Real Raw

Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day, all around. I guess that’s a good thing. I had living granola with dried blueberries and almond milk for breakfast, a salad, paté wrap (tortilla, paté, lettuce, tomato, sliced zucchini) that was too bland, and an apple. For dinner, we went to Compadres, and I ate a crab enchilada with a caesar salad, beans, and rice. I also ate a TON of chips and salsa. So much for my raw diet.

This morning, I promise myself I will be better. After all, we’re having all my family here for Thanksgiving on Sunday. Yes, you read that right: Sunday. We’re having it early so that all my kids can be here. I’m actually very excited about it because I haven’t had all my children and grandchildren together since about four or four and a half years ago.

No, I’m not planning on foisting a raw Thanksgiving dinner on them, though I’d really like to! I’m going to make the traditional turkey, etc. However, in addition to the usual pies, I’m going to sneak in a raw pumpkin pie and a raw chocolate cream pie. I may also try some raw appetizers. Let’s just see what I can get away with …

In the meantime, I’m making plans, and don’t want to spend too much thought and effort on what I need to do today.

For breakfast, I have warmed oatmeal (processed oats and nuts) with raisins, cinnamon, and banana. I have a super busy morning, so when noon rolls around, my stomach is grumbling. I’m in a pleasurable rut: I have open-faced paté sandwiches with slice tomato on top and a salad. Except today, I’m using the bread I made the other day. They are little, tiny slices, each about the size of a crostini, so I have five. And I always make each salad a little bit differently. So, though on paper it might look like I’m eating the same thing for lunch every day, I’m actually varying it each time. Besides, I need to use up all that paté. There’s still enough for at least one meal.

With the advent of cooler weather, I’m finding that I want warmed meals. For dinner tonight, I make carrot/ginger/coriander soup and warm it a little in a pan. Carrot/ginger/coriander soup is really easy and I love the warming quality of ginger. You need a juicer and a blender for this dish.

Here’s my recipe for Carrot-Ginger-Coriander Soup:

• First, juice 1 cup of carrot juice per serving. It takes 8-10 carrots to get the 2 cups I need tonight.
• Put the juice in a blender,
• add 1/2 avocado for every 2 cups of juice,
• 2 tsp. of minced ginger (or more, if you like it hotter),
• ground coriander, salt and white pepper to taste.
• You can also a couple of tablespoons of cilantro and/or parsley for slight differences in flavor. You can serve this cold or warm — it’s equally good, either way.

With the soup, I make Rich a quesadilla. For myself, I make a simple open-faced sandwich with raw bread, raw cheese, with tomato and lettuce.

It feels like a good day. My thoughts are moving toward Saturday and Sunday, when my family arrives, and our upcoming Thanksgiving celebration.