Post for Sarah!

As promised, I am going to make a special post dedicated to my friend, Sarah, over at "This Is What I Eat" blog.  She is embarking on a temporary raw, no fruit/sugar, diet and I wanted to share some of my favorite raw meals as well as tweak a few that contain fruit/sugar!  Hope you find some of these useful, Sarah!

Raw 'Oat'meal:

Okay, Sarah, this original recipe uses a banana as a main ingredient but I'm wondering if you might try swapping out the banana for a small avocado/half a large one!  From there, I might even suggest adding a T. of raw cacao powder (carob, if you're avoiding caffeine), 1/2 tsp. cinnamon for a kick, 1 tsp. mesquite/lucuma powder and a 1/4 tsp. of vanilla!  You could also omit the cacao/carob powder and up the cinnamon.  Top with nuts, as pictured--just leave out the banana!!

Raw Pho Bowl:
This is one of my favorite raw meals because it's so quick to whip together and can be made so versatile!  Basically, it's a bowl of raw 'noodles,' sprouts, shredded things, possibly nuts/seeds for sprinkling, etc.  My FAVORITE combo, though, is zucchini noodles, carrot noodles, kelp noodles and broccoli sprouts.  Other suggestions include sauerkraut, shredded cabbage, cucumber noodles, shredded asparagus noodles, other types of sprouts, sunflower seeds for topping, I use Callie's AMAZING Knock-Off Dragon Sauce to pour over the whole she-bang but it does contain maple syrup.  To make it Sarah-diet-friendly, omit the 1/4 c. maple syrup and add 2 T. ACV and cut the tamari and tahini back to 3 T. each.  It'll be a slightly different flavor but I bet it will still be good!

Raw Pad Thai:
I also love this recipe.  It's pretty simple and easy to make, just like the pho bowl.  However, like the pho bowl sauce, this sauce calls for a sweetener (agave) so my suggestion would be to omit it, use 2 heaping T. tamarind paste, 1.5 T. tamari and 1 tsp. Sriracha.

Raw Collard Wrap:
I'm giving you just the basic skeleton here, Sarah, to do with as you please!  I make raw collard wraps A LOT and always change the fillings, based on what I'm in the mood for!  Avocado almost ALWAYS goes in, and sometimes mung beans (which you can soak overnight and enjoy "raw" the next morning!), cucumber, various greens, carrots, sprouts, nuts, nut 'meat,' raw nut butters--sounds weird but almond works really well with carrots, peanuts and hot sauce!, raw dips, etc. etc.!

Raw...Salads!!!
Obviously, you are going to be eating so many salads, which is a good thing, so rather than link you to all sorts of crazy, delicious recipes, I'll link you to my salad post for some hopeful inspiration!  Really, you can get so creative with salads and kind of make an art form out of it, pairing certain greens with certain veggies with certain nuts with certain dressings!  My FAVORITE salad, though, is this (I'm modifying it for you so that it's Sarah-approved):

Marinated Portobello Salad

- Spinach
- 1 portobello mushrooms, sliced and massaged in sugar-free BBQ sauce to marinate sauce overnight
- 1/2 avocado, sliced
-  1 carrot, VERY thinly sliced, sprinkled with a little cinnamon and paprika, massaged and left to marinate overnight (my original recipe calls for butternut squash, roasted, so I'm hoping this carrot technique works okay for you!)
-  Spicy Mustard Dressing** (This recipe contains maple syrup so omit that and reduce red wine vinegar to 3 T.)
-  Freshly cracked black pepper!

And now I'm just going to link some of my favorite raw recipes from others' blogs.  Hope you find them helpful!

http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/31/15-minute-creamy-avocado-pasta/ (use raw 'noodles')

http://www.edibleperspective.com/home/2011/4/7/moo-milk.html (obviously, I'm not referring to the chocolate-cherry overnight oats but the kale salad!)

http://www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com/2012/02/carrot-pasta-with-creamy-cashew-sauce.html#.USuTf-vrnNA

http://www.choosingraw.com/cashew-ginger-raw-nori-rolls/