Day 2 and a Recipe Gold Mine

Normally by day 2 I start feeling a little sluggish and foggy.  For some reason I feel great.  Ryan?  Not so much.  He's trying to be a good sport but holy cow, this is a BIG change for him.  I'm hoping to avoid being served with divorce papers by the end of the week.  Pray for me.

Here are three of my FAVORITE raw recipes.  Honestly, even if you're not a fan of the whole raw thing, you'll like these.  I swear.

Raw Tacos

2 cups walnuts

1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil

1 Tablespoon Nama Shoyu or tamari

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (plus a pinch or two)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 red pepper, finely chopped

2-3 green onions, finely chopped

5-6 green cabbage leaves

Process walnuts with spices in food processor until desired consistency (be liberal with the cumin and chili powder - more=better).  Be sure not to over process or you'll end up with taco cake.  Remove blade and stir in grapeseed oil, Nama Shoyu, lime juice, red pepper, and green onion.  Mix well.  Serve in cabbage leaves.  Top with raw sour cream, avocado slices, tomatoes and fresh salsa.

Raw Sour Cream

cashews

lemon juice

date water

salt

water

I don't know the exact measurements.  I just throw the cashews into my blender and start adding the other stuff until it tastes right.  It should taste almost EXACTLY  like sour cream.

Raw Brownies

2 cups walnuts

1 1/4 cups medjool dates, pitted*

1/4 cup dried cherries*

1 cup raw cacao

1 cup raw unsalted almonds, roughly chopped

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

dash of vanilla or raw vanilla bean

Place walnuts in food processor and blend on high until the nuts are finely ground.  Add the cacao, salt, and vanilla.  Pulse to combine.  Add the dates one at a time through the feed tube of the food processor while it's running.  You should end up with a mix that appears rather like cake crumbs, but that stick together when pressed.  If mixture does not hold, add more dates.  Stir in the almonds.  Press mixture into 8x8 inch pan and place in the freezer.  Store in fridge or freezer until ready to serve.  These are MUCH easier to cut when frozen.

*Any type of dates work as long as they're pitted.  Make SURE they're pitted or you'll be out a food processor.

*The original recipe only calls for 1 1/2 cup dates, but one time I used some dried cherries because I was short on dates.  The result was incredible!  Kind of like red velvet brownies.  Cherries are a bit pricey when out of season so a good substitute might be dried cranberries.  Or just go with the dates.  Either way, they rock.

Day 3 Menu

breakfast: green shake & almond butter on raw crackers (maybe a banana too - I need a big breakfast...obviously)

snack:  fresh berries and handful of sunflower seeds

lunch:  Ryan - sunshine burger w/ black beans and red peppers, Me - big green salad topped with red peppers, carrots, cucumbers, sesame seeds, and jenny's asian dressing

snack: remainder of green shake and handful of almonds

diner:  Ryan - coconut brown rice w/ side of broccoli and fresh pineapple, Me - raw coconut pasta with side of broccoli and fresh pineapple

snack:  raw brownies...duh

Day 3 is always the hardest.  Stick with it yo!