Sunday, October 21, 2012

Brad's Raw Challenge: Day 6 and 7


Day 6 (Saturday, October 20, 2012)

Sorry I missed my daily post! It was for a very good reason I promise. I spent some quality time with family singing, dancing and best of all, laughing. That’s worth missing a post right!?

This weekend has been very busy! Friday I was in the kitchen all night making apple pie; Saturday I was in the kitchen all day making cinnamon rolls; and Sunday I spent most of my day grocery shopping and doing tons of cleaning. So due to lack of time, everything I ate was unfortunately not as exciting as normal.

Morning Routine:

I skipped my lemon water and instead enjoyed one the most flavorful raw coconut waters on the market by Harmless Harvest. It honestly tastes like the water straight from a young coconut; sweet, refreshing and very coconutty. :)

Breakfast:

I reattempted the Superfood Pudding using about 1/4-1/3 cup of young coconut meat this time and sure enough it came out smooth, creamy and perfectly pudding like. I love, love, loved it! I revamped it a bit by adding some raw cacao powder and a couple of teaspoons of honey to sweeten it up to make a chocolate version of the coconut pudding. I topped it off with raspberries, raw cacao nibs, some fresh coconut shreds and raw buckwheat. It was a super delicious and super satisfying breakfast! After all who doesn’t love choco for b-fast!? I definitely plan on making it again and next time I'll jot down the proper measurements to provide you a more accurate recipe because I did change it a bit.

Lunch: 

I nibbled on an apple and drank kombucha while I worked in the kitchen.

Dinner:

Since I knew I was going to be enjoying dinner at my Tita’s house, I made my dinner in advance so I’d have something to eat while I was there. When it comes to Filipino cookin’, the words “raw” and “vegan” don’t exist; unless it is dessert and then well almost everything is vegan! Trust me, it was tempting to nibble on some coconut soup with bananas, sweet potatoes and tapioca...

I had a craving for chili after making chili for my husband Friday night. However, I didn’t have the mushrooms I needed to make chili like chili…but I did have the ingredients to make Mexican chili and so THAT is what I made! I placed it on top of a massaged kale salad and served it with some of Brad’s amazing raw, beet flavored chips. Nom nom. 

It was really flavorful. My dad even liked it!  

Raw Massaged Kale Salad
  • Kale leaves, cut into strips
  • Raw hemp oil
  • Lemon juice
  • Salt
  1. Place the kale in a bowl and top with a nice drizzle of hemp oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a sprinkle of salt. 
  2. Using your hands, “massage” or squeeze the kale together until the kale begins to darken, soften and wilt. 
  3. Taste and season as needed.

Raw Chili Sans Carne

I used the exact recipe from Young and Raw. Click here for the recipe. I did omit the yellow onion and replaced it with green onions. I also omitted the peas and instead added fresh, raw corn!

Photo by New Asian Cuisine
As for dessert, my mom bought my daughter a package of rambutan which I effortlessly ate a majority of. Rambutan is a samll, round hairy looking fruit that holds a white fleshed fruit that tastes similar to lychees.

As for rest of the night…I sang my heart out to old school songs. BSB, N'Sync and lots of Spice Girls for some reason! It was a hilarious and fun night!

And before I knew it, it was Sunday!


Day 7!!! (Sunday, October 21, 2012)

Breakfast:

A nice juicy Matsu apple! My favorite part about fall is the variety of apples available at the farmer's market! My faves are the Nittany and the Jonagold. What's your favorite apple variety?

Lunch:

I was busy so I just grabbed leftover Zucchini Jalapeno hummus and some zucchini bites

Dinner: 

I had a major craving for tacos and thus I made my favorite eggplant tacos! The eggplant serves as the tortilla, the flavor comes mostly from the guac and the veggies add seasoning and crunch!

Eggplant Tortillas
  • One very round eggplant
  • Salt
  1. Slice the eggplant width wise into thin round slices.
  2. Salt the eggplant and allow to sit for 30 minutes or until ready to use.
  3. When the eggplant slices have begin releasing water and they are soft and pliable, rinse well and pat dry.
  4. Use immediately.
Your Favorite Guacamole

I make a mean guacamole but let’s be honest, one guacamole recipe doesn't fit all. Some of us like it with lots of garlic, some with none; lots of lime, no lime…It’s all about preference and thus no recipe will be provided. Just use your favorite recipe or buy it from your fave restaurant! (Like Chipotle!)

Mixed Seasoned Veggies
  • 2 tbsp of red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 tbsp of zucchini, diced
  • 2 tbsp of raw corn kernels
  • 5 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
  • 1 tbsp of green onions, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon of cilantro, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon of cumin powder
  • Salt
  • ½ lime, juiced
  1. Mix all together in a small bowl.
To Assemble 3 tacos:
  1. Spread some guacamole evenly over each eggplant slice. Top with some of the veggie mix and some sprouts.
  2. Fold and devour! Promise me you will ;)
Dessert:

I had chocolate milk cravings so I made a bottle of raw chocolate hemp milk. I’m not one to drink a lot of milk in general but I do enjoy a couple of sips or so. Plus, chocolate milk has a ton of sugar in it so a couple of sips is all I need; especially at night or I'll be on a high forever and won't get any sleep. This creamy chocolate drink perfectly curbed my nighttime sweet tooth cravings.

Chocolate (Peppermint) Hemp Milk
By Gouter
  • 1 cup of creamy hemp milk
  • 1 tbsp of raw cacao powder
  • 3 tbsp of honey (or agave)
  • Pinch of salt
  • Peppermint extract, optional
  1. Place all of them into a blender and blend on high speed for a couple of seconds until well blended. 
Just a note, the honey is bold in this recipe so unless you are a honey fan, I recommend replacing it with a more subtle sweetener like raw sugar or agave.

Sip and enjoy!

Lots of baking, sweet tooth cravings and peppermint!? I think Holiday fever is setting in and I am sooo ready!

Overall, the challenge..well, was a challenge, but it helped me practice self-control. I really focused on what I was eating, which is very important for us all to do on a daily basis to maintain a healthy diet and a healthy weight and in the end I felt great! Annnnd....I just learned the next challenge is November 12-18...who's in with me!? If I provide recipe beforehand will you take the challenge!?

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