Raw till dinner

Indian summer! It has been rather nice and warm outside, 20C for this time of year is definitely above average. So I've been trying to consume more raw food again, with various results. The-green-smoothies-for-breakfast-routine is most definitely a keeper, rest of the day is more of a hit and  miss. Some days I've been high raw, some days rather low raw. Like yesterday I had marmite toast for mid-morning snack, savoury hemp pancakes (by Gillian McKeith, delicious and filling, not foldable though...) with organic cheese for lunch and salmon for dinner. By evening I felt like I had swallowed a brick, so to compensate this I started the day today with 1 litre of green juice, followed by 1,5 litres of green smoothie, then 1/2 melon and raw salad for lunch (see recipe below). I felt rather proud of myself, and no bloated belly. But then it was time for dinner, and hungry husband coupled with slightly grumpy toddler meant something more substantial than raw salad was needed, so it was fish and potatoes with steamed vegetables. 

So I can definitely do "raw til dinner", but will I ever be able to go 100% raw? Not sure, but I'm not too worried as long as I eat as much raw food as possible during the day. 

Today another raw "uncook" book arrived, by high profile raw foodist Ani Phyo. Her book Anis Raw Food Kitchen - Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes has been praised as great source of easy and tasty raw food recipes. I had a quick look and there are quite few I'd like to try, and today I had one of her salads for lunch. I was worried a bit about the onions, but after marinating they are quite mild. Both me and Maya loved it!

Wilted spinach salad with marinated onion in mustard seed dressing 

Serves 1-2

Marinated onions

1/2 smallish yellow onion, sliced

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos or Nama Shoyu (in worst case, light soya sauce will do)

Pinch of black pepper

Mustard seed dressing

1 tbsp soft dates or agave syrup or maple syrup or raw honey (I used honey)

2-3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar 

3-4 tbsp of virgin olive oil

1 tsp of mustard seeds

1/2 tsp of seal salt

Salad

Couple of handfuls of spinach

1-2 carrots, julienned

Pinch of ground black pepper

To marinate onions, combine them with vinegar, pepper and Braggs and set aside while preparing the salad. For dressing, mix all ingredients in a bowl (if using dates, soak them in little water for 5 minutes and then mix the dates and water until syrupy). Place spinach and carrots in a bowl, pour onions and marinade over, toss a bit and then pour the dressing over, toss again. Serve the salad with some freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

I have been off from work for 3 days as our nanny is on holiday, and I have really been enjoying spending time with Maya. She's been having her toddler conversations with me, stringing together 4 word meanings already. And of course, copying almost anything I say. It's now I can see that trying to continue with OPOL (One Parent One Language) approach is going to be a challenge, as she speaks mainly English and it's often easier to respond in English. Especially when she asks: What's that? (sounds: sssat). But I'm determined to talk Estonian to her and I'm now reading bed time stories to her in Estonian (thanks Karin for the books!).

Off to bed now, I'm back to work tomorrow...