Hey family 👋🏾 we are continuing the raw vegan journey at Day 118 and we get so many questions as to what the typical eating day looks like. Eating raw vegan doesn’t only mean eating a salad. This blog highlights the addition of raw nuts, hemp seed protein, and other great raw vegan meals. By the end of the day we are full and feel satiated. The best part is we don’t feel bloated and we even lose weight. This is truly eating from the earth! Everything RAW! You can have fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, nut butters, nut milks, fruit milks, raw chocolate, oats, and all of these can come together creatively to make some amazing meals. There are days when we add sprouted goods as well such as sprouted bread and granola. We have learned to get creative during this experience and make it fun. My husband's blood work is coming up in a few days and we anticipate great results! Hope this blog inspires you to have at least one raw meal a day.
What I eat in a typical raw vegan day:
Morning Water:
Every morning , whether we are raw vegan or not, I start my day with 8 to 16 ounces of water. Starting your day off with water gets your digestive system ready to work for the day. It is a way to flush out toxins in your system, and it is a way to jump start the metabolism. When we wake up, we are dehydrated. Our bodies are desiring hydration. Instead of reaching for coffee first, reach for water. Drinking 1 to 2 cups of water first thing in the morning helps to hydrate our bodies and stimulate movement in our bowels. When we are sleeping, our bodies repair themselves and eliminates toxins in the body. Drinking water in the morning will help to flush out these toxins that may have built up overnight. Drinking water first thing in the mornings, will help our morning meals be smaller and will also help decrease any unhealthy food cravings for the day.
Green tea:
After having my morning water and doing my morning routine, I will have a cup of green tea with some lemon and apple cider vinegar. To the tea I add 1/2 squeezed lemon and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants. These antioxidants reduce cell damage and decreases overall inflammation in the body. I also like to start the day with green tea because it increases fat burning and boosts the metabolic rate.
Fruit salad:
Fruits are the first meal I have every day. It is a great way to break your fast with something light and not heavy on the stomach. I select from a variety of fruit, depending on what is available and what is in season. We have a variety of berries, melons, oranges, grapes, bananas, and apples.
Brazilian nut:
I take one Brazilian nut a day like a daily multivitamin. Brazilian nuts contain the highest amount of selenium in any source of food. They are a superfood as the amount of selenium packed into these nuts help boost the immune system, its essential for thyroid function, and it even helps boost fertility.
Vitamins:
I start my day with A Women's multivitamin with Iron (From Whole Foods 365), Zinc 50mg, vitamin D3, and Vitamin B12 . I also take elderberry syrup which helps to boost the immune system .
Mixed Nuts:
My mixed nuts usually include almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, and some dried fruit. I may include 1 to 2 dates, or a handful of raisins. My husband just brought home some dried jackfruit which I will be adding to the nut mix tomorrow.
Hemp seed protein shake:
I love to include a hemp seed protein shake every day as hemp seeds are a complete protein source. They provide all the essential amino acids that your body needs. For all of the calories obtained in hemp seeds, 25% of those calories come from protein. The protein profile of hemp seeds is much better than most nuts and even legumes. This is one superfood that everyone should incorporate into their diet. It is also rich in healthy fats. They have a 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega -3's which is the optimal ratio.
I blended:
2 cups coconut milk
1 banana
1 tbsp raw peanut butter
4 tbsp hemp seed protein powder
Raw Vegan wraps with @cocobynuco Coconut Wraps:
These coconut wraps were surprisingly delicious and have a nice and mild coconut flavor. They are very thin but durable to hold up to a good amount of veggies.
I sliced up:
1/2 cucumber
1/4 red onion
1/2 tomato
1 medium avocado
2 carrots
After everything is sliced, I filled up two wraps and enjoyed with homemade tahini dressing.
Tahini dressing: 1/2 cup tahini 6 tablespoons lemon juice 1/4 cup water 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt(adjust to taste) 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used my favorite salt/black pepper/garlic powder blend from @kindersflavors ) Shake well or stir until it becomes thick. You can add more water to your desired consistency. You can also add more seasoning to your taste .
Raw Vegan Lasagna:
I love getting creative on this journey and finding ways to enjoy raw foods. This raw vegan lasagna did not disappoint. You will be surprised at how good it is, and the best part is you don't have to cook anything. Just prepare and serve.
Ingredients:
1 - 2 zucchinis for slicing
2 tbsp Coconut Aminos
Raw Cashew-Cheese layer:
1/2 cup soaked cashews (Soak cashews in hot water for at least one hour)
1/2 lemon juice
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
handful of chives (optional)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Raw Tomato Sauce layer:
1 cup cherry tomatoes
handful of fresh basil
handful of cilantro
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
dash of Italian Seasoning
1) Using a vegetable peeler, cut zucchinis into very thin strips to layer like lasagna. Peel at least 12 to 16 strips for this dish. Toss and Soak your zucchini strips in 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos. (Can adjust coconut aminos to your taste. Coconut aminos enhance the flavor of vegetables, so you can add more or less. )
2) Prepare Cashew Cheese Layer: Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse until super creamy. Add a few tablespoons of water if needed, one tablespoon at a time. Do not add too much water so that the mixture will not be runny. Give your mixture a taste test. Season to taste if necessary.
3) Prepare Tomato Sauce Layer: Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until creamy. Give your mixture a taste test. Season to taste if necessary.
4) Assemble your lasagna. Layer the thinly sliced zucchini into a pan or plate. Add your next layer of raw Cashew Cheese, then add your next layer of raw tomato sauce. Repeat.
5) Finish with a layer of zucchini strips.
6)Enjoy.
You will be surprised at how good this is! This will be on repeat on the raw vegan journey!
Raw Vegan strawberry chocolate cheesecake cups:
Last, but definitely not least, for a sweet treat to end the day, I had to make some raw vegan strawberry cheesecake cups. The crust for this one will have raw chocolate. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
2 cups raw almonds
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp raw cacao powder (can substitute cocoa powder)
For the Filling:
2 cups soaked cashews (Soak in hot water for at least one hour)
1/2 cup coconut cream
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Top layer:
1 cup frozen strawberries
small piece of beet (for color) or 1/2 tsp beet powder
1)Pulse the almonds, salt, maple syrup, and raw cacao powder in a food processor or blender until you get a fine meal. Pack this fine meal down into a lined muffin pan and set aside. If you don't have cupcake liners, placing the mixture in a non-stick muffin pan will also work.
2) For the filling, blend all of the ingredients together, except for the strawberries, until smooth. Once smooth, Pour half of this mixture on top of the chocolate crust layer in the muffin pan. Save the other half in the food processor or blender for the strawberry top layer.
3) For the top layer, add frozen strawberries, small piece of beet or beet powder to the other half of the mixture and blend until smooth. The mixture will turn a reddish-pink in hue. Layer this mixture on top.
4) Freeze for 2 to 3 hours. When ready to eat, leave out for 5 to 10 minutes and enjoy.
I made these when our kids were napping and pulled them out at dinner time. These were a hit even with the kiddos.
These are a treat you will want to keep on hand in your freezer. You can even swap out the strawberries and use another fruit for an entirely different dessert. The possibilities are endless. Hope you all enjoy this one as much as we did.
Soursop tea:
Soursop is known for its many healing and detoxing benefits. I always end my day with a cup of this tea to cleanse and detox and allow this healing tea to work overnight. Soursop has many benefits which include killing cancer cells, reducing inflammation, and even stabilizing blood sugar. To this tea, I may add 1/2 lemon or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar.
It’s a full day of eating that doesn’t tip the scale. Everything is light but nutrient dense. I start eating at 8 am and stop eating around 7:30 pm. There are days when I eat mostly fruit, and there are days when I eat mostly vegetables. And there are days when we want to get creative and have different raw vegan meals . This blog shows that eating raw vegan doesn’t only mean eating a salad. A few days left on this journey and I have to say, I plan to continue to incorporate raw foods into my lifestyle. At minimum two raw meals a day. The enzymes and nutrients you get from eating raw fruits and vegetables are important for overall health and optimal immunity. Our bodies need these alive foods. ❤️ Lets get these alive foods family!
Monique
References:
1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18589036/
2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17228036/
4) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938407004003
5) https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170569/nutrients
6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5307254/
7) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1271/bbb.62.650
8) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20977230/
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