Brad's 7 Day Raw Challenge: January 2014 - WE DID IT! Ending the challenge with raw ceviche + raw nanaimo bars!

It’s the last day of Brad’s 7 Day Raw Challenge! How exciting is that? We made it through 7 days of raw eating! Not so bad, ‘eh?

Today has been another busy day. The weekends actually are always busy for us. We go grocery shopping once a week because a) we buy everything fresh and so it only lasts for a week at the most and b) if I buy enough food for two weeks, believe me when I say, we will find a way to use it and eat it!! Do I starve my family? No! But they have appetites and can clear food quick. I would be lying if I didn’t say I would do the same. I would probably juice WAY more and eat more fruit as well. But until I figure out this whole buying on a budget thing, buying per week it with our budget will just have to do ;)

I also spent the day prepping for this week’s meals. Vegan, GF for my daughter’s dessert this week; raw Nanaimo bars for dessert for me; and much more!

I sort of had time to eat today. Here’s what I made for Day 7.

Breakfast:

After a warm apple cider vinegar tea, I made a yummy juice smoothie using leftover fruits I had in my pantry. Freshly juiced apple and oranges blended with spinach and frozen mango. Simple, sweet and super energizing! Just what I needed to get through my grocery shopping excursion. 

Lunch:

I didn’t get back til late so lunch was more of a snack than a lunch. While prepping I sipped on a raw Vanilla Choc-Kafe Kombucha by my favorite local ‘boocha makers, MTO! So yumm!

For lunch I made a tasty raw meant-to-be-made coconut ceviche. On Friday, I had finally opened up my young thai coconut that I had in the fridge for 2 weeks to find that, instead of going bad as I assumed, a thick, creamy meat had developed! Score! I worked the meat out of my coconut stuck in the fridge and thought, what to make? That evening I sat down to write my post and while doing so decided to turn on one of Jason Wrobel’s episodes from How to Live to 100 and guess what the episode was about? Coconuts!! He made some seriously mouth-watering dishes but the one that stuck out most was his Coconut Ceviche. I had the main ingredient! All I needed was the rest which I bought today on my grocery trip!

This coconut ceviche is a must try. It’s bursting with vibrant flavors and the coconut meat provides a unique meaty texture. The coconut meat also provides sustenance making it more of a full meal than an appetizer or snack. If you love salsa, you’re going to love this dish! I served it with crappy crafted jicama chips to dip. I was starving :P

Coconut Ceviche with Jicama Chips

By Jason Wrobel

• ½ meat of a young thai coconut, chopped into ½ inch squares or small strips
• ½ lime, juiced
• 1 Tbsp orange juice
• 2-3 Tbsp of green pepper, diced
• Scant ¼ cup chopped tomatoes
• 2-3 Tbsp of cucumber, chopped
• 1 tsp of jalapeno, diced
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 Tbsp of chopped cilantro
• Drizzle of EVOO
• Sprinkle of cayenne
• ¼ avocado, diced
• Jicama chips

1. In a small bowl combine coconut meat, lime and OJ allow to sit.
2. Add the green peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, jalapeno, green onion, parsley, cilantro, EVOO, cayenne and a pinch of salt. Toss to combine. Fold in the diced avocado. Serve immediately with thinly sliced jicama as “chips”.

Dinner:

I wasn’t expecting to be hungry by dinner, but surprisingly I was! I was super busy in the kitchen that I honestly didn’t want to stop so I had to whip up something ASAP. I had just finished making roasted broccoli for my fams dinner and noticed some lonely broccoli stalks just waiting as I decided their fate: keep and eat or throw out. I decided to eat! I shaved most of the outer fibers off and ended up sweet yummy broccoli stalk chips. I needed something to dip it in so I whipped up a quick cheesy dip. Not fancy but overall satisfying!

Quick Cheesy Dip

By Beth Mickens

• 2 Tbsp hemp seeds
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp of lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp of water (or less for a thicker dip)
• Garlic salt

1. Blend til smooth! Serve with your favorite veggies!

Dessert:

I found this recipe over a week ago and finally got a chance to make it tonight: Raw Nanaimo Bars. Now I have no idea what the original Nanaimo bar looks like nor tastes like but it must be great because every raw foodsie I know has tried to remake this delicious bar and I am so digging the raw remakes! A chocolate base, vanilla middle and chocolate candy top! Mmm mmmm!  If you love coconut you’re going to love this dessert. It’s pretty dense so all you need is one square to keep you satisfied and trust me that’s a lot coming from miss eat-more-than-one.

Raw Nanaimo Bars

By Simply Dish

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and you’re ready to go!

For the base…

• 1c of soaked dates
• 1/2c of cacao powder
• 1/2c of unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2c of almonds

1. Process the above in your food processor until it all comes together…about thirty to forty five seconds.
2. Press the mixture into your lined loaf pan, flatten the top and set aside.

For the middle layer…

• 1c of unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2c of coconut oil
• 1/4c of coconut nectar (or agave)
• a pinch of turmeric (optional)
• 2tbsp of coconut flour

1. Process the first four ingredients in your food processor until smooth, remove the blade and stir in your coconut flour.  Now you’re thinking…turmeric?  Yep.  A little goes a long way and it will help you achieve the yellowy look, similar to a ‘traditional’ nanaimo bar.  And I personally think it levels out the sweetness a bit.  Yay!

The mixture will seem a bit moist, that’s only because the coconut oil has melted from the heat of the food processor.  Don’t worry, it all works out.  Pour the mixture over your base and smooth out the top.

Place it all in the freezer for about thirty minutes.

For the top chocolate layer…

• 1/4c of cacao powder
• 2tbsp of coconut oil
• 1/4tsp of vanilla powder

1. Place the ingredients into a stainless steel bowl and rest the bowl over a pot of simmering water just long enough for the oil to melt.  Give it all a good stir and drizzle it over the top of the first two layers.  Because the first to layers have been in the freezer, you’ll want to spread the chocolate fairly quickly so that it doesn’t harden unevenly.

And that is it!! Brad’s 7 Day Raw Challenge for the new year is over! So who’s going to join me next month??? 

*Beth*

Participant Recipes

Banana Date Pudding

From Didi E Aldan

By Loving it Raw

Blend bananas, dates and celery til very smooth. Pour over chopped bananas, dates and top with a walnuts.

Raw Cookies

By Lorraine Medeiros

Mix together almond meal, raw honey, sea salt, chopped walnuts and cacao nibs. Dehydrate on 104 degrees for 6 hours. Enjoy!

Cashew-Cilantro Cheese for Raw Tacos

From  Lucia Morrison

By Sharon 123

 

Cashew-Cilantro Cheeze

• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, about 2 cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, packed
• 1/4 cup filtered water

Ground Walnut Taco Meat

• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid, aminos such as Bragg's Essential Amino Acids or 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 pinch sea salt, to taste
• 8 small-to-medium romaine leaves
• 1/2 cup natural low-sodium salsa, any flavor
• 1 Avocado, pitted and sliced

Directions:

1. To make cheeze:
2. Place garlic and salt in a food processor; process into small pieces. Add cashews and process into paste. Add lemon juice, cilantro, and water and process to mix well. Set aside.
3. Makes 1 cup.
4. To make meat:.
5. Place walnuts, cumin, coriander, liquid aminos, and salt in a food processor. Process into small pieces until the mixture looks like ground meat. Be careful not to overprocess, it will turn into butter.
6. Makes 1 cup.
7. Scoop 2 tablespoons cashew mixture down the inside spine of each romaine leaf. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons walnut mixture. Add salsa and avocado slices. Wrap and serve. Enjoy!