The One Month RAW Challenge

[TeePee]

I am soo excited that you girls are doing this RAW challenge!! I love it!!! It inspires me to see more and more people diving into this!! KEEP IT UP, LADIES!!!

Here's to the red wine and garlic!!! Although, I will let my belly have a few days rest before I enjoy!!

Love to all!!

[mtmouse]

Well, I looked at Vitamixes on eBay today. There are a lot of the old 3600 model, which apparently has an instant reverse switch which the new ones don't have, and I'm not sure if there's an advantage to it.

But it's stainless steel, even the carafe, which means you can't see what's in it, which I don't like very much.

And even those are selling for $200+, it seems. So if I can get a brand new one with a full warranty for ~$350 I'm not sure I'd risk that much on eBay.

Anyone got a Champ HP3? Those are being touted as very similar, better in some ways--and they fit under cupboards.

At least I don't need a "dry blade", because I have other appliances that cover grains and seeds.

[Res]

TeePee said, "Here's to the red wine and garlic!!! "

Kathy: You may want to take a peek at the Magic Bullet. I'm kind of leary about making a big purchase on eBay too. Although a friend of mine does it and he's never had any problems. Ya never know.

Well, I'm deciding on whether I want to go sip some almond milk or munch on chopped carrots or eat RP fudge. Soon it will be time to turn the scones over...heh, scones. This is so much fun.

Love to all,
~Res

[mtmouse]

I want to hear about those scones. I've been wanting to make them ever since they were first mentioned here, but I've never gotten around to it. Did you make a full recipe?

I've bought some big things on eBay before, so it's not like I'm worried about the actual purchase. I'm just worried about spending almost the same amount (well, over half, like $200+ instead of $350) for something I might need to replace soon. If I could get a used one for $50, it would be no question; that would let me see if shelling out for a new one would be worth it.

I can buy new ones on eBay, too, so I may just do that, since my Costco isn't going to have them until August.

I'll just stew over it some more, that's the ticket!

[Res]

You said "stew".

I did make the scones but only made half a batch because I didn't have enough apples for the entire recipe.

Keep in mind I'm still very new to this whole dehydrating thing so I have no knowledge of my own to compare with. I went on a tirade in the -After the cleanse thread - about what the recipes definition of "spoonfuls" means and I still have no clue. So I used a Tablespoon, heaping, and dropped the "batter" on to the sheets. Oh, I also chopped the cranberries in my bullet. I didn't grind them to powder, but I did chop because the recipe doesn't call for much sweetner (I actually like that) and I know the cranberries can make your mouth pucker. Well, they turned out FANTASTIC and beautiful and I've just stored the rest in a Green Bag.

Regarding the sweetness aspect of the scones, heating in the dehydrator and then drizzling agave or maple over them is an option. They don't need it but if you need that "sweet" boost why not! Oooh or, I have a few mangoes that are ripe and I like the idea of puree'ing one and possibly pouring the mango over the scone. Hmm, maybe dipping the scone in the puree. The possibilites are endless.

The scones are now on my Staples List.

I would like to move a bit from all the nut recipes though to more veggie recipes. I'm working on it. Since I grow collards, I suppose I can take your "wrap" suggestion and just shred a bunch of veggies and come up with some sort of "salty-ish" sauce to dip the wraps in. Peter's wife posted a dip recipe that I'll have to revisit. I can't remember the ingredients.

ALSO, I need to veer towards the GREEN SMOOTHIES. Boutenko has a bunch that are doable. I was checking out her book again last night.

*Hug You* for doing this with me.

You know the "calm" on the cleanse? I'm finding that very same calm but with a full stomach on the Raw Challenge. I'm really quite happy, content and excited about this all at the same time.

So what's on the menu today?

Love,
~Res

I'll be back, heading out the door for a bit.

[Res]

TeePee: Thinking of you and hoping you're feeling better.

Love,
~Res

[Ginger]

I think I'm going a little food crazy and need to back off. I had GF juice for breakfast. Then made toona. Yummy. I put it on romaine with some sprouts and avacado. I ate too much. And some pickled bok choy and THREE handfuls of spicy almonds. I'm soooooo full. But, I just wanna TASTE things!!! I'm stopping now.

I'll prolly just have a small salad for dinner, if I can even eat.

[Res]

Ginger: Things will calm down. I think we've all been through the phase of wanting to taste everything.

Love,
~Res

[Res]

I made "lasagna" last night but didn't get to eat it because I had company. I did taste the Marinara sauce though and it was almost exactly what I was hoping for.

I had to run a bunch of errands thing morning and didn't get home until now (11:22 am) but I've been out since 8am. Well, I was so hungry when I got home that I decided to have lasagna for breakfast.

The pictures don't do it justice and I didn't have avocado last night when I made it. I can see how the avocado would give it a more noodly-cheesy texture. But even without OH MY GOSH. I think the flavors "Married" very well overnight and the zucchini softened up quite a bit. The only thing missing is extra garlic, french bread and a bottle of wine.

This pic is big and too dark:




This one is better. Mmmmm

While out shopping I picked up "Jerusalem Artichokes". I've searched for these things for years. I'm going to eat a few and then plant the rest. I've never had them before but one thing is for certain they'll be eaten raw.

I picked up some Sweet Potatoes too. Does anyone have a good dehydrator recipe for them? They're so good raw but "chips" sound good.

OH! Trader Joes has Grey Celtic sea salt cheap! Their's is called "Coarse Sea Salt, product of France". Well, it looks the same, smells the same, tastes the same as the Celtic. I pay $8.00 for 12 oz at the Health food store and paid $3.99 for 15 oz at Trader Joes. So go there! lol

Still unpacking, will be back.

How's everyone doing today??

Love,
~Res

[mtmouse]

I just spent 3 hours in the kitchen uncooking, LOL!

First I made wheatmeal for breakfast, processed with leftover pineapple instead of apples, and it tasted great with bananas and instant almond milk. We had it with warm scones. Have to say, I liked 'em but didn't go wild over them like y'all do! But DH likes them, and I think maybe he'll start having them as snacks. Hope so.

Then I made my cats three new batches of food (turkey, chicken, elk). (They've been eating raw for lots longer than I have, LOL.)

Then I made up some new pizza crusts. I didn't have red pepper, so I substituted broccoli. So they aren't as pretty as usual, but then they get covered up for eating anyway!

By the time I was done with all that I was really thirsty. I had some leftover so-so watermelon and still had some pineapple, plus I had carrot juice left over from the scones last night. So I threw all that into the blender. As you can imagine, it tasted terrific. It was beautiful, too. But, always looking for more GREENS, I threw in a bunch of spinach too. Still tasted terrific, but it wasn't as pretty.

But I totally forgot that I had saved out soaked flaxseed after switching to flax meal last night for my scones. I intended to put those in the pizza crusts and didn't see them until way too late.

One of the things I'd love to find is a raw recipe site that lets you search by ingredient. Even the books I have don't let me do that. I like to look in my fridge, see what I've got that needs to be eaten, and go from there (as opposed to deciding I'm going to make a particular thing and then buying the ingredients for that). Well, actually, I do both. But you know what I mean!

Anyway, does anyone have a favorite recipe that uses soaked flaxseed? If so, bring it on!

And Res, that lasagna looks fabulous! Which book did you use?

And I can buy Celtic salt in bulk at my health food store and coop. I think it runs around $3.99 or $4.99 a pound, so that Trader Joe price is really good!