Cauliflower? Really??

I hate cauliflower...no offense to the cauli but really, it's strong, it's bitter...

But I keep seeing recipes that look absolutely amazing...yummy looking...and cauliflower is the base...and since I have a ton of cauliflower in my fridge left over from the holidays...meant for Crudités and not used at the last second because it didn't seem necessary...which basically means I just really don't like cauliflower...

I decided to make one of the recipes I saw online that looked super yummy, amazing, delicious, even though I was apprehensive it would be any of those things...

Of course, I didn't have all of the ingredients...like asparagus and miso...and lets face it, some ingredients are hard to find if you live in more rural parts of America as I discovered on my recent trip to my daughter's house in rural KY...so I decided to make due with what I had.
So, I changed the recipe immensely...but kept the general creamy feel...creamy being the key word because rich and creamy means comfort food to me...Since I'm not afraid to alter recipes. This wasn't really a challenge. The trick was, using what I had AND keeping it low fat.

Tangent: Here's a key gripe about a lot of raw food recipes I find, everything is marinated in oil and I cannot have oil...basically a drizzle of oil in my salad means I've ruined my 10gram goal for the day in one sitting, let alone the amounts (tablespoons and multiple ounces a lot of the recipes I see call for) ... So I have to adapt everything.

Example: Mushrooms do not need to be marinated in oil to get a "meaty texture"...and really, I don't necessarily want a "meaty texture" anyway...but sometimes I do marinate, using nama shoyu only. If you cannot find nama shoyu, my next choice would be a high end organic tamari (I spend a little more money on organic ingredients because the whole point of changing my diet was to get rid of all the toxins in my body and keep them out as much as possible)

So here is what I did for this lovely Cauliflower Salad, which the original recipe called a "Risotto"...she served a heated version (I think dehydrating and freezing alters the nutritional value of the food so I've been avoiding both whenever I can) and I'm keeping mine room temperature...

Creamy Cauliflower Salad with Spicy Mushrooms

Need for Spicy Mushrooms:
Mushrooms
Onion
Olives
Nama Shoyu
Hot Sauce

Need for Salad:
Cauliflower
Red Pepper
Carrot
Thyme (fresh is best, dried if fresh unavailable)
**Hummus

1. Marinated chopped mushrooms, onions, some raw olives in nama shoyu and hot sauce overnight but several hours would be sufficient. I made about 2 cups total.
2. 1 head finely chopped Cauliflower (about 2 cups)
3. finely chopped 1/3 of a Red Pepper
4. shredded a 5" piece of Carrot
5. Mixed cauliflower, red pepper, and carrot in a bowl with 1 T thyme
6. Added 6 T Super Garlicky Hummus

Allowed all flavors to combine in fridge for 2 hours...served with spicy marinated mushrooms on the side...and a huge mixed green salad with dried figs, sliced apples, sunflower seeds and a honey/apple dressing...

The most exciting part was the calorie/fat/nuitrition breakdown:
51 Cal    1.4 gFat   2.2gProtein  23%VitA  60%VitC  19%B6  10%B5

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, maybe...I am the writer, so I prefer words...but here's a picture too...

OMG...this meal was so delicious! And that from the girl who hates cauliflower. So this is definitely a keeper recipe

I am learning to not be afraid to keep trying veggies I previously didn't like, sometimes again and again, because I am finding that the longer I am on my raw journey, the more my tastebuds are changing. I didn't like kale before this summer. Now, I can't get enough of it. I didn't like coconut juice or water...now I drink about twenty ounces a day! (very alkaline and awesome for the body) And now CAULIFLOWER!

I see much more of this veggie in my future:)

**I always keep several flavors of hummus in my fridge...right now I have Super Garlicky which I made using this recipe because it didn't call for oil. I used Raw Tahini which I found at the health food store. And tripled the garlic called for. The blogger offers two recipe versions one that calls for tahini and one that solely calls for sesame seeds also a bonus for those days I don't have tahini in the house and always have an abundance of nuts and seeds...btw in a pinch pine-nuts or sunflower seeds can be substituted for the sesame seeds...I know because I've done both. If you absoltely have to have the oily, fat to help your hummus feel more (commercial) top with a drizzle of sesame oil to the final product...

Over It...

I can officially say, "I am over it."
It being...
Fast food:
yes, I can drive by all those bright and shining buildings now with their empty promises, and piles o'msg and not drool on myself...
Dairy:
cheese? ick. milk? double ick. eggs? hmmm...maybe have to keep working on that one...
Cooked anything:
over it!! don't ask me about yesterday...
ok, I'll tell you anyway.
I went to Kroger for Strawberries and a few other Veggie Essentials... and omg...the smell coming from the chinese restaurant next door was divine... so I bought all the veggies for stir -fry.. and didn't stir-fry..but steamed them... and they were okay...no big win... what was a big win was the sauce!!!

Oriental Sauce Divine
1 lg piece pineapple 2"x4" chunk
1/4c orange juice
1" piece ginger
3 cloves garlic
1-2 hot peppers
1 T tamari
1/4c maple syrup
five spice to taste...
blend well in blender or vitamix

In the future this will be liberally drizzled over my fav uncooked veggies whenever I am craving chinese...

And AVOID the gut pain I am in today after only two meals of steamed veggies...
Did I say I'm over it? You betcha!!!

Sunday, Another Faire Weekend Passes

I SURVIVED RAW for the WEEKEND!
Preparation payed off big time!!!

I packed more food than I needed, including 32 ounces of "Goatsblood Smoothie" ( beets lol) multiple bananas, apples. Today was especially sucessful in the not hungry, not craving anything department thanks to a lot of late night prep last night. In addition to the Smoothie, I packed RAW TOSTADAS!!!

Yes, I dehydrated corn tortillas and nut/mushroom "meat"... I made "sour cream" from cashews and limes OMG sooo good I could eat the whole bowl...oops, I did ;P ...and I'm paying for the total fat today, but soooo good!!! Oh yeah, I said that already... and Pico de Gallo. This was a super yummy raw-lifestyle-saver! Whew!!!

Onward!
The best part is that I FEEL GOOD. Yes, I'm on the Simponi now and it has made a huge difference in my life, but honestly...it works for 3 weeks out of 4 and that fourth week has been brutal. I've dreaded this week (forth week) ever since I got my last injection...and it hasn't been horrible. I actually went to the RA doc on Thursday for a pre-planned steroid shot to get me through the "bad days" and I don't think I would have needed it. Next month I'm testing the theory and not getting the preventative. Why would I do that? Taking a chance I might not be able to do faire at all on the fourth weekend? Because I think I'm on the right track. That's how much better I feel RAW compared to Not-Raw. Do I plan to stop the biologic? Not a chance... ask me in a year after I've been 100% raw. I'm smart enough to know that this damaging disease didn't take a few weeks to set in motion...cell regeneration takes time and my body has a whole lotta damage to correct. But just taking fewer NSAIDS and fewer Steroids will be an awesome benefit, hopefully dropping down to no NSAID's and No Steroids!! And even though I'm still very aware I have a degenerative joint disease...the IBF/undiagnosed** Crohn's Disease symptoms are gone. GONE! It has happened every single time I' attempted raw in the past, so I expected the same results this time...and since September 1st I've had no gut issues whatsoever. Nothing. That's amazing. I also haven't needed to take a single Tums (antacid) and I had a 2-4 habit a night going. I'm definitely on the right track!! Here's the Raw Caesar Salad that I am telling everyone about. Even hubby agrees its one of the best Caesar Salads he's ever had ... we're having it again tomorrow!

**Having lived with what I considered IBF all my life, and many RA patients also have Crohn's, my RA doctor suggested a lot of tests to prove I have Crohn's Disease...and I refused all of them. I really don't try to be difficult. I just don't think that barium enema's, colonoscopy's, endoscopy's or MRI's are necessary. Something is wrong with my guts. Period. I don't need tests or an exploratory look around when I know that seven full days of RAW fixes me...

Day Three

Today was the start of Ohio Renaissance Festival and I was able to work!! (After announcing my retirement due to health reasons last year) So that made me very, very happy.

One hundred and five degrees in the shade did not make me happy...
I dropped five pounds.
I'm not hungry. I haven't been hungry all day. Air-conditioning spoiled me this year, not that I'm complaining about all the modern conveniences of the new house. I like air conditioning, and filtered artesian well water, and lots of space to disappear in...

Food today was:
Breakfast:
Goatblood Smoothie (seriously, all it is is beet's and strawberries)


Lunch:
Mango Salad


Dinner: 
Tomatoes

I didn't do a calorie/fat breakdown...I know it's low, probably too low...
I drank a ton of water and went prepared with 2 bottles lime water, I love lime water...

Lime Water Recipe
Juice 6 key limes
1 T honey
24 ounces water

Mango Blueberry Salad

Staying true to my bright colorful lunch theme. It doesn't get better than this salad served on top of a bed of romaine...Yummy

Mango Blueberry Salad

2 cps ripe mango peeled
1/2 to 3/4 cp blueberries
Juice 2 Limes
3 Basil Leaves diced (or herb you prefer)
1-2 T black sesame seeds

Just hand-stir and serve

Another One?

Does The World Really Need Another RAW Food Blog?

If you google RAW food you will find dozens of pages...hundreds of blogs...more ex-chefs turned RAW-chefs selling everything from cookbooks to supplements to their personal advice and life-coaching skills for a lot of moolah...
So in answer to the question...NO! The world does not need another one of those...

This blog is for me... a way to keep myself accountable because I keep falling off the RAWwagon... and for my friends who are kind enough to email me asking for the ingredients to the last fab smoothie I posted on Facebook:) There is no promise I will never, ever, ever write a RAW cookbook (I am a writer) and I never, ever, ever try to second guess the fates... but for now, it is not my plan or intention so if you are here and enjoy a recipe use it. Just please do not re-post as your own.
And with that said, I present the first recipe. A smoothie, of course.

Perfect Summer Morning Starter

1cp Summer Squash, 6-7 Baby Carrots 

1Banana, 1 cp Pineapple, 3/4 cp grapes

1 cp Organic Lemonade

1 cp Water


Blend all except water at Medium speed until all veggies are smooth increase to High Speed for about a minute (if you use a blender as I do this smoothie will have "texture" add enough water at this point so that you do not feel like you have to chew...) I add 1cp Water and mix for a few seconds on High


Supplies 2 Veggies, 3 Fruits approx approx 271 calories (for 90 reduced calories use all water no lemonade)