I've also spent a lot of time looking at recipes and looking at things that I can do as I transition from a high starch vegan to a raw vegan. I'm still in that stage of figuring things out and in the process of waiting on an order I placed for a juicer so I can begin a week long detox. In the meantime I've been using what I have left in my fridge as far as fruits and vegetables as well what I had left in tofu and tempeh. I only had a little left and wanted to use what I had remaining before walking away from it completely.
While this isn't the first time that I've started down this path to being a RAW Vegan, this is the first time I have had others on this journey with me and because of them, I have a lot more information to help me as I learn. I know I can succeed on this path and I know I can get through some of the struggles ahead while at the same time learning about nutritional balance and recipe variety.
Variety was one of my struggles the first time I tried going from a vegetarian to a raw vegan and one of the worries that I had when considering my journey this time. Can I get the variety and tastes that I enjoy as a vegan who is use to cooking food and who is use to using tofu, tempeh, and vegan cheeses as a base in some of my meals. The first time that I turned to being a raw vegan, about four years ago, I found myself eating primarily raw fruit, a hand full of nuts, and salads. I had no idea what I was doing. I only knew that I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle. As tasty as the fruits, nuts and salads were, it left me feeling like I was giving up something and it left me feeling dissatisfied. I felt like I had no where to turn for the education and recipes that I needed. I didn't have a dehydrator, I didn't have the support I do know, and I didn't know that I could incorporate a lot of what I do now into a raw vegan eating plan. It didn't take long for me to switch back to being a vegetarian. I think part of it was also that I was still eating fish, cheese, and yogurt. Switching back not only gave me the variety that I needed, but the spices that I craved as well. It has taken me a long time to get back to this point again. I was afraid I would run in to the same problem and I was uncertain that I could I live a life of a raw vegan without getting bored and without feeling lost. But, I have since seen, in the last year, from companies like RAW Inc! that there are soooooo many things that can be made, including sweet tasty treats, YUMMY raw goodness.
A couple of things I did struggle with this week. Thinking ahead for food preparation. I didn't really put a lot of thought into what I would need ahead of time and I'm not able to go grocery shopping till this weekend. So, I felt a little limited this week. I also missed having hot food this week, I'm not going to lie. I like hot food. Especially now in the cold months.
Winter months are the months I prepare a lot of soups: split pea and lentil soup being my favorites. I know that I can still prepare them by sprouting the beans and incorporating all the spices and vegetables that I would normally add, but it's the warmth of the soup that I crave in the winter. I need to check to see if I can still warm it up just as long as I keep it below 115 degrees. Advice greatly appreciated :)
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| RAW Vegan Fruit Blended Parfait by Mary Anne Benner |
During this least week however, I have been going through what I have left in the refrigerator and working on recipes with what I currently have on hand. This morning I made this delicious raw vegan blended fruit parfait using pears, bananas, raw almonds, cinnamon, and raw sunflower oil and seeds. it was DELICIOUS. It also gave me another idea. I'm going to purchase raw vegan cocoa when I go grocery shopping this weekend and test out the idea. If it's as tasty as I think it's going to be, I will share the recipe next week. I'm planning on doing a video blog session for next week so I'll shoot video of me preparing it as well. I will do my best to measure ingredients. Normally I just cook with what feels right when I'm preparing it. I never measure spices, but I will try for this. Wish me luck!
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| RAW Vegan Stuffed Portobello Mushroom by Mary Anne Benner |
MMM, another recipe I put together last night was a stuffed portobello mushroom made with raw sunflower seeds, spinach, nutritional yeast, onions, green peppers, fresh garlic, basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary. Great taste and aroma. The only thing I would have preferred would be for the mushroom to be softer. I normally prepare the mushrooms in a pan on the stove which softens them up.
Is it wrong to warm things up?
I still have a lot to learn, after all it's only been a week and while there are some things I'm going to miss (pasta and warm soup), I am excited to know that I have a lot of variety ahead of me and good friends for support and knowledge.
Prepared to incorporate my italian background and my love for baking tasty treats into Raw Vegan recipes. I am determined to tweak a lot of what I prepare normally through the process of cooking so I can enjoy it as a raw vegan.
Peace and Love
Mary Anne
Mary Anne is the owner of Ailgif Studios, Ailgif Media, and Ailgif Memories. She lives with the love of her life, she is a mother of two grown sons, a mother in-law to two daughter in-laws, and a Nonna to a sweet little granddaughter. She is a photographer, videographer, and visual anthropologist with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Anthropology. Her primary focus is in documentary photography and ethnographic multi-media projects for an applied purpose. Mary Anne's work as a photographer and videographer has been used by advocacy groups and health organizations to bring awareness to social issues and chronic health issues. She also provides her skills as a photographer to low income individuals in her community who are in need of photography services.
To contact Mary Anne email: maryanne@ailgifstudios.com
You can marinate mushrooms in some nama shoyu, raw honey or maple syrup, and olive oil for 10 mns or longer to give it a softer texture.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is ok to warm foods up - a lot of raw foodists use dehydrators for this purpose.
Thank you for the advice Carine. I'll try the olive oil next time for sure and I'll probably mix it with a few spices prior to rubbing it onto the mushroom.
ReplyDelete