Forty-eight hours into this week-long (or longer) mostly raw eating plan, here’s my notes so far: While I believe we are on the right track, rumbling and grumbling about food choices is definitely present. Praying that improves as we go, but it will take creativity to keep the interest level peaked. So, spending a lot of time looking for recipe ideas. What I’ve learned through my research is that some cooked is not a bad thing. The logical side of me definitely agrees, especially with the cold temps that are visiting us. Sticking to mostly fruits and veggies is the BIG thing. Totally meatless is tough and not sure that is absolutely necessary either. Moderation and knowing your meat sources is much more critical.
Following juices and smoothies during the day, we are opting for a warm dinner. The first night I did incorporate some ground turkey into our Skinny Turkey-Vegetable Soup. (If you enjoy meats, I strongly encourage you to check out West Wind Farms. All of their products are clean, organic, and great tasting, and they guarantee traceability. Their website is almost like a visit to the farm. A big plus is that this is also a farm in Tennessee.) The Soup recipe is one I adapted from Taste of Home’s collection. I left out a few ingredients and added others. That adds fun and a personal touch for your culinary preferences.
Skinny Turkey-Vegetable Soup
1/2 of a large onion chopped
2 medium-large carrots, halved and thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 Tbls olive oil (extra-virgin cold-pressed)
1 tsp garlic powder (or fresh garlic — use more or less to your taste )
4 cups water
1 16 oz jar of canned tomatoes (unsalted and undrained)
1 cup frozen broccoli
1 veggie bullion cube
2 bay leaves
1 Tbls Herbs deProvence
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp dried chives
1 lb. ground turkey
In a large pan cook and crumble the ground turkey. Set the turkey aside. Use the olive oil to saute the onions, celery, carrots and red pepper until they are tender. Add garlic. Cook 2 minutes longer. Stir in the water, tomatoes in their liquid, broccoli, bay leaf, Herbs deProvence, cilantro, chives, and bullion cube. Add the turkey back in. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. We served it with a green salad loaded with more veggies.
Recipe will give you approximately 6 generous servings.
Now for some links to some great raw and vegetarian recipes. We’ll be eating many recipes from these sites to be sure.
Raw Vegan Lunch and Dinner Ideas from Shanghai Monkey
Quinoa and Apricot Salad from Nouveau Raw
Zucchini Lasagna from PetitChef
Raw Ginger Orange Oatmeal Cookies from Rawmazing (Don’t own a dehydrator? Google directions for dehydrating with your oven — it works.)
Photo from CanStockPhoto
