I'm in the mood to write

It's been such a long time since I've even signed into my blog. So much going on that I just haven't had the time...but today I'm in the mood to write. I feel like I have something exciting to share!

Just over a month ago I decided to try the "30 days in the cave" paleo/primal diet. I basically cut out dairy and processed foods (anything from a box)and started using coconut oil to cook with.

At first I thought I would "die" without cheese!!! Anybody who knows me knows that I routinely eat cheese with EVERY MEAL!!! But it proved to be a fairly simple adaption. Then I thought I would "die" without my cereal or oatmeal & orange juice in the morning, but again I was able to adapt.

Last Tuesday myself and a friend attended a Raw Food class. I was told that we would be served a sampling of many different raw dishes. I was prepared to be grossed out and was honestly mildly nervous when I saw the plates sitting at the front of the room. About 30 minutes into the class they began to pass out a few samplings. I believe Chia pudding was the first item up for sampling followed by a cantaloupe/ginger/coconut milk smoothie. Both items proved to be DELICIOUS!! We then tried raw cacao chocolate, raw zucchini hummus, raw spring rolls, raw granola bars, raw crackers, and raw lasagna (not what it sounds like). Everything tasting better than the previous.

At the end of the meeting the instructor challenged us to try to go raw (at least 50%) for the next 7 days. She had prepared extra servings of all the foods she had sampled to us and offered them to us for a nominal fee. My friend and myself both decided to go for it. The foods we bought were enough to tie us over until we could figure out what we were going to make ourselves.

It's not uncommon to find fridge stocked full of raw vegetables for snacking. Growing up in the sticks of Northern NY we always had a large garden and lots of fresh raw veggies to eat. So naturally one of the first things I made was a dip for my veggies. Technically it's called "cashew cheese" but it reminds me of a hummus type dip. Here's how I made it;

1 cup raw organic cashews
1 clove of fresh organic garlic chopped
1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
1/2 tsp chipotle seasoning (i used Mrs Dash bc we had it in the cupboard)
1/8 cup organic lemon juice
1/8 cup filtered water

Put the cashews into the food processor and chop fine.
Add garlic, sea salt, & chipotle seasoning and mix.
Add lemon juice & water and process into a thick creamy consistency.

This was so delicious!! I took it to work and ate it on my carrots & mini sweet peppers. My co-workers that tried it also loved it. I believe this will be what I bring to my next pot luck party.

As I "invent" more scruptious recipes I will be posting them to share with you all. If I come across something thats is not so good I will most likely rant about it as well. I hope some of you will chose to join me on this new journey of experimentation and share some of your own recipes along the way.