What's for Lunch

When I first heard of rawfood eating, I had a lot of the same questions as you, even though I was already a vegan and knew a great deal about nutrition. Immediately after I tell people of our raw food vegan way of eating, I get a lot of questions. 

One of those is "What do you eat?" 

I think to think this particular query is so funny because at first people assume raw food vegans subsist on virtually no food. Wrongo! I eat so much! My family eats so much!

• So much healthy food. 
  
• So much variety. 
  
• So much energy-giving food. 
  
• So much freshness.
  
• So much nutrient-rich fruits.
  
• So much  nutrient-rich veggies.
  
• So much!
  

For example, lunch for my son and I today was as follows:

- corn on the cob (raw, don't cook it! and please don't put butter on it either)

- cauliflower, pea & dill salad

- some soaked raw sunflower seeds mixed with some black beans & chopped onions

- a couple of large lettuce leaves

We started out chomping our way through the corn on the cob. Then I made "boats" out of my lettuce and the sunflower/bean/onion concoction, whereas my son ate the plain ole beans. He likes his lettuce on the side if you please! And we finished with the cauliflower/pea/dill salad. My son also had some steamed yams and potatoes from yesterday with a dash of sea salt...and some mustard and ketchup!

Variety. Nourishment. Living foods. Freshness. That is what was for lunch today!

--> For my next few posts I will address some of the common questions you probably have for this way of eating. If you have something you would like to ask, please leave it for me in the comments section following the posting.

--> Also, I am trying a no-fat approach to eating for a couple of months. In support of my mom-in-law who is recovering from a heart attack and other severe health challenges, my husband and I have sent her a book entitled "Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease" by Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn. Go to www.heartattackproof.com for more information. 

His basic premise for prevention and a virtual drug-free treatment is a vegan eating plan topped off with a nice hunk of NO FAT ALLOWED. His book is impressive and the results from this method are astonishing. So, if I am asking someone to do something with their dietary choices, I am going to do it too. As of last week I cut out all of my almonds, avocados, and cold-pressed olive oil. I don't look at what I cannot have, I look at what I can and do have...

• Education
• Health
• Vitality
• Fresh Fruits & Veggies & Seeds
• Energy

So, stay tuned for more questions and answers regarding raw food eating and my progress on the no-fat train. 

Book & Website

I have a new favorite book for raw food recipes..."Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People" by Jennifer Cornbleet. What I love about this book is that she uses simple ingredients found in your local grocery/health food store and that she uses basic kitchen equipment (blender & food processor). The book has chapters devoted to the basics of raw food eating, kitchen set-up, a glossary, and resources. Also, the recipes are nicely divided into breakfast, lunch and dinner categories.

I love this book! Finally I found a raw food recipe book that is simple! You can also visit Ms. Cornbleet's website at www.learnrawfood.com for a sampling of the recipes, photos and lots more info. I have put a link to her site and the data about her book in the sidebar to the right -->

Let me give you a hint on a fabulous dessert...Flourless Chocolate Cake...is soooooogooooood! You will find the recipe on her site. There are only a few ingredients. One note, I would use raw carob or raw cocoa powder. Her recipe doesn't specify "raw" for those ingredients, but that is what I used and it was divine.

Remember that these recipes are for 1 or 2 people and raw food desserts are quite rich and fulfilling, so don't be taken aback at the smallish size  ;-)

Here are a couple photos of my son. I gave him some of the cake "batter" and he made his own pancake-sized version. I think he is a raw food chef in the making...he put some almond crumbles on top and added some walnut shells "so the people know what's in it, mom!"