by soaking it and rinsing twice a day for 5 days (it softens so you can eat it without cooking!), and made some fabulous "mashed potatoes" out of cauliflower! It was delicious and easy, you just process down a small head of cauliflower (about 2 1/2 cups) with about 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts, a teaspoon of salt, and a little garlic. I would go easy on the garlic because I did half of a large clove, and felt it was a bit much. If you food process it for a while, it gets to have that same consistency as mashed potatoes! I got this recipe courtesy of Matt Amsden, author of RawVolution (my new favorite raw cookbook!).



I also toyed around with a seaweed salad, because I've been addicted to it when going out to restaurants. A couple weeks back when I went to the Asian Supermarket, I found a bag of dried seaweed, which only has to be soaked for about 10 minutes to be ready to go. I put some sesame oil, salt (because I rinsed all the natural salt out), a bit of ginger, and some tahini in, along with some sesame seeds... YUM!

I just started soaking some quinoa, which like the wild rice, will sprout and be soft enough to eat in a couple of days. I feel like I have so many options for delicious food now, and am getting really excited about all of my raw dishes. I do think that because I see myself sticking to being at least 80% raw after my 30 days, I may need to invest in a dehydrator. There are so, SO many things I could make if I had one. I'm debating it heavily, do you guys have one and find it to be a useful tool in your kitchen?

The Girl With the Dragon... FRUIT! My Love for Asian Supermarkets

I only live about an hour away from Albany, NY, so when I was there last weekend and noticed an Asian supermarket, I had to go! I obviously love my fruits and veggies, so I was excited for the opportunity to get some exotic produce. I loaded up on my edamame (which you can find in most grocery stores), got some sea weed, kelp, thai eggplant, and a beautiful dragon fruit (amongst other yummy things). I had never had an actual dragon fruit before, and the medium sized one I got was about $8, so I was hoping it'd be good! *Note - ignore my silly photo, skin is inedible! Anyways, yum! The meat inside was was subtly sweet, and reminded me more of a kiwi fruit than anything else. You just peel all the skin back, slice, and enjoy! Could it be any easier? And it all looks so perrrrty!

So as I said, I bought some thai eggplants as well at this market. They are very different looking compared to the big long purple ones we usually see in the supermarket. They were about tennis ball size or smaller, and perfectly round, and green! So cute. Anyways, I decided to whip up a yummy masala with them in it, and it came out delicious! Granted, I put my Asian eggplant in an Indian dish, but oh well, I didn't know what else to do with them! So because it was scrumptious, I'll share the recipe that I used, courtesy of The Happy Herbivore (http://happyherbivore.com) by Lindsay S. Nixon (my fav vegan cookbook!).

Chana Palak Masala (Altered by me to include my awesome eggplant!)
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 12oz. can peeled whole tomatoes with juices
1 15oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 12oz. bag baby spinach, fresh or frozen
10 (or so) thai eggplants, unpeeled and quartered
1 c. water or vegetable broth (I bumped this up to 2-3 cups because of the amount of eggplant)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp mild curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground ginger
red pepper flakes, as desired
1/2 to 1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

1. Sounds yummy already, doesn't it? Line large pot with a thin layer of water and saute onion and garlic over medium heat until translucent, about 3 minutes.
2. If using eggplant: Add tomatoes with their juices, broth/water, and eggplant. Cook, covered over medium heat, for about 10 minutes until eggplant is soft and just about done. Then add chickpeas and spinach, cover, and cook for about 4 more minutes until spinach cooks down.
3. If not using eggplant: Add tomatoes with their juices, chickpeas, spinach, and broth/water. Cover and cook over medium heat until spinach cooks down, about 4 minutes.
4. Using wooden spoon or firm spatula, break tomatoes apart.
   
5. Add remaining ingredients except garam masala, cover, and cook for 3 more minutes.
6. Add garam masala, stirring to combine, and cook for another 2 minutes.
7. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes, allowing for flavors to merge.
8. ENJOY!