10 Days 100% Simply Raw--Day 2

Day 2 began with a large glass of filtered water upon awakening.
Drinks throughout the day consisted of lemon water and herbal tea.
Meal #1: Mango Madness Smoothie
by Elizabeth @ Rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com
1 C filtered water
3/4 C fresh squeezed Florida Navel OJ
4 C collard greens, chopped
1/4 of a peeled lemon
2 T flax seeds, freshly ground
2 T whole white chia seeds (one of our staple super foods!!)
2 T raw pumpkin seeds (for Iron)
3 ripe bananas
8 oz frozen organic mango
1 C ice
Pack all of the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until thick and creamy.

Serve some to the special people in your life too! Here are three of our five children seriously enjoying their daily green smoothie. Our children wake up asking for their green smoothies; it's a beautiful thing.

Mango Madness Smoothie

Meal #2 Marinated Kale Cucumbers

I know this looks like almost nothing as far as a lunch would go but I'm telling you, my morning smoothie kept me so satisfied that I really was not even hungry at lunch time. But I did want a little something and this was the perfect thing.

The recipe comes from the book, "Cooking the Whole Foods Way".

It has several recipes I can use for my needs (raw) and the rest I can prepare for my family. They eat a combo of raw and cooked.

My Father-in-law was sweet enough to surprise me with this book, thank you!

 The recipe calls for 6 leaves of a leafy green, so I chose kale. I finely chopped the kale and then massaged it for 3-4 minutes to break down the cell walls. Next I added it to a bowl full of peeled and cut cucumbers. I sprinkled on a generous amount of dill weed and then made the dressing. The recipe calls for parsley but I swapped that for dill and some extra kale. I made some other changes as well so here is my version of her Lemon-Parsley Dressing which I re-named Lemon-Dill:

Elizabeth's Lemon-Dill Dressing

1/4 C First Cold Pressed EVOO

Juice of 1 lemon

2 T dried dill weed (I sprinkled it on the cucumbers first)

1 leaf of chopped kale

1 tsp Tamari

1/2 C fresh OJ

1 T rice vinegar

I blended it in my personal size blender and poured over the cucumbers, kale and dill. mix well and allow to marinate over night.

I also nibbled on some radishes while plating my lunch.

Meal # 3 Zucchini Pasta with Marinated Mushrooms

by Erica Palmcrantz and Irmela Lilja

This recipe comes directly from the book titled, "RAW FOOD". I am so upset because I took pictures of my plate full of this fantastic "pasta" and I had no memory card in the camera so the photo is from the book itself featured on pg. 62 of "Raw Food".

No offense, but mine looked so much better--I am so bummed I have no photos of it. Enough pouting, here is their recipe:

1 zucchini, peeled (I did not)

4 mushrooms (I used entire carton of baby bellas)

5 cherry tomatoes (I used 10)

1/4 C sunflower sprouts (actually called sunflower greens)

 Marinade:

1 T nama shoyu ( I used 1/4 C Tamari)

1 T olive oil (I used 2 T First Cold Pressed)

2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped (omitted)

1 T lemon juice (1/4 C I used)

Here is how I put mine together:

I prepared the marinade and allowed the mushrooms to marinate for 2 hours. Next I spiralized my zucchini using the blade that cuts thicker noodles. Next I plated the "noodles" and then topped them with the marinated mushrooms. I finished the plate by adding the tomatoes and my very own sunflower greens that I harvested just moments earlier--can't get any fresher than that!

Something to meditate on:
"Two lines from the Annunciation story can touch us deeply, where we live today. When Mary asks, “How can this be?” her words could also be spoken by the person who works hard—but loses a job, or the one who tries to eat healthily and exercise—but still gets cancer. God doesn't explain such puzzles, but Gabriel does tell Mary not to fear. "— from Catholic Update: Advent Day-by-Day

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for a much needed wake up call from Fr. Henry.