Raw day food eats

 

I got into work with my huge supplies bag of food, I was going straight from work to the studio to do some painting, so needed plenty to keep me going.

 

I started the day off with a banana and a cup of herbal tea, and then I snacked on coconut filled dates. Mmm dates and avocado are the best things to keep me going in the office.

I then messily ate a whole fresh mango and an orange. I had also prepared some sliced tomatoes with basil and cucumber batons.

 

Testing the gazpacho the night before with ice!

 

Lunch was avocado guacamole lettuce tacos with lime juice and sunflower and pumpkin seed and a thermal flask of cold gazpacho.

I really liked the raw garlic in this soup, and have seen a few Green Juices recipes which call for garlic; I’m definitely more willing to try that now!

 

After lunch I had peppermint tea and more dates and a few blueberries, I also had a few cashews and almonds. I wish I had been at home to make a nice big banana and frozen blueberry smoothie.

 

Dinner was going to be courgette spaghetti, but after a trip to the shops where I found some young sweet corn on the cob, I opted for a delicious corn, avocado and lime salad instead.

 

Apologies for the awful photo, this was about 9pm, I was hungry!

 

Doing the raw day, I first thought it was a food plan of restriction, “you are not allowed this, this and this” but the following day I realised it is instead about promoting eating more healthy food.

I think I would start to have more salads for dinners but having some cooked chickpeas in my salad isn’t going to kill me.

Also one of my friends has a sugar deficiency which means she also can’t eat many carbs, like white flour or rice. So I made her some almond Raw, Sugar free cookies, using diabetic jam, and using the recipe from the Vegan Vida Con Recipe book, send from Vegan in Brighton. I would use some time to make these treats before my next Raw Day.

 

Two of my friends at derby have done 2 week Detox plans, where they cut out processed sugar, alcohol, caffeine and wheat. I think after feeling how un-bloated I was after the raw day, I may take up this detox, and I think it not being raw means I will be able to do it for longer than a day. Brown rice and sweet potatoes are still included and I can live off of those J

 

Thai Food and Craft Festival

Basingstoke War Memorial Park on Sunday the 28th July.

 

I found about this Thai food and Craft festival via Facebook, so popped down on the Sunday morning.

As well as hot food stalls, imported Thai foods, they had clothes and kick-boxing and lady boy contests.

 

I have been looking for somewhere online to get Kaffir Lime leaves at a decent price. At the super market you can buy a small spice jar of leaves for just under £2. So when I saw a stall full of imported Thai spices, I knew what to get. The huge bags were only £1 each, so of course bought two bags. I can now lavish my home made Thai Green Curries with loads of tasty limey leaves!

 

 

They were also selling lots of Thai Beer, there was a really nice picnic atmosphere.

 

I was scouting for some lunch, and was a little confused about what Jay food was, apparently no onions or garlic, I assume no eggs as well? 

 

Anyway I found a curry amongst the Pad Thai, meat and fish.

 

Well placed Thai food banner in the background...

 

Here is the Thai vegetable red curry served with a massive amount of rice. I checked no fish sauce or cream (only coconut milk).

 

They also had stands selling Mango Sticky rice, which is fresh sliced mango served with coconut cooked sticky rice. I had no room left to eat that after this huge plate!

 

 

Mr Dada had a Thai Tea, (sadly un-vegan) it is made with condensed milk (very popular in Asia) it is made using brewed tea and served over lots of ice. The tea is a special kind that doesn't get too bitter and its a lovely orange colour when mixed with the milk.

 

The 7/11 shops in Thailand sell huge cups of Ice Tea and Thai Tea.

 

I hope to see more interesting festivals in Basingstoke like this, promoting not only independent restaurants but also different cultures.

 

RAW Day Preparation

For some time now I have been toying with the idea of committing to try a Raw day, I have eaten raw lunches and Raw breakfast, but I’ve never consciously gone a whole day just eating Raw foods.

If it goes well I might make it a regularly month adventure, much like the source of my inspiration Vegan Crunk, if it goes really well I might extend it to a few days or even a week!

I realise to anyone who is living raw or doing a detox this doesn’t sounds like much of a challenge, but with no restaurants nearby that offer Raw food and very limited health food shops, I’m going to have to do a lot of preparation myself.

I don’t own any books on Raw food. So most of my information is coming from what Blogs and my usual vegan diet.

Here are my meal plan ideas and a shopping list:

1^st of the month Raw day

 

© Breakfast: Banana & Strawberry smoothie/ mango smoothie /Blueberry smoothie

© Lunch: Avocado Salad/ Lettuce tacos/ Gazpacho / coleslaw / carrot & raisin salad

© Dinner: Spaghetti courgette with tomato and basil sauce / Raw Mexican wraps

© Drinks: Herbal Tea - Peppermint, green tea, watermelon juice.

© Snacks: Dates stuffed with coconut, unroasted cashews & almonds, seeds, raisins homemade cashew cookies. Vegetable crudités

© Snack: Mini pizzas; sliced tomato with basil and sundried tomatoes

Im not sure if herbal tea is considered raw, but its really good for you, so I will allow some.

Planned Shopping list:

Veg:

Avocado

Basil

Tomato cherry and big

Carrots

Little gem lettuce

Celery

Sun dried tomato

Limes

Fruit:

Bananas

Mango

Oranges

Berries

Watermelon

Dates

Coconut

Nuts:

Cashew

Almond

Sunflower and pumpkin seeds