Raw Friends Feast & Fun!

Last Saturday we got together for our Raw Friends Potluck Feast. It was so much fun! We all got to try new Rawlicious dishes. Sheila, Susan, Chuck and Hiagi got us going through the buffet line.

For an appetizer I made Cashew Cheeze Stuffed Tomatoes and we all loved it. You can also use this creamy mixture to fill baby sweet peppers, button mushroom caps or celery sticks.

CASHEW CHEEZE STUFFED TOMATOES
From Jana Stratton

2 C raw cashews
juice of 2 lemons
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 C water
2 pkgs coctail-size tomatoes

Process cashews in the food processor until fine. Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. Place the mixture into a pastry bag and pipe into hollowed out coctail tomatoes, baby sweet peppers, button mushroom caps or celery sticks. For a simpler method, just spoon the mixture into the veggies. Top with a cilantro leaf or sprig of curly parsley.

New Rawbie, Eleni, loved trying all the new culinary delights!

This was Sheila's first day going all raw! She brought a wonderful greens and fruits salad with 3 different kinds of salad dressings for us to try out. We all had our favorites, but the one we loved the most was the bright orange one in the middle.

MRS. ACKERLEY'S DRESSING
In Alissa Cohen's "Living on Live Food" book
From Sheila

1/2 C olive oil
1/3 C onion
1/4 C red bell pepper
1 carrot
2 TB apple cider vinegar
1 TB honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
dash pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. This is also great as a veggie marinade. (I tried it drizzled over my Cashew Cheeze Stuffed Mushrooms the next day and it was yummy!)

Shauna was a great sport, trying everything and I think she even liked most of it. What fun we had telling funny, disastrous, food stories!

Susan brought a delicious dish that was reminiscent of Lomi Lomi Salmon. She dubbed it, "Lomi Lomi Stamin-a", a great reflexion of how fantastic you feel eating all this raw living food! Hiagi even brought home fresh coconuts, grated the coconut meat and got the milk out for this recipe. Talk about fresh!!

LOMI LOMI STAMIN-A
From Susan

2 cloves garlic
2 mini red/orange bell peppers
1/8 head cauliflower
2-3 large ripe tomatoes, cut up
1/4 onion, diced finely
1/2 zucchini, diced
1 orange bell pepper, cubed
juice of 1 lime and 1/2 tsp grated lime rind
milk from one grated coconut
1/2 C grated coconut meat

Process garlic, peppers and cauliflower in food processor until chopped. Place in large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Chill and enjoy!

It was so fun to have Carolyn at the Raw Friends Feast. She is a talented, beautiful lady and enjoyed all the yummy food.

David and Jenny brought Jack Fruit. Most of us hadn't ever tried it and discovered that it was really good just eaten fresh. Check out the size of that whole fruit and the pods of fruit inside. We learned that when you cut it open it doesn't smell that great, but the fruit is a treat. If you're going to try this unique fruit you should know the secret tip David and Jenny shared - the sticky sap you will get all over your hands and knife can best be cleaned off with vegetable oil. Yep, sure enough, it worked like magic. Try some of this fruit in your smoothies or freeze the fruit and use a little in your raw ice cream!

Oh, how we love cherry season! We were treated to fresh, juicy cherries by Shauna and Carolyn and what a sweet treat it was!

Dessert was Raw Banana Splits. Gooey, chocolatey banana splits - mmmmm the luxury! Some of us actually started our meal with these! That's one of the beauties of eating raw food, it's ALL so good for you!

JANA BANANA SPLITS

From Jana Stratton

Bananas, 1 for each person

Cut one section of the peel off each banana from stem to base and discard leaving the banana flesh exposed. Slice the banana inside the remaining peel into 1/2" slices. Place in serving dish.

Chocolate Sauce:

1 C cacao powder

1 C agave

1/2 C coconut oil or coconut butter

1/4 C water

In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Drizzle over bananas.

Caramel Sauce:

2 C cashews (soaked for two hours if possible)

1 C agave

1 tsp vanilla

water

Place cashews in food processor and mix until finely ground. Add agave and vanilla and process until mixed. Add water slowly, little by little to achieve a thick, creamy consistency. Chilling will firm this up, but you can use immediately if you like it softer. Drizzle over bananas.

Drizzle a little agave over bananas.

Sprinkle bananas with:

Chopped pecans

cacao nibs

Top it all off with a fresh, juicy cherry, now indulge in banana bliss!

Well, we had a great relaxing evening sharing ideas, jokes and fun. We wished you were there, but hope to see you next month when we get together for our RAW FRIENDS FEAST!

ALL OR NOTHING? NO WAY - EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS!

As some people try to adopt a Raw Diet they get discouraged if they eat something cooked and give it all up thinking that they are a failure and can't do it. Whoa Nelly! That kind of extreme "All-Or-Nothing" thinking is too harsh. Where is the love? Give yourself a break and realize that every little bit of raw, fresh, whole, delicious, nutritious food you add to your diet is a step in the right direction.

If you're not ready to go 100% Raw there are many ways to gradually add raw foods into your lifestyle at a pace that's best for you. The key is to think about what you can ADD to your diet rather than what you cannot have. Look through these ideas and see if any of them sound like they'd work for you:

1. Drink a green smoothie every day! This is the #1, best first step. Just doing this will add a ton of nutrients to your body and decrease cravings for cooked food. You will also find that you start to crave fruits and vegetables because your body loves how they make you feel!

2. Eat raw for breakfast and lunch, then have a healthy cooked dinner. Fruits and smoothies are easy to substitute for breakfast and a big salad is great for lunch. Dinners are a little more difficult because you are usually eating with your family and you are probably used to having a heavier meal. As you discover good raw dinner recipes and learn how great it feels to be satisfied but not stuffed and tired after eating dinner you can switch to a raw dinner, too.

3. Choose one day a week to eat all RAW. After a couple of weeks add a second "All Raw" day, then add another, until soon you're all raw every day!

4. Add fruits and/or veggies to every meal and eat them first. Then if you want other food, go ahead and eat it.

One big key to success is to remember that if you feel hungry - eat more! Fruit is particularly good due to the carbohydrates and natural sugar that is slowly absorbed into your body. Make your own raw trail mix with nuts and dried fruits to snack on when you are out and about. Keep bananas, apples or oranges with you for times when you get hungry but aren't near any good foods. You will naturally start wanting less to eat after you have been eating raw for awhile because you will be getting so much more nutrition from your food you won't need as much of it to satisfy and fuel your body. The best thing is to listen to your body and what it needs. You will find as you start feeding your body the best foods that you will start knowing just what your body needs to thrive!

Just do what you can - improve a little every day - and love yourself enough to take care of YOU. You're awesome and you are worth it!!